Favourite Underworld Tracks

[AsoTamaki]

"In My Darkest Hour" is really good. I still wish it had a better main riff, but I don't hate it as much as I did before. Everything else is great. The part of the guitar solo that's played over the chorus instrumental is definitely one of the best on the album.

I actually kind of like the second To Hell and Back solo, especially the intro run, because it sort of reminds me of the King of Terrors solo, which is in my mind is in the top 3 solos Romeo has ever played. So relentless and such odd tonality.

I love the King of Terrors solo too. It works so well because it fits the crushing rhythm track it's being played over and it's also built up to by the previous instrumental section. On this song, it's just like all of a sudden SHRED right after the chorus. That's actually the best part of the solo though. After that, he just starts throwing lick after lick at the thing and none of it even sounds that cool. It's like hes not even listening to the backing track at that point. Totally obnoxious playing.

 

[anonym115]

Oh come on, the run at 7:12 is super cool too! So groovy!

 

[nckissfan]

Kiss of Fire
Underworld
To Hell and Back

 

[Detective Beauregard]

I need to do a listen of this album where I can really absorb and critique the solos. They're rarely something that grab me on the first few listens, but the only solo that has stuck in my head so far is Swan Song's.

Also, where is that high note in Looking Glass?

 

[anonym115]

Start listening at 8:49 for looking glass. Do you think 1 listen will get you the knowledge you need to absorb and critique solos? That takes me the absolute most listens to achieve when compared to any other goal I have upon purchasing a new album.

My newest goal is to try to gather a list of the top 10 SX solos (not counting more than one per song) in no particular order. It is proving to be hard!

 

[Liampie]

I'm surprised at how few votes Swansong is getting. Not saying it deserves more, but I did expect more. Even more surprising to me is that Without You is ahead of Swansong... That one I don't understand. Nonetheless, interesting stuff. I love statistics.

 

[Drunc]

I'm surprised at how few votes Swansong is getting. Not saying it deserves more, but I did expect more. Even more surprising to me is that Without You is ahead of Swansong... That one I don't understand. Nonetheless, interesting stuff. I love statistics.

It was between these 2 for my 3rd vote after Underworld and Legend. Swansong edged it. It takes a while to get going and the lyrics are a bit Whitesnake/Bon Jovi but nevertheless it is an excellent song.

I read a lot of criticisms about Symphony X's lyrics on this forum but I think it's undeserved. I far prefer their lyrics to endless songs about love, dedication or heartbreak which is all many bands and artists including those mentioned above seem capable of writing about.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

I read a lot of criticisms about Symphony X's lyrics on this forum but I think it's undeserved. I far prefer their lyrics to endless songs about love, dedication or heartbreak which is all many bands and artists including those mentioned above seem capable of writing about.

I dunno, man... SX's lyrics not only make me feel nothing, but they are so much cheesier than the style requires. I really dislike the lyrics, but I only started to notice it on PL and onward.

Here's an excerpt from PoS's Without a Trace:

"I never knew your name but I will miss you just the same
I was to live for you I lost the will to live at all the day you came
It'll never be the same but I will love you just the same
You were to be the first, how wonderful
Now I will always fear to hope again

The irony Of seeing me whispering through her skin
So joyfully To our child there deep within
Or of when she called to me To tell me cheerfully
That she had seen your shape On a hospital screen
And of nurses being concerned That you never moved or turned
Too late we see the warnings Too late we learn

I never saw your face and now you're gone without a trace
Except the trace of blood that's deeply scarred into my eyes To fill your place
It'll never be the same but I will love you just the same
I was prepared to be your father How can I ever prepare for that again?"

I feel something. There's a story here. To me, these kinds of lyrics are so much more impactful, but I understand they're not for everybody.

 

[anonym115]

See, I feel much more from SX's lyrics than from that kind of thing. It is very sappy, and not poetic in the grander sense. SX talks about very grandiose and even mystifying topics that represent a departure from the world as we know it. The lyrics you posted are just someone longwindedly describing something quite, at the end of the day, ordinary.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

See, I feel much more from SX's lyrics than from that kind of thing. It is very sappy, and not poetic in the grander sense. SX talks about very grandiose and even mystifying topics that represent a departure from the world as we know it. The lyrics you posted are just someone longwindedly describing something quite, at the end of the day, ordinary.

Loss of an unborn child is definitely not ordinary, but yes, it's part of regular lives.
The fantasy stuff just does nothing for me, but I respect your opinions, my friend

 

[anonym115]

When I say "ordinary", I mean it is very earthly and very realist. Even the specific word choices are just like slightly poetic versions of a journal entry. The vernacular is just very...regular.

All that being said, I certainly understand the demand for such a thing. It's its own vein of art, for sure.

 

[Progbass]

See, I feel much more from SX's lyrics than from that kind of thing. It is very sappy, and not poetic in the grander sense. SX talks about very grandiose and even mystifying topics that represent a departure from the world as we know it. The lyrics you posted are just someone longwindedly describing something quite, at the end of the day, ordinary.

I'm with you there. Especially with progressive metal, I feel too "ordinary" kind of lyrics dont really fit the music style. For me the lyrics doesnt even always have to tell any story really, for example I like Opeth's lyrics coz often they are more like just phrases and not really storytelling.

 

[Liampie]

I like those PoS lyrics, they work for what they're trying to do so that's okay. They're not very deep or thought-provoking though. It's a sincere, but superficial onedimensional story. Fine. Symphony X's lyrics are, however, not on the opposite of the spectrum in my opinion. They may sound mysterious and shit but that does not make them deep. Nowadays most Symphony X lyrics just look a bunch of random words and 'tough' phrases thrown together. They may seem artful sometimes, but I think when you try to peel away the layers there's probably not much there.

 

[Neva Kee]

Sure, PoS did some nice lyrics and they work even better when performed and integrated into the songs, since they convey a lot of emotion there...But before praising them too much, I guess you have to admit that PoS has done very bad lyrics, too that are a lot more cringeworthy IMHO than everything that Symphony has done... (even though it may convey a message, I just cannot ignore or enjoy 20 and more "f**ks" in one song...).

For me the Symphony lyrics never have been a problem and if this topic wouldn't come up in this forum again and again, I really wouldn't have given this much thought. This may be in part because I am not a native speaker and can enjoy the songs sometimes without giving much though to the meaning of the lyrics.

Another part of it is certainly that I am just a sucker for simple and emotional parts, cheesy or not, if they are well done and to the point. I can get behind that and relate to the emotion of the fictional narrator of the song. But maybe it says something that I can get behind the fictional attitude of Manowar songs, too - even though I am not taking them really seriously and they do not reflect my own sentiments most of the time.

So, when it says
- "swept away like a bird of prey, now there's hell to pay, from darkness into light"
- "when will my dark skies disappear? I long to see the sun"
- "drifting on the sea, a lonely ship without a sail..."
- "wasteland of confusion where nothing's what it seems"
or even "bring down the hammer with furious anger" - I could even get behind "serious anger", telling myself that the character in the song is so furious that he really means it
- "the bridges have been burned - never to return"
- "though I've tried to repent in a valiant attempt, it's no use"
- "put the pieces back together, nothing lasts forever"
- "the truth of a moment, cuts like a knife"
- "some rise by sin and some by virtue fall"
- "although I fight like hell, there's just no certainty"

it resonates with me and I can relate to that to some degree, making it a very satisfactory experience.
And these are just a few lines from the album that I really like in some way or the other. Without the music, of course, it certainly wouldn't be the same.
So, for me the lyrics discussion is moot, because I frankly care more about the emotional impact than the depth. When both things come together, it can intensify the experience, of course.
But if I should decide between good music with okay lyrics and good lyrics with okay music, I would certainly prefer the former, because even perfect lyrics with (for me) non-relatable music would do nothing for me at all.

 

[Drunc]

I dunno, man... SX's lyrics not only make me feel nothing, but they are so much cheesier than the style requires. I really dislike the lyrics, but I only started to notice it on PL and onward.

Here's an excerpt from PoS's Without a Trace:

"I never knew your name but I will miss you just the same
I was to live for you I lost the will to live at all the day you came
It'll never be the same but I will love you just the same
You were to be the first, how wonderful
Now I will always fear to hope again

The irony Of seeing me whispering through her skin
So joyfully To our child there deep within
Or of when she called to me To tell me cheerfully
That she had seen your shape On a hospital screen
And of nurses being concerned That you never moved or turned
Too late we see the warnings Too late we learn

I never saw your face and now you're gone without a trace
Except the trace of blood that's deeply scarred into my eyes To fill your place
It'll never be the same but I will love you just the same
I was prepared to be your father How can I ever prepare for that again?"

I feel something. There's a story here. To me, these kinds of lyrics are so much more impactful, but I understand they're not for everybody.

Thank you for that and I appreciate your opinion but you are right, it's not for everyone, including me. I far prefer the lyrics in Charon and Kiss of Fire (to be more recent).

That said, a truly moving (and sadly true) story about the loss of a child is penned by Tino Troy of Praying Mantis. The song is called Naked and is excellent, possibly one of their best.

 

[anonym115]

When I listen to Underworld and Odyssey in particular, there is a fantastic sequence of imagery running around in my head. Sometimes epic and grand, and sometimes dark and rancid. I am able to get a picturebook moving slowly in my head of what I'm listening to. This is ultimately one of the reasons that UW and Odyssey have a (slight) edge over V for me.

Could the lyrics be better? Always. Could the music be better? Always. Really though, that's just not the point whatsoever. Everything can always be better.

 

[Krondor]

When I listen to Underworld and Odyssey in particular, there is a fantastic sequence of imagery running around in my head. Sometimes epic and grand, and sometimes dark and rancid. I am able to get a picturebook moving slowly in my head of what I'm listening to. This is ultimately one of the reasons that UW and Odyssey have a (slight) edge over V for me.

Could the lyrics be better? Always. Could the music be better? Always. Really though, that's just not the point whatsoever. Everything can always be better.

Weird that V doesn't do this for you.. I think V is pretty "epic and grand". :Spin:

 

[anonym115]

V is about nothing, though. Something something ancient future.

 

[iceandfire84]

V is about nothing, though. Something something ancient future.

I would highly disagree. I personally get solid imagery listening to all of their albums but V has a really cool story. Here's the high points.

It's essentially the story of a cosmic intelligence which colonized Atlantis who went power crazy. They created a new entity of beings but something went horribly wrong and they were altered into part human, part beast. The foremost of those was created from the energy of the Atlantean leader Ptah-Khnemu.

They were banished and not heard of again until they day they returned to destroy Atlantis. The Atlanteans feared the coming conflict and looked to the sky for a bringer of balance who was delivered to them. The Atlaneans used their supreme weapon to attempt to destroy the legion but they ultimately destroyed themselves, sinking Atlantis into the sea. They were able to send off the bringer of balance, then just a child, into the sea in search of hope.

The child floated to Egypt where she was rescued and brought before the king. They realized what she was and worshiped her as a prophet of the way of balance. Her writings were kept in a sacred book for future civilizations to learn the way of balance. The dark side of Ptah-Khnemu discovered the child and summoned the army of the dead to seige the city and claim the child for himself forever plunging the world into darkness. He succeeded and destroyed the balance by killing the child.

Balance forever lost, this has created an impact through to our current time. Darkness will forever be the stronger force. The end signals a call for hope when balance can be regained through an alignment of the planets where Ptah-Khemnu and his dark side could battle for balance once again. The dawn of that battle would leave humanity to try and rediscover what it is they lost, leaving our fate to ourselves alone.

I don't know about you but that's pretty damn epic and every bit as awesome a fictional story as the Odyssey or Inferno. They're all really about nothing in the end. Just fun stories to pass the time. Definitely gotta say though that the imagery in V is very vivid for me personally.

 

[anonym115]

I got less than half of that at best from all my dozens and dozens of listens to V. Now that I know it, I am sure I still won't really be transported to the scene as vividly as I am with the other two albums in question. The ideas and story behind Odyssey and Underworld were almost immediately apparent and flash graphically through my mind, on the other hand. I haven't actually sat down to read the lyrics to V since I first listened to it, though, and I was a much less mature musician and audiophile back then. It is probably about time for me to hit the book again.