How Did You Discover Symphony X???

Actually i was looking for India, and i thought i arrived there, but soon i realised that i am on a new land and the world is actually round. :loco:
 
I discovered Symphony X while looking for long epic songs. The Odyssey was the first Symphony X song I ever heard.
 
Okay, here comes my story:

It must have been early 1998 (since it was about the time when Twilight in Olympus was being released). Me an a friend of mine were learning for a few exams at University. It was quite intense because we only had about four days until the first exam and then three days until the next one and we hadn't really started learning, yet (because I had another exam the day before...). So we learned all day and well into the night at his apartment during that week, only stopping to eat and sleep.
During the breaks, he would often play Symphony X (The Damnation Game and Divine Wings albums). Since I already knew Dream Theater and liked the neo-classical parts from Yngwie Malmsteen very much, I grew very interested in them over that period of learning, at first without really noticing myself. After our exams were over, I immediately went and bought their newest output Twilight in Olympus (since my friend didn't have it, yet). I instantly liked it a lot (and still do!). It didn't take long (about a month, I guess) for me to buy Damnation Game and Divine Wings, too and that still wasn't enough, so I went out and bought the self titled, too (and was a bit dissappointed like the most, even though there are some very cool parts there - They should really re-record some tracks - Thorns of Sorrow for example could rock soo much!).
Another album that I discovered during that time was "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" from Blind Guardian - another classic piece!

Then came the looooong wait without any news from Symphony, during which I kept myself busy listening to all of their stuff.

The wait was considerably shortened, though by the release of Dream Theater's masterpiece (Scenes From a Memory), which really made me forget about almost everything else for quite a while...wow - what an album!

And then, finally - the news of a new Symphony X album!! And there it was: V - The New Mythology Suite. Bought it at the first day of release and placed it into the CD-Player with quite high anticipation, all their different stuff in mind and......wow, was I disappointed after listening to it the first time - no really catchy melodies that got stuck in my mind....it was all a mishmash of sounds that sounded familiar with new stuff that my mind wasn't able to sort apart. Was there not one complete, homogenous song on that album??? Was there no structure?! The only part that I really remembered was the intro of Egypt. Okay - at least that one was classic and a really good idea.
But I wouldn't give up so soon. I listened to it again and then again and again and once more and every time there would be more pieces that seperated themselves from the rest to form a picture. Man! And what a picture that was! It was a picture of pure genius and beauty and complexity and I still stand before it in awe, every time I listen to that album!

It is for me the best album of all time (although it had to compete with Scenes From a Memory for quite a while) and I cannot see that changing anytime soon!

You can imagine that the years until The Odyssey went by without much time for anticipation (even though there was some, when Odyssey was announced and arrived, finally). The Odyssey struck me as a hard album with a lot of cool stuff and riffs, which kept me entertained for quite a while. But I grew tired of some of it after about a year or so and while it still a good album, I find myself not listening to it too often anymore.

So, here's the story so far....and it seems, that soon it will go on with another classic chapter of Symphony's music. And while I try not to expect anything (that way you cannot get disappointed because your expectation weren't met ;) ), the anticipation for new and potentially good music is already there!
 
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an online friend suggested some songs for me to download, among them were a couple of symphony x songs from v... that was years and years ago, well before i went to the states... but i was hooked and went and bought all the cd's i could lay my hands on, including the self-titled one.

the swine to whom i'm unfortunately still married managed to get me an autographed photo of all the guys which is now securely attached to my closet door, along with some posters that adorn my closet and wall... very sad for one of my great age, haha!!!!
 
I was about 13/14 when a friend told me to download The Accolade. I was hooked. V was released about a month or two later, and I went out and bought it, and I've been a fan ever since.
 
I took lessons with Joe Nevolo of Shadow Gallery, and Jason Rullo taught at the studio Joe owns. Joe and Jason said I would like Symphony X, and they were right! that was about 5 or 6 years ago.

I still keep in touch with Joe, but Jason is no longer teaching there, so I haven't seen him since Gigantour last year here in Jersey.
 
Metallica -> Dream Theater -> SX -> other prog -> other metal


yup me too, got into metallica because of a friend who was into them...

heard about DT covering master of puppets its some show in some country...

heard about some guy named michael romeo on the guitar forums at the DT website.

found out he was in some lame band called symphonyx.

found out symphony x was pretty damn awesome for a lame band when i listened to the freebies on the website.

found the oddysey in a music store and thought it was, oh how should i put this... I know!!! Like music to my ears!!!

found V on a shelf at another music store and bought it, it was really different from the start, (which at that time i was still somewhat at odds with,wasn't big into the classical inspiration, least not til the album ended), then the second track started and like 2 seconds later i loved it cuz evolution kicked my ass like 6 times at once with the same foot. the album ended and i realized classical music kicks major heavy metal iron plated ass.

bought DWoT, TiO, DG, and SX all at same time online somewhere. yeah they rule, even SX has its moments, though you guys are right, theres some pretty subpar stuff on there (but even MJR has admitted to that on the interview on the cd).

got dark chapter, realized life is worth living.

got atomic soul, realized I couldn't sing for shit.

got wind of paradise lost, over a year now without a fresh breath of air.
 
I was into Dream Theater; I had bought Awake and Octavarium. One day when I was on the internet The Diving Wings of Tragedy came onto pandora and I was like, 'I've GOT to get some of this stuff.'
 
To get back to topic...

Well, me getting into Symphony X was actually kinda a long process.
My first touch to Symphony X was when I was loading Guitar Pro 4 tabs for my computer from mysongbook with my friend and a tab called "The Odyssey" was voted to be the best tab in some genre (can't remember which) so we downloaded it. We were quite amused when we found out HOW DAMN LONG that song was. My friend just thought that it was some "wannabe art music" and still dislikes Syphony X. But I thought that The Odyssey was pretty amazing if not even a masterpiece. At that time I had never heard anything like it before, I think I was listening to bands like Metallica and C.O.B at that time. After a while I decided to download The Odyssey for my computer to see what the real record is like. It was pretty cool and over time I began to like it more and more. I also downloaded some other single songs from other albums.

At some point, I had became a fan of it (not even noticing when) and I felt like I had to buy their albums instead of just downloading them. I first bought TDWOT, cause I hadn't heard of it much yet. It was and still is amazing! Next one was The Odyssey and now I'm waiting for Paradise Lost.

I'm thinking about getting every single album over time. Not sure tho.
 
We were some friends and one bought DWoT... What an incredible kick to our ... :lol:
Finally I gone to the shop to buy the 2 first albums the day after....

And now.... I'm waiting for our final musical punishment..... :headbang: