Iconoclast spoiler thread

I thought I would never say this, but this is an album that is ruined by Russell Allen. Yes his voice still sounds great, he still belts it out with the best of them, but these lyrics and these vocal melodies are so phoned in an lazy that it's not even funny.

It's at least a little funny. During my first listen I was doing gmail chat with a friend talking about to real nice riffs, and then Russ chimed in and was like OH NO LOL. We're Symphony X fans -naturally we don't require exceptionally inspired vocals to be content. But I think we need something above the level of "just plain bad".

I realize a lot of people find what I'm saying abrasive. If you can dig this stuff, I'm glad, your taste means you can enjoy the riffs without the detraction in the vocal department. Personally, I found it pretty laughably bad, and I wasn't even that critical of PL's vocal work..."I will destroy and unmake you!"
 
a friend of mine got the promo copy for reviewing it,we've got almost same tastes,he said is even better than pl and Odissey ,they got more and more
aggressive without losing the sense of melody. I believe in him, he 's been struck by Russell's voice and MRomeo's work,not forgetting Pinnella. now I'm starting getting anxious
 
Although the classic elements of Symphony X are there - a mini acollade in the middle of When All Is Lost, A great Choir in Iconoclast, MJR bringing something new to his solos (lots of double stops), some groovy odd-metered parts, strange key leads - It's a CD that doesn't stand out in these elements that I think are the essence of Symphony X.

They're jus details in the bigger picture, that is more Power Metal oriented (wich I generally don't like), with double blasting bass drums, cheesy lyrics and melody and more generic riffing (few changes, compared for example to the riff progression on walls Of Babylon or Domination).

When I had only listened to end of innocence and Dehumanized, that sound more like traditional Heavy metal, I didn't expect to be a semi-prog POWER metal style. And the beggining of Reign In Madness, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT BEGGINING? The song is pretty good, but that's the worst part on a SX song ever, even worst than the beggining of Whispers.

My words may seem harsh, but still, if all power metal bands sounded like that, I would definitely be a fan of this style. Although I think it's their weakest, I like it. There's no band out there that does what SX does. Being one of my favorite bands, it's a pretty good CD, but I expected more.
 
think tracks 3-5 (cd 1) are the weakest ones, in no particular order.

might place iconoclast above when all is lost though.

Iconoclast (the song), besides the chorus, is very V'ish.

the production is great

Stylistically, it is very similar to Paradise Lost. A few times I was left wondering "Where have I heard that riff before?", only to realize that the place I had previously heard it was another Symphony X album.

I think it's great, but I miss neoclassical licks on this album.

^^ This

also yes the lyrics are very lacking.....BUT...still good....stfu
:Spin:
 
From what I've heard of this album I can say that it is my all around favorite album from Symphony X now. I know its more on the metal side compared to past albums, but I honestly feel that it is my new favorite album of theirs...or at least tied with V.
 
We live in a fast food musical reality where some fans blocked their minds and only like old stuff, which they call "classic". If Iconoclast had been released in 1997, it would be a classic and fan favorite today. If Divine Wings Of Tragedy had been released in 2011, the same people would say it's "bad" or "crap" and that songs such as Out Of The Ashes, Pharaoh and The Witching Hour are horrible, cheesy, lackluster, etc.
 
And the beggining of Reign In Madness, WHAT THE HECK IS THAT BEGGINING? The song is pretty good, but that's the worst part on a SX song ever, even worst than the beggining of Whispers.

:guh:

The beginning of Whispers is SO sweet. I simply love it!

That of Reign in Madness is so not Symphony X but in a very cool way, I'm really liking it.

Btw did anybody else notice how Opeth'ish that part from 5:44 to 6:15 in Reign in Madness is? :tickled: Oh and the Pinnella solo was awesome!

Killer song. Great metal album. Haters gonna hate.

To call this cd bad is ridiculous. If it is not to your taste that is another thing.

This.
 
Btw did anybody else notice how Opeth'ish that part from 5:44 to 6:15 in Reign in Madness is? :tickled: Oh and the Pinnella solo was awesome!

Killer song. Great metal album. Haters gonna hate.



This.
^ not necessarily Opeth'ish but when i first heard that , it immediately reminded me of 'Porcelain heart' of Opeth :) ....and the keys are indeed awesome and strongly remind me of Dan Swano ....you can tell that there is an obvious Meshuggah and also maybe Candlemass inflence on this album as well .
 
We live in a fast food musical reality where some fans blocked their minds and only like old stuff, which they call "classic". If Iconoclast had been released in 1997, it would be a classic and fan favorite today. If Divine Wings Of Tragedy had been released in 2011, the same people would say it's "bad" or "crap" and that songs such as Out Of The Ashes, Pharaoh and The Witching Hour are horrible, cheesy, lackluster, etc.
+1:worship:
 
We live in a fast food musical reality where some fans blocked their minds and only like old stuff, which they call "classic". If Iconoclast had been released in 1997, it would be a classic and fan favorite today. If Divine Wings Of Tragedy had been released in 2011, the same people would say it's "bad" or "crap" and that songs such as Out Of The Ashes, Pharaoh and The Witching Hour are horrible, cheesy, lackluster, etc.

This is true exactly. That's why I always try never to be too harsh with new material. A new album has a lot of expectations, even if you don't hype it up that much.
 
:guh:

The beginning of Whispers is SO sweet. I simply love it!

Ha ha ha. Universe is now in ballance :). I love Whispers, but that guitar lead in the beggining that repeats in the end, I deleted and the song i'ts about a minute shorter in my MP3. That's the ONLY part in ALL SX songs that I don't like - apart from Rod Tyler vocals, but that's something I can't change at all :(

Unless they someday re-record their first CD. That's number 2 in my "If I won the lottery I'd pay for list", right behind a full orchestrated SX show/DVD :)
 
It is actually possible for music to be bad.

Don't be foolish. Everything is personal preference. Some people think that Cannibal Corpse is an absolutely amazing band. I don't. But I would never call anyone's record "bad". You're either 13 years old, pretentious to the point of it being painful, or both. I don't think I've heard your band. Surely your music is better if you call this album "bad"? Why crap all over this band's forum? If you don't like it, go listen to something else. There's tons of bands out there.