A lot of people think that Symphony X got heavier... they didn't. I think this is a return to what they are. Listen to Damnation Game and listen to PL and you will notice a lot of similarities. Its more guitar driven and more metalish. The middle albums are more proggy. So in essence, they didn't change at all but went back to their roots, though not as far back as their first album thankfully.
I somewhat agree with you.
IMO the main reason why a lot of people think Symphony X got heavier in PL is the production. The guitars' tone are WAY more aggressive/high-gainy/trebly/in your face...etc. Same goes for the bass. Listen to the beginning of Domination, I've never heard Lepond's tone being THIS overdriven and in your face. Vocals are more aggressive too (as has been discussed before).
They did go back to their roots with the heavier stuff and all, but I still believe that PL actually IS the heaviest and most riff-driven of their albums, that is in terms of the way the music itself was made (apart from the production) combined with the notable decrease of cheesiness that Yngvai X mentioned above.
I agree that the keyboards could have been louder and had more presence
The way I see it, Keyboards are usually atmospheric/ambient. They sit in the back of the mix (except for solos...etc), so the louder you make them (compared to other instruments) the less aggressive/in your face the song becomes, which obviously would be against the album's style/direction. So I think it was a conscious effort from them to have "less" keyboards (it's mostly there, just less loud/more "lost in the mix", so to speak. In 'Set the World on Fire' for instance, Pinella is playing his strings patch throughout the song, it's just too low, almost inaudible).
It proved to be great. Kick-ass album, no complaints.
It certainly is not something I wish they stick with though. I personally would love to hear another V
and yeah man, another big epic would be awesome too.
