Paradise Lost not the best album

I like Paradise Lost and for me it was the perfect way for Symphony X to go in relation to my own taste in music. I always had a hard time evn with the praised album V because of the very heavy focus on the keys. I also find the vocals on the older albums to be not bad but just there.

So I was happy with The Odyssey and PL because of the, in general, more heavy direction. And I think the vocals is better by far on these later releases. Way more interesting vocal lines. Thats also one of the things I tend to not like about the older S-X stuff - the vocal melodies, especially in choruses, didnt hold their own for me. This has since been a lot better.
 
IMO is a great album... Everytime I listen to "Set the world on fire" makes me wanna kick my mom's head. It works perfectly for headbanging and drumming :D.
It's true although that Pinella's keys are too low, but I think that's what all SX ment.
Anyway, another awesome album from the greatest prog metal band of the world.
 
Production value has been Symphony X's Achilles' Heel since day one. With the Odyssey, it finally sounded like they were getting a grasp on getting a good studio sound, but then they released Paradise Lost...

The guitar tones on PL are just bad. The timbre of the guitars is way too harsh and synthetic. Combine this with the lack of keyboards and you have an album that lacks color and dynamics.

For me, the most distressing part of this whole ordeal is that rookie Prog-Metal bands are releasing well-produced albums on their first try and the Kings of Prog-Metal can't get it right on their seventh outing.
 
I like the production in most Symphony X albums. Ok, so the production propably isn't the "ideal" thing most metal bands seem to go after, but atleast it doesn't sound the fucking same as everyone else.

(Talking about Divine Wins, Twilight etc.)
 
The guitar tones on PL are just bad. The timbre of the guitars is way too harsh and synthetic. Combine this with the lack of keyboards and you have an album that lacks color and dynamics.

I agree with you on this; the guitar tone needs to be a bit more organic and turned down a bit in the mix. Keyboards, obviously, need to be turned up. Also, what happened to the days of P playing a cool tinkly piano part while the rest of the band plays some polyrhythms underneath it? That's the Symphony X I know and love.

Luckily, on PL, the bass and drums sound great. I really hope Lepond keeps the same bass tone on the next album...
 
I like the production in most Symphony X albums. Ok, so the production propably isn't the "ideal" thing most metal bands seem to go after, but atleast it doesn't sound the fucking same as everyone else.

(Talking about Divine Wins, Twilight etc.)

True...the different production on each record makes them more interesting in a way. Think about Through the looking glass with a PL production, it just wouldn't sound right. :p
 
A song like "Serpent's Kiss" might sound more commercial, but it's still a great song anyway.

I find this observation really interesting.

Serpent's Kiss might be the best example of why PL is, indeed, such a good prog album. The song is in a different time-signature almost every four bars -- it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for a non-technical group of musicians to play -- and yet ... yes, I admit, it does sound commercial.

But that's the funny thing. It sounds so radio-oriented that it's easy to forget how bloody technical it really is. The heavier sound has not resulted in blunter music by any means whatsoever. There's some really tightly-crafted and intellectually challenging stuff there. I mean on the whole album.

PL is good, good music, from front to back. Every song is 5 rock-solid stars, without question. (I'm not counting the brief intro track). There are days I want to hear DWOT and there are days I want to hear Walls of Babylon, or Revelation, or Seven, or whatever. It happens a lot.

I will say, however, that yes, there is an "album" feeling missing. I don't like all the songs on V, but it has a cohesive "album" feeling that I really enjoy. And it might also miss that "epic" feeling that DWOT gives us (I might nominate Revelation or Walls of Babylon as nods in that direction), but I really like this album and I would never, ever, think of having a S/X collection without it.

If someone would speak up against this album, would it be okay to check your hard drive and make sure you've deleted it permanently? Hmm. Didn't think so.

And PS: Any red-blooded adult male that can listen to Russell Allen's work on The Sacrifice without getting goosebumps may need to get their pulse checked.
 
I find this observation really interesting.

Serpent's Kiss might be the best example of why PL is, indeed, such a good prog album. The song is in a different time-signature almost every four bars -- it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for a non-technical group of musicians to play -- and yet ... yes, I admit, it does sound commercial.

But that's the funny thing. It sounds so radio-oriented that it's easy to forget how bloody technical it really is. The heavier sound has not resulted in blunter music by any means whatsoever. There's some really tightly-crafted and intellectually challenging stuff there. I mean on the whole album.
that 's a good point .


And PS: Any red-blooded adult male that can listen to Russell Allen's work on The Sacrifice without getting goosebumps may need to get their pulse checked.
:lol: +1
 
Interesting; I've always thought that the title track and Eve of Seduction were the most "commercial" songs from the album. I found it odd that the band chose Serpent's Kiss for a video, as the song doesn't really have a "radio" chorus (or ANY chorus, for that matter)...