Sym X a-like bands

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Indestructible

New Metal Member
Nov 17, 2010
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Hi everyone. Been a long time since I dropped by here - hope everyone's as excited as me about the new Sym X album.

Well, Ive heard about a few bands that are similar to or were influenced by Sym X being mentioned around here somewhere...and one of them Ive got to check out and yeah their sound was pretty similar. Now I consider myself the kind of guy that will dig as deep as needed to find what I want - and being so bored from listening to the current Sym X albums that were already released. I thought, why not give sth new a try.

I heard there are many projects in which singer Russell Allen was involved. Are those worth checking out for example? I also heard of a NEW 2015 band russell is involved in - any news on their album's release yet?

I really like Allen's voice but I also like the overall unique sound of the band, a sound that obviously cannot be imitated by anybody since its so special but there obviously may be bands out there worth checking out with a touch of Sym X present in their music. I'd love to check those out sometime.
 
Check out the Allen-Lande albums, they feature Russell and Jorn Lande as the lead singers and serve up some fun, enjoyable power metal. The first album is probably the best, but they're all worth a listen. http://youtu.be/uTV7QUoh89M

I really enjoy Russell Allen's solo album, but it's more simplistic and bluesy than SX. http://youtu.be/Sztp0cVYjGM

As for his other stuff, he has some guest appearances here and there that are good, check out ReVamp - "Sweet Curse", Ayreon - "Dawn of a Million Souls", as well as work with Avantasia and Star One.

I highly recommend AGAINST listening to Adrenaline Mob. It will hurt your overall opinion of Russell Allen, unless you're into simplistic music and dumb, caveman lyrics.

As for others bands that are similar to Symphony X, look into other progressive metal acts:
- Dream Theater has all of the prog elements of Symphony X, but not the majesty or soul.
- Seventh Wonder is great and highly recommended.
- There's a smaller band from New Jersey called Suspyre that has a lot of Symphony X similarities. The singer even occasionally sounds like Russell (in his mid-range).
 
EyeballKid said:
Check out the Allen-Lande albums, they feature Russell and Jorn Lande as the lead singers and serve up some fun, enjoyable power metal. The first album is probably the best, but they're all worth a listen. http://youtu.be/uTV7QUoh89M

I really enjoy Russell Allen's solo album, but it's more simplistic and bluesy than SX. http://youtu.be/Sztp0cVYjGM

As for his other stuff, he has some guest appearances here and there that are good, check out ReVamp - "Sweet Curse", Ayreon - "Dawn of a Million Souls", as well as work with Avantasia and Star One.

I highly recommend AGAINST listening to Adrenaline Mob. It will hurt your overall opinion of Russell Allen, unless you're into simplistic music and dumb, caveman lyrics.

As for others bands that are similar to Symphony X, look into other progressive metal acts:
- Dream Theater has all of the prog elements of Symphony X, but not the majesty or soul.
- Seventh Wonder is great and highly recommended.
- There's a smaller band from New Jersey called Suspyre that has a lot of Symphony X similarities. The singer even occasionally sounds like Russell (in his mid-range).
Click to expand...
Suspyre and Seventh Wonder - those Ive never heard before. Thanks, I'll check them out. I also know another band I was told about, "Shadow gallery", which I was told may have sth interesting to offer too. Suspyre looks like really a kind of band directly influenced by Sym X if you're saying they're from nj and the vocalist sounds like Allen sometimes.
 
Suspyre is definitely influenced directly by Symphony X, though they add a lot more jazz to their sonic mix.

Seventh Wonder are amazing. Check out the entire Great Escape record or Waiting in The Wings. Their second album, Mercy Falls, is very good, but falls victim to some cheesy voiceover work.
 
I recently came across this video on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIN0uyp3dFc

and I was surprised at how many Symphony-X alike bands there actually were/are.
I am currently listening to some of them and you cannot deny the influence of earlier Symphony X / Malmsteen.

Namely there are:
- Time Requiem (listen to The Talisman or Above and Beyond for very SymphonyX alike music)
- Richard Andersson's Space Odyssey
- Majestic (the former band from a member of Time Requiem and Space Odyssey)
- Andromeda
- Ring of Fire
- Iron Mask
- Silent Edge
- Evil Masquerade
- Outworld

I had never heard of any of them before and it seems that many around here haven't either (which really surprises me, because some of them sound really close), so go on and listen to them when you crave some old-school Symphony X vibes :)

I Symphony is aware of all these bands, I can really understand their wish and need to evolve beyond that early neoclassical sound to evolve beyond the competition...
 
Oh, Harmony seems to be another band that goes into the right direction.
What many of them lack IMHO is the punch and tightness in their material.
 
Neva Kee said:
I Symphony is aware of all these bands, I can really understand their wish and need to evolve beyond that early neoclassical sound to evolve beyond the competition...
Click to expand...
Overheard in The Dungeon:

"Hmm, there are now 10 other bands that play our brand of progressive neoclassical power metal. What can we do to stand out from the crowd?"

"I know! Let's switch to playing mainstream heavy metal!"

Sorry, couldn't resist ;) [I do, generally, like Symphony X evolving...]

Enjoying Time Requiem, by the way.

Neva Kee said:
What many of them lack IMHO is the punch and tightness in their material.
Click to expand...
Very true. Which is why it's very hard to get good recommendations based on genre alone. There's good and bad music in almost every genre; what's rare is excellent execution.
 
Gaussian said:
Overheard in The Dungeon:

"Hmm, there are now 10 other bands that play our brand of progressive neoclassical power metal. What can we do to stand out from the crowd?"

"I know! Let's switch to playing mainstream heavy metal!"
Click to expand...

I think that still with all the smaller and larger changes in their music, Symphony X really stand out from mainstream metal as well as progressive music, because they combine both in a catchy and groovy way that no one else does as good IMHO (not that I enjoy every song, but there are so many good ones that those few don't really matter).

Noone else reaches this level of playful, interesting, melodic tightness in such a constant way because they are either too simplistic in structure and rhythm (normal mainstream metal) or less focused / too much prog without a sense for the song (lots of prog bands).

While Dream Theater for example has started to just put together random parts to create a prog song and composes a bit of song around that, Symphony creates an idea for a song and runs with it, while always keeping close to the original idea and thus making a coherent song.
And when Romeo talks about doing everything "for the song", I can only wholeheartedly agree to this set of mind.
 
Neva Kee said:
I think that still with all the smaller and larger changes in their music, Symphony X really stand out from mainstream metal as well as progressive music, because they combine both in a catchy and groovy way that no one else does as good IMHO (not that I enjoy every song, but there are so many good ones that those few don't really matter).

Noone else reaches this level of playful, interesting, melodic tightness in such a constant way because they are either too simplistic in structure and rhythm (normal mainstream metal) or less focused / too much prog without a sense for the song (lots of prog bands).

While Dream Theater for example has started to just put together random parts to create a prog song and composes a bit of song around that, Symphony creates an idea for a song and runs with it, while always keeping close to the original idea and thus making a coherent song.
And when Romeo talks about doing everything "for the song", I can only wholeheartedly agree to this set of mind.
Click to expand...

This is a fair assessment. I agree that their old material was superior to the competition because their songs, while profoundly intricate and complex, still sounded good and made sense overall.
 
That's the best part about SX. Even if they simplify things occasionally, they still have that tightness and power that no one else can really match in the same way. In preparation for Underworld, starting today, and beginning with Damnation Game (I don't care for the original album), I am spending an entire day on each studio record, listening repeatedly. Even after all these years, I am shocked to hear alot of modern SX even in the older stuff!
 
Ha ha, I listened to some Space Odyssey. Great stuff. The singer occasionally sounds (appropriately) like an angry opera singing movie monster from outer space :D
 
Hi guys! I registered only to suggest a band I've recently discovered with some obvious Symphony X influence (plus some unique sound to them). I wish Sym X had these keys again so prominent like this band does. This is a Norway band called Tellus Requiem. I think it is worth mention:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb9D7kwmVxk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON4FZQDz-gE

TELLUS REQUIEM (A Norwegian Progressive Metal Band), was formed in 2007 by guitarist Stig Nergård. In 2010 Tellus Requiem released a self-titled debut album digitally. This album opened up some doors for the band, including playing shows with Kalessin, Edenbridge, Pagan's Mind and the notice of people in the know in the prog-power underground.

The large diversity of individual talents in the band contributes to the huge sounding score. Crunchy guitars with fluid leads, blending perfectly, creating a sonic assault for the listener, sending them into a world of music that leaves a lasting impression on their senses long after the music stops. The music can be described as Progressive metal, with influences of Eastern Folk music, and epic film scores. Very melodic with vocal melodies that glue all the crazy phrasings together! Some more obvious influences are; Symphony X, Opeth, Megadeth, Film scores and classical contemporary music. If Symphony X and 18th century German composer Richard Wagner made a baby, it might sound like one of the colors on the surface of TellusImagine the Requiem!

Tellus Requiem means; "The earths death mass." Tellus being Latin for The Earth, Requiem being the last composition a composer writes before they died. The main theme of the the bands musings is about Worlds Shattering. This can either be global, personal, fictional or literary. Leaving it open to interpretation.
Click to expand...

The band is obviously talented and I've been impressed by solos and instrumentals, the vocalist is not Russell but is good enough, with great range and clean singing.


Else I would recommend the Tunisian band Myrath's album Hope - very much neoclassical Symphony X (they started like cover Sym X band) plus their unique Oriental touch, executed brilliantly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rDQccuLEvY


Of course, we can't skip Adagio band from France:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_xY6xNYnP4

Also recommended their first album:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgs6gT0axfc&list=PL4F2D1DFE8A44B2ED


Hope you enjoy at least some of these names mentioned!
 
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