Symphony X--The Album!

[ElPredicador]

not everyone is a virtuoso at singing at the same tone all the time.

true. But also remember tha you usually don't record a song you can't play live. I mean, it would suck big time if SX had to play their songs half speed because Romeo or Piniella couldn't play that fast...

 

[Androz]

Just one song... Lullaby for Lucifer, he sings off tone even in the studio version (thank god they didnt play it live)

 

[Korona]

Ive always thought of "Symphony X" as the freakish experiment that was almost perfect but in places went oh so wrong, so that although it is dearly loved, ultimatly it must be locked in the basement to flop around and be fed on scraps.

The problem with slating the vocalist is that the vocals for a large part of the album actually carry the melody. If you could take a scalple and remove the overly bad parts (absinthe and ruuuuuue) I think it would be a pretty listenable album.

As for it being better than Odyssey, heh not when the Odyssey contains "The Accolade Part 2" and the title track. The Odyssey is overated in a lot of places though and a remake and overhaul of Symphony X done now would probably destroy it.

I think the comparison to Orchid is pretty valid, but Orchid is a ton better. The poor sound quality is less of an issue and where it is, if anything it adds to the death sound. I also think that the tracks are pretty interesting as they show that Opeth even in the early days were about more than just crushing death riffs. There are parts of tracks like the mellow part 3 or so minutes into "The Twilight Is My Robe" which just blow me away. Also it doesn't contain parts where you cringe or crappy midi synth.

 

[Metropolis Part 2]

@Korona- Very well said, I feel that the Odyssey is completely overrated, its just not the best effort SX has done. Some songs on that album I just didn't like at all.

 

[Rose Immortal]

Well, at least I can understand Rod Tyler when he sings, on S/T. Now, to Mikael Akerfeldt's credit, he improved dramatically in future albums, but it kinda annoys me at times on that album, as well as some of the awkward stops and starts in the compositions themselves. Granted, there are some very cool parts, though.

Now, I DO love "Accolade II", "Awakenings", and the title track on The Odyssey. But thanks to some unpleasant mixing on certain songs (yes, there's not a sound-quality problem...I refer to mixing), and the fact that they are weak for a band that's at this point in their career, I just cannot think highly of the album as a whole and want to listen to it regularly. Symphony X is different...it was good for what the band had at the time, has some good songs, and does not annoy me to where I can't stand to listen to the whole thing all the way through, which is more than I can say for The Odyssey.

 

[Masterous]

I'd like to hear a remake of Symphony X's self-titled album...It would be great! Has anybody noticed that Russell's vocals in The Damnation Game sound quite similar when compared to Rod's vocals in Symphony X -album? Of course they both sound a little different, but when you listen to The Damnation Game you can sense that those vocals were written to Rod...Or was it just Russell's style on those days...? However...It's not a surprise that I like more Russell's vocals...=o)

 

[delt]

well, they re-did "masquerade" it's on odyssey and on some compilation cd........ i like the new version better.

this thing reminds me of the old singer Dream Theater had on their first album, i liked his voice better than James Labrie (he's still very good - and a fellow canadian) but that other guy had much more emotion in his singing, especially on "afterlife" and "status seeker".