Symphony X: The Anthology

[iceandfire84]

Hi everyone. So a friend of mine has been dabbling in metal lately and has shown some interest in some of the symphony x i have played for him. I was inspired to make an anthology of songs for him that I feel represent the entirety of their catalog (minus the debut album...don't want to scare him off before he gets hooked ).

My idea was to make 3 CD's showcasing the early days, latter days, and epics of the band. I wanted to take at least two songs from every album if i could, keep each CD under 60 minutes, and have a mix of song types. Being a fan of nearly all of their material I had to leave a lot of awesome stuff out, but it was great fun to try and piece together something like this. Would love what songs other people would include with an anthology like this. Feel free to share!

The Early Days (Damnation Game - V):

1) Of Sins and Shadows (4:58)
2) Sea of Lies (4:19)
3) Through the Looking Glass (13:06)
4) Fallen (5:51)
5) Egypt (7:04)
6) Candlelight Fantasia (6:45)
7) Smoke and Mirrors (6:08)
8) The Edge of Forever (8:59)

The Latter Days (The Odyssey - Iconoclast):

1) Iconoclast (10:53)
2) Awakenings (8:22)
3) Inferno (5:33)
4) Accolade II (7:54)
5) Revelation (9:18)
6) The Walls of Babylon (8:16)
7) When All Is Lost (9:10)

The Epics:

1) The Divine Wings of Tragedy (20:43)
2) Rediscovery (Segue) (1:25)
3) Rediscovery (Part II) (12:01)
4) The Odyssey (24:14)

 

[UnholyCrusada]

Looks pretty good to me, but how could you possibly include the Accolade II without the original?

I personally would have put some other stuff like Communion and the Oracle and Church of the Machine for the first disc, and Set the World on Fire and Wicked (or maybe King of Terrors) on the second. I probably would have also included Rediscovery on the third disc, since IMO it's right up there with the two 20+ minute epics.

 

[iceandfire84]

I had both Communion and Church in there for my first attempt but took them out for various reasons. With Candlelight Fantasia and to an extent TtLG, I didn't want to get too crazy with the slower songs and I like both of those better than Communion so I had to drop it. I had Church in there instead of Smoke and Mirrors originally, but the disc was too long to fit so I had to remove it.

I absolutely love the second album though. Wicked is great and if I didn't all ready have three Odyssey songs in there I would have definitely put it in there. The entirety of PL with the exception of Revelation and Babylon is pretty underwhelming in my opinion so those were easy choices. I also completely agree about Rediscovery. Perfect for the Epics album and it would still make the time limit. Definitely going to add both parts in there.

Accolade is another one of those I wish I had some room for, but just couldn't again due to length. Accolade II is in my top 3 songs by the band so there's no way I could leave that one out even without it's papa.

Anyway, thanks for the great feedback! It's hard as hell to fit everything great about this band into just three CD's .

 

[masqueraded]

Interesting. I do it in two ways. For a new listener, I give songs according to the listeners taste. Like heavy or soft songs. For a listener who have already heard Their songs , I make a compilation of all the albums and Members' side projects. But your way looks good to give an overall representation to a listener. I will probably follow this method too.

I would include Masquerade and Absinthe And Rue in the early days. Also The Death Of Balance Lacrymosa will carry another notion of Their instrumental mastery. Its really hard to make a compilation because of the greatness of all songs !

The Latter days and Epics look good as it is. Great work

 

[Wander]

You could move Through the Looking Glass to the epics disc to make up room for The Accolade, which you kind of should include. That would be maybe one too many Divine Wings tracks then though. But there are passable replacements for any of those from the other albums.

I suppose it would be a decent mix to give to a newcomer to listen to.

 

[Marwen]

We had a thread like this once. If memory serves well, it was started by Jax.

Not saying that you shouldn't have started this one, just that you may find even more suggestions there.

EDIT: Okay here it is http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/symphonyx/321878-build-symx-sampler.html (but this was before Iconoclast came out, not that it would significantly alter my picks)

 

[Liampie]

I love making random lists.

Symphony X - Ultimate Collector's Best Hits Collection
CD 1 - 1995-1998
The Damnation Game
Of Sins and Shadows
The Accolade
The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Candlelight Fantasia
Through the Looking Glass

Symphony X - Ultimate Collector's Best Hits Collection
CD 2 - 2000-2002
Evolution
Egypt
Rediscovery
Inferno
Accolade II
The Odyssey

Symphony X - Ultimate Collector's Best Hits Collection
CD 3 - 2007-2011
Se the World on Fire
Paradise Lost
The Walls of Babylon
Revelation
Iconoclast
The End of Innocence
When All Is Lost
Reign in Madness

All discs around one hour. Healthy mix of catchy tunes and the more epic tunes.

 

[Sauna]

Y'all have made great lists from an anthology point of view, but if the aim really was to introduce someone to the band, I wouldn't overburden the guy with three hours of music (especially if the person has only shown "some interest" in the band). I'd just keep it short(ish) and sweet:

Oculus Ex Inferni/Set the World on Fire
The Accolade
The Relic
Communion and the Oracle
Iconoclast
Awakenings

I know The Relic is a weird pick, but I've always loved that song for some reason.

 

[churchofthemachine]

Y'all have made great lists from an anthology point of view, but if the aim really was to introduce someone to the band, I wouldn't overburden the guy with three hours of music (especially if the person has only shown "some interest" in the band). I'd just keep it short(ish) and sweet:.

You're right. Sometimes less is more.

 

[iceandfire84]

I have to agree as well. The buddy I'm making the discs for has listened to the Odyssey and Awakenings and really enjoyed both but still no reason to get too out of control. I'll probably give him the early/latter day discs and hold off on the epics. Plus as someone said earlier, it's good to let people discover new great songs if they're really into it. I also think I'm going to have to find a way to work in The Accolade on the first disc. Probably will have to swap it with Candlelight Fantasia to keep things relatively spread out.

 

[Baroque]

Very nice list. I personally would have included Evolution if I was introducing someone to the band, since that's the song that hooked me, way back when. I might have included Oculus Ex Inferni too, to show off Romeo's composition skills. I like some of the newer stuff too, that doesn't seem to have much of a presence there. Like Eve of Seduction off of Paradise Lost, I love that song. or The End of Innocence off of Iconoclast.

I was really happy to see Divine Wings and The Odyssey on there though, two of most epic songs ever written, in my opinion.