I have been spinning the new Symphony X cd for quite awhile now and have had a chance to fully give it a fair shot. I had read the board and wanted to see what people were saying about it. I loved hearing that it was heavy and "pissed & angry" but was really nervous when I heard that Russ was in the Aggressive mode. I have to admit I am a HUGE fan of the nice Russ. To me his softer and cleaner moments are classic. So now that I have been sitting with this one a bit here are my thoughts.
PARADISE LOST - First off I have to say that this cd sounds really good. They added some punch to the guitars and the vocals. That is good news, I just wish they would get the drum sound up front too. I think the production could still be better but as far as SX discs go this one sounds good. Okay, i will have to say it right here, I LOVE THIS CD!!! All worries were gone the minute that Russ opened his mouth. This cd is angry and pissed off sounding and Russ hits it perfectly. Wow, this man is bad ass on this cd. I still like his cleaner vocals but in no way does the aggressive singing distract from the music. As a matter of fact, it makes it better. Russ nails it on this one. I love everything on this cd. Listen to Domination and then listen to the Title Track, hard to believe that is the same guy. There is plenty of aggression, plenty of melody and plenty of guitar solos. Mr. Romeo does some killer riffage as well as some killer solos. I love all of the guitar solos on this cd. Wow, this guy can play and has some pretty nasty chops on this one. The keys are amazing as well. Blend in perfectly. The drums are great, I just wish they would bring the drum sound up a bit. I think Rullo is an incredible drummer and i can't always hear what they are doing. Symphony X was my first band in this genre and is probably my favorite. They did not disappoint with this release. This has it all. It would be a close race but this is Allen and Romeo's finest moment. They both shine on this cd. Well worth the wait and I hope that they will not wait so long with the next release. Something else i noticed and am surprised it does not turn me off, this disc has a little modernized sound to it. I think it is so well done and done with enough attitude, it works.
I wanted to go ahead and rate the Symphony X cd's. I will first start out by saying that i did not like the Self titled disc at all. Did not like the singer and i thought the production was terrible so it did not stay with me long at all. If you can't tell, the way a disc sounds is really important to me.
1. The Divine Wings of Tragedy - my first cd from Symphony X and my favorite. This disc is amazing. I remember when i first got my hands on this one, i was floored and could not get enough of it. For the time, it sounds great and the songs are amazing. Plenty of clean and moments of harsh vocals from russ. This disc has my favorite song from the band. The Accolade. I love this song!! This disc is amazing from start to finish. Not a bad song on the disc.
2. Paradise Lost - Totally amazed at this cd and it is a close 2nd to TDWOT. Russ and M Romeo shine on this one. It has been said, heavy and angry. Love this cd!!!
3. V - This cd is awesome as well. To me this is the most polished SX cd. This one has class written all over it. I love the story line and the songs are fantastic. This one to me could almost be a movie score. Production is pretty good and the instrumentals are awesome. This cd still gets plenty of spins from me. great cd.
4. The Odyssey - Ok, i was a little disappointed on this one. I did not like the production at all. This one has a very raw feel. I like the more polished sound. The music was pretty good but i was very thrown off by the aggressiveness of Russ. Funny I say that b/c on Paradise Lost, i think his aggressive style is awesome. It is almost like he perfected the agressiveness with Paradise Lost. There are some good songs on here but the production really hampers me from listeneing to this one much. Favorite song is The Accolade 2.
5. Twilight in Olympus - This one was really a let down for me after the mighty TDWOT. Besides the first two songs on the cd, I think the rest of the cd is pretty bad. Just my thoughts, but it feels like this cd was rushed and just did not seem to have the detail the other cd's had. I thought the production was terrible and i really missed the drumming of rullo. I am sure the guy they had for this cd behind the kit was good, but i like rullo's style and think it fits with SX. This cd does not get many spins from me.
6. The Damnation Game - There are some good songs on here but the production really turns me off on this one. The music is good and there are some great songs. Production is the only reason why this one sits so low. Favorite song is Winters Dream.
Would love to see your comments and thoughts.
Thank you,
Brand
PARADISE LOST - First off I have to say that this cd sounds really good. They added some punch to the guitars and the vocals. That is good news, I just wish they would get the drum sound up front too. I think the production could still be better but as far as SX discs go this one sounds good. Okay, i will have to say it right here, I LOVE THIS CD!!! All worries were gone the minute that Russ opened his mouth. This cd is angry and pissed off sounding and Russ hits it perfectly. Wow, this man is bad ass on this cd. I still like his cleaner vocals but in no way does the aggressive singing distract from the music. As a matter of fact, it makes it better. Russ nails it on this one. I love everything on this cd. Listen to Domination and then listen to the Title Track, hard to believe that is the same guy. There is plenty of aggression, plenty of melody and plenty of guitar solos. Mr. Romeo does some killer riffage as well as some killer solos. I love all of the guitar solos on this cd. Wow, this guy can play and has some pretty nasty chops on this one. The keys are amazing as well. Blend in perfectly. The drums are great, I just wish they would bring the drum sound up a bit. I think Rullo is an incredible drummer and i can't always hear what they are doing. Symphony X was my first band in this genre and is probably my favorite. They did not disappoint with this release. This has it all. It would be a close race but this is Allen and Romeo's finest moment. They both shine on this cd. Well worth the wait and I hope that they will not wait so long with the next release. Something else i noticed and am surprised it does not turn me off, this disc has a little modernized sound to it. I think it is so well done and done with enough attitude, it works.
I wanted to go ahead and rate the Symphony X cd's. I will first start out by saying that i did not like the Self titled disc at all. Did not like the singer and i thought the production was terrible so it did not stay with me long at all. If you can't tell, the way a disc sounds is really important to me.
1. The Divine Wings of Tragedy - my first cd from Symphony X and my favorite. This disc is amazing. I remember when i first got my hands on this one, i was floored and could not get enough of it. For the time, it sounds great and the songs are amazing. Plenty of clean and moments of harsh vocals from russ. This disc has my favorite song from the band. The Accolade. I love this song!! This disc is amazing from start to finish. Not a bad song on the disc.
2. Paradise Lost - Totally amazed at this cd and it is a close 2nd to TDWOT. Russ and M Romeo shine on this one. It has been said, heavy and angry. Love this cd!!!
3. V - This cd is awesome as well. To me this is the most polished SX cd. This one has class written all over it. I love the story line and the songs are fantastic. This one to me could almost be a movie score. Production is pretty good and the instrumentals are awesome. This cd still gets plenty of spins from me. great cd.
4. The Odyssey - Ok, i was a little disappointed on this one. I did not like the production at all. This one has a very raw feel. I like the more polished sound. The music was pretty good but i was very thrown off by the aggressiveness of Russ. Funny I say that b/c on Paradise Lost, i think his aggressive style is awesome. It is almost like he perfected the agressiveness with Paradise Lost. There are some good songs on here but the production really hampers me from listeneing to this one much. Favorite song is The Accolade 2.
5. Twilight in Olympus - This one was really a let down for me after the mighty TDWOT. Besides the first two songs on the cd, I think the rest of the cd is pretty bad. Just my thoughts, but it feels like this cd was rushed and just did not seem to have the detail the other cd's had. I thought the production was terrible and i really missed the drumming of rullo. I am sure the guy they had for this cd behind the kit was good, but i like rullo's style and think it fits with SX. This cd does not get many spins from me.
6. The Damnation Game - There are some good songs on here but the production really turns me off on this one. The music is good and there are some great songs. Production is the only reason why this one sits so low. Favorite song is Winters Dream.
Would love to see your comments and thoughts.
Thank you,
Brand
