The Odyssey review

[Ultimate_Symphony]

I sure hope this thread doesn't start a flame war Well here's a review I did of The Odyssey. Let me know what you guys think:

Band: Symphony X
Album: The Odyssey
Reviewed by: Ultimate_Symphony
Rating: 9/10

Symphony X's follow up to ''V- The New Mythology Suite'' is another masterpice in it's own right. The band goes in a heavier direction this time, but they still keep the trademark SyX sound. Michael Romeo as always is tight as hell, but he left a little his neo-classical influences and went through a more straightforward route. Russell Allen (as always) does a stellar performance on the songs, although his singing style is definitively more aggressive this time. The album has some of the best songs SyX has ever wrote and even though this album is heavier than their previous releases, the songs still transmit lots of emotion . Here are some of the standout tracks:

Inferno (Unleash The Fire)- Pure riff madness. Russell Allen gives us another great vocal performance (what a chorus!)

Accolade II- The sequel of the classic SyX song ''The Accolade'' is certainly not a filler song. Great keyboard work by Pinella, awesome chorus and Michael Romeo serves us another great solo!.

King Of Terrors- A great song for the typical metalhead. Russell goes a little bit over the top on the harsh vocals, but he makes it up by singing another great chorus. The keyboard presence on this song is slim, but Pinella still gets the job done.

Awakenings- Simply amazing. The song starts with one of the most emotional vocal lines i've ever heard. Pinella shows off his talents on one of his best solos. Midway through the solo, Pinella adds a jazzy feel to the song and ends the solo in a classical fashion.

The Odyssey- Outstanding! This one is the longest track on the album and Michael Romeo shows off his abilities as a composer. The word ''Symphony'' applies perfectly to this song.

Production: 10/10
Musicianship: 10/10
Vocal Performance: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

One of the best albums of the year 2002 and a must hear if you're a prog metal fan.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Ah common' no one has anything to say?

 

[Soul of Ice]

i will, but when i get back...

 

[SyX-Fan]

Originally posted by Ultimate_Symphony
Ah common' no one has anything to say?

Couldn't have written it better myself
Good job.

 

[Dado-x]

Uhm... for some reason, you skipped Wicked.
Cool review BTW!

 

[Soul of Ice]

Back now...

To me The Odyssey as a stand alone album is quite amazing, but not as great once compared to some of their previous work.

True this album was MUCH more metal than they had ever done before, but to me they were more than metal. They were more about the feeling and Emotion. To me "The Odyssey" lacks emotion and seems like a cold album rather than a warmer more inviting one like Divine Wings or Twilight. To me two songs on the Odyssey are two of their best songs ever. They include Accolade II and the amazing Awakenings. I like most of the songs and like them for what they are, but dont get played as often as some of the older discs.

It is true that Russell sings with much more power on this album, but I actually preffered his more mellow approach occasionally belting out some real power. It made his voice much more personal and intriguing to me, rather than having everything right in front of you on The Odyssey.

The guitar is too upfront in the mix. I would prefer to hear a good mixture of all the instruments. Pinella's keys totally got screwed, Rullo's drums sound too sharp and compressed, and I have always had a problem hearing Lepond's bass unless the guitar wasnt playing.

thats my piece on the album. Dont get me wrong I do like it, just not as much as the others...

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Thanks for the input guys

Uhm... for some reason, you skipped Wicked.

I feel that Wicked is a better live song than studio song, that's why I didn't include it on my list. That doesn't mean it's a bad song though oh btw I wrote that review in

Webzine and Forums

I usually write a few reviews everytime i'm free, i'm going to review the rest of SyX's catalog... so i'll keep you guys updated

@-Soul Of Ice- I see what you're saying, overall this album has more metal songs than emotional prog metal songs. The Odyssey is the type of album that metal heads would enjoy more than the typical prog metal fan.

 

[Soul of Ice]

The Odyssey is the type of album that metal heads would enjoy more than the typical prog metal fan. [/B]

who you callin typical

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

 

[FLechdrop]

Originally posted by Ultimate_Symphony
Production: 10/10
Musicianship: 10/10
Vocal Performance: 10/10
>>Overall: 9/10<<

10+10+10/3=9?????

Good review anyway

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Originally posted by FLechdrop
10+10+10/3=9?????

Good review anyway

I knew something like this would come note i'm not putting those scores altogether, in the overall score I usually rate how good the songs are and since there are some not so good songs on the album, that's why I rated it 9/10 instead of 10/10 or whatever .


Damn I should explain this kind of things before posting reviews.

Another damn edit

 

[Demonspell]

But those three categories are hardly the sole basis on which to judge the worthiness of an album, so three 10s do not necessarily translate to a 9...

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

Originally posted by Demonspell
But those three categories are hardly the sole basis on which to judge the worthiness of an album, so three 10s do not necessarily translate to a 9...

i'm not real sure who you're referring to Demonspell, but that's why I used the overall category, little bits and flaws that I found on the album are included on that category .

 

[Djm]

Since you already mentioned your reason for skipping Wicked, I'll say that the review was great.

 

[Ultimate_Symphony]

hehe thanks

 

[Kyra]

I too really enjoyed the review.

Soul of Ice - I think you made some really great points about The Odyssey, but I have to disagree that it lacks emotion. In addition to the two awesome songs you mentioned, I think The Odyssey, the track, is full of emotion. Musically and vocally. Not to mention that it is just so well written that time flies by when I'm listening to it...I'm always amazed when it gets to the end because it hasn't felt like I've been listening to it for the last 24 minutes. It's incredible. And even the heavier songs convey emotion to me. The album is very "metal" but I think they are still "more than metal" as you say.

"Evil" Russ took a bit of time to grow on me too. I still think maybe he overdoes it a little on Inferno and King of Terrors, but in another few weeks I might not even think that anymore! He really shows on this album that he can pretty much do it all.

 

[ProgMetalFan]

I love Evil Russell's snarls and growls.

 

[Djm]

So did I. Hearing King of Terrors(and just about every song on The Odyssey) for the first time was a real moment for me. I knew then that Russell by far my favorite singer I've ever listened to.

The same goes for the The Turning in the 2nd verse switching between voices.

Is there anything he can't do? IMO, this album says no.

 

[Dado-x]

Evil Russ owns you and your family!

 

[Kyra]

I like the Evil Russell vocals a lot myself, but it's taken me a while to get to that point. I guess it was just really unexpected at first. But they've really grown on me a lot and I really love the contrast when he switches to a different voice. He's not my favorite singer (yet?) but he's probably the most versatile of my favorite group of singers.