Thomas Miller = Symphony X

[KevinMoore]

Thomas Miller wrote music and lyrics to many classics songs of the band, so their influence can not be ignored, as well as his great bass perfomances.

The truth is that the composition of music in those records was signed by Romeo / Miller / Pinella in most songs and now only takes Romeo.

On the lyrics also i missing his contribution. This remind me a little to the discussión about the Kevin Moore years in Dream Theater and the change in the composition process, taking Portnoy and Petrucci the control in music and lyrics and emphasizing the metal dimension of the band.

 

[Wander]

The funny thing here is that someone on an another topic said that in a (fairly recent?) Lepond said that his favourite album was V. Guess he just doesn't influence the songwriting then.

I think it's overspeculating a bit when people say that the change of direction is just because of Miller leaving the band or something like that. Obviously every change in the line-up has an effect, but everything else has an effect as well. I'm okay with what they do nowadays, but to be completely honest, a tiny portion of metal music grabs me these days compared to how it was 5 years ago. I'm going to go with my own personal tastes going to a bit different direction from where the band is going as the main reason as to why I like a lot of the old stuff better.

 

[maestro41]

With all of the logical fallacies being applied here left and right, and with people obviously 100% behind the band no matter what they do (blind faith anyone?), nevermind mentions of "if you knew the band..." do you then? :: I am done attempting to put sense in your heads.

yeah man

 

[maestro41]

So, I have been thinking very hard about Symphony X's decline these past two albums. I could honestly find no logical explanation concerning the quality, or lack thereof, of these recent endeavors.

Then, it hit me.

Thomas Miller.

He not only left the band after Twilight in Olympus, he also left behind vast quantities of music and lyrics that he had composed. Symphony X had been living off of this material up until and including parts of the Odyssey.

Very recently, Michael Romeo has had to take up the compositional process himself, no longer being able to "borrow" what Miller left behind. This has resulted in Paradise Lost and Iconoclast, the band's weakest efforts excluding the debut.

I already know what you're thinking: "What about V?"

Well, let me tell you about V.

The band had been planning an epic, to be titled Twilight in Olympus. As we all know, this was dismantled and became V. I believe Miller had composed the bulk of the music, as well as large parts of the Odyssey before he left the band. They have been using Miller's material and passing it off as their own, just like they've done with Verdi, Bach, and Beethoven in the past.

How else can you explain recycled riffs such as Heretic (King of Terrors) and Light up the Night (Evolution/Into the Dragon's Den), and lyrics as bad as "Hit the switch you son of a bitch" and "A masquerade of crazies"?

You can't.

I personally find my explanation that Miller was the creative force behind the band's best music preferable to accepting that Symphony X is the new Metallica.

Thoughts?

Do you think Miller had anything to do with The Dark Chapter,which got them started to begin with?

 

[bigmachine22]

Why doesn't everyone take a listen to some of the new Thomas Miller stuff and maybe we can make a decision?

http://www.myspace.com/525703681

I think the music isn't bad at all. The production quality isn't great, but I find it quite ironic that the lyrics on "Fear no evil" and "Thunder's Majesty" have a lot of the same flavor as old SX. Ex: words like masquerade, sin, etc. Yes Miller wrote a lot of the old SX lyrics, so it makes sense. However, considering that new SX (Iconoclast) has very similar themes (it always has, more or less), it makes me wonder whether Romeo and Miller are just obsessed with the idea of the masquerade, etc.

Thoughts?

 

[maestro41]

Why doesn't everyone take a listen to some of the new Thomas Miller stuff and maybe we can make a decision?

http://www.myspace.com/525703681

I think the music isn't bad at all. The production quality isn't great, but I find it quite ironic that the lyrics on "Fear no evil" and "Thunder's Majesty" have a lot of the same flavor as old SX. Ex: words like masquerade, sin, etc. Yes Miller wrote a lot of the old SX lyrics, so it makes sense. However, considering that new SX (Iconoclast) has very similar themes (it always has, more or less), it makes me wonder whether Romeo and Miller are just obsessed with the idea of the masquerade, etc.

Thoughts?

yeah, the last line of your quote made me think of the masks on dark chapter and V.

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

I can still hear SOME of the old SyX elements throughout the last two albums; however, the increase in heaviness of the sound engineering and the more simplistic song structures to appeal to a wider audience doesn't differentiate them enough from other bands anymore for me to still consider them my favorite band. I have discovered so much music over the last decade since first discovering SyX, and since they are now trying to bring in these more common metal elements to their sound I feel they have lost most of their uniqueness. Also, I don't understand how just doing something different from album to album makes a band progressive? It means you should be doing something that hasn't been done a thousand times over. SyX have been doing the opposite by trying to be more and more like just another heavy/power metal band and ditching most of the elements that seperated them from the norm.

I like Iconoclast pretty well, probably even a little more than PL; however, they are quite disappointing albums for being SyX albums. The last two albums have almost constant heaviness, not just from the guitars, but from the vocals as well. Because of this, and the lack in variety, the songs start to blend into one another and you sometimes even forget what song your listening to. These problems also cause a situation to where I find it hard to sit down and listen to the full albums from start to finish (especially Iconoclast due to it being a much longer double disc album). They should change it up a bit more thoughout. For example, they could maybe have a decently heavy song, but maybe Russ could tone down the agressiveness in his voice a bit for once. I have always believed that too much of one thing is bad no matter what it is, which is also another reason why I love older SyX so much. Variety balances out things enough to where they don't become tiresome; also, I believe that variety will accentuate things and make them more powerful. For example, if there is a song where Russ is singing majestically about the woman he loves, but then there is a moment where someone does some sort of harm to her (in the lyrics of course) and his vocals suddenly become aggressive. This sort of thing conveys more emotion and makes a song more memorable while also staying true to balance and variety. The same theory could be applied to any other instrument as well.

While they are still my favorite band, I agree with most of these comments.

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

Why doesn't everyone take a listen to some of the new Thomas Miller stuff and maybe we can make a decision?

http://www.myspace.com/525703681

I think the music isn't bad at all. The production quality isn't great, but I find it quite ironic that the lyrics on "Fear no evil" and "Thunder's Majesty" have a lot of the same flavor as old SX. Ex: words like masquerade, sin, etc. Yes Miller wrote a lot of the old SX lyrics, so it makes sense. However, considering that new SX (Iconoclast) has very similar themes (it always has, more or less), it makes me wonder whether Romeo and Miller are just obsessed with the idea of the masquerade, etc.

Thoughts?

I dig the music, even if the quality isn't particularly good. Definitely has a classic Symphony X feel. That singer, though... ugh.

If you guys haven't already, flip through the photos on Thomas's page for some old-school shots!

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

Okay, first of all Romeo is a metal musician, and unless you too grew up listening to real metal you wouldn't understand. You'll probably think it's all about "trying to be considered badass" or some stereotypical shit.

I was clearly referring to the comment asking if we'd "lost our BALLS".

Second, he IS a progressive musician, but not in the stereotypical "prog metal" sense which has nothing to do with REAL prog.

Romeo doesn't like to subscribe to labels such as "symphonic progressive power metal" BECAUSE he's a real progressive musician, and real progressive musicians don't like to have that kind of stylistic limitations imposed on them. If you seriously think Symphony X is "supposed" to stick to a particular thing, or keep making nothing but DWOT's and V's, then you are basically saying they aren't progressive.

Exactly.

I don't want them to stick to anything other than prog. Prog is open to MANY different things. I don't see why any prog musician would have a problem labeling themselves prog.
I never stated that I want SX to make another V. I want them to make another album of V quality

 

[symphonyXjapan]

I dig the music, even if the quality isn't particularly good. Definitely has a classic Symphony X feel. That singer, though... ugh.

If you guys haven't already, flip through the photos on Thomas's page for some old-school shots!

Yeah the vocals are pretty "bleh". Almost sounds like he recruited Rod Tyler for the vocals..

 

[PurpleDink]

With all of the logical fallacies being applied here left and right, and with people obviously 100% behind the band no matter what they do (blind faith anyone?), nevermind mentions of "if you knew the band..." do you then? :: I am done attempting to put sense in your heads.

This thread stinks of both cognitive dissonance and aporia.