Where does SX go from here?

The only general mediocre song I've heard by Symphony X is Domination.

:OMG:

I think that's one of the strongest songs on PL!

With the success of Paradise Lost, I see Symphony X continuing down a similar path. I think most of us hope the next album will have an epic track, but I doubt they will return to the heavily symphonic stylings of V. It would be cool, but I just don't see it happening.
 
I think they should continue in their more raw, dark and heavy direction; maybe explore a bit more of the sound feutured on The Serpent's Kiss, which is a strong tune imo. But they should not loose the classical Symphony X sound either, and keep the power metal and the classical influences. I definately want more songs like Revelation divius ex pennae!

It'd be cool aswell if they returned to their roots a bit and maybe recreated a hint of the gritty sound they had on the S/T album.
 
They've already said they where going down the same path. So its almost a pointless conversation to be having...

I like 'The Serpents Kiss' I find it heavy, and very groovy, and def' goes over well live with the crowd bouncing up and down. I love the new album, but I love all their stuff. I love the direction they took with it, I just hope they keep this direction but do throw in some of the greatness of the past. Epic, melodic stuff.
 
I may get slammed for my comments. I think the band does not show their true talent potential in the new music. I base my opinion on live shows more than recorded work. I think they will always create great music. True talent will prevail, I've always felt this way.

I and my family have experienced what these guys can do, going way back in the years when they would perform DWOT, Damnation Game, entire V album, etc. The energy and emotion is beyond words. I simply find a lack of raw emotion in the structure of the newer work. Nevertheless, we still love this band with the same passion as ever before. Some will say "this guy is old and mellow".....no, Stu loves heavy as heavy can get. I am talking raw emotion that converts to feeling in music created by super talented people such as the SymX guys. I know their potential. They are my ever favorite band.

This is my opinion. I hope they spend more time on capturing that raw emotion in the music that can be put out in a live setting. I want to leave a show again and listen to new music with that feeling of some sense of overwhelming revelation that these guys (collectively and individually) have the potential to create. They know that their new direction works and sells. They deserve everything great that can come to them for the work they have done. But on the path and within the comfort zone, their true identity can be overshadowed. So, this is what I am hoping for in the years to come.
 
Hey I'm Ben, the new guy.

I got into SX shortly after The Odyssey was released by downloading a few songs from that album and Divine Wings. The first few songs I heard were Inferno, Eyes Of Medusa, King Of Terrors and Of Sins And Shadows. Upon hearing these songs I was hooked and so I went out and bought The Odyssey and Divine Wings and before long I had bought their entire discography and have been a huge fan for a number of years now.

I guess I won't be putting myself in a good light with the criticisms I have for the more recent SX material, but you know what they say about opinions.
Don't take this the wrong way please, I think Paradise Lost is a good album, but I find some of the heavier experimentation to come off as sounding a bit flat, standard and a little uninspired. I think V is a perfect mix of melody and heaviness because of how involved the symphonic parts are but on the other hand it has some of the heaviest riffs in SX's history. Odyssey and Paradise Lost at least to me are a bit of a let down, it sounds like some of the guitar riffs are just to standard heavy metal, and I know the band wanted to go heavier and more 'metal', but some of the riffs on these albums are a dime a dozen to me, 'Domination' and 'Serpents Kiss' are main culprits of this. I do honestly miss the cool melodic technical riffs of old like in the verse of 'Smoke and Mirrors' when I listen to the modern SX albums. For some reason to me, PL seemed a little rushed considering they took so long to make it.
That said, I absolutely loved the second half of PL, Eve of Seduction, Walls Of Babylon and Seven are particular favourites.

I also favor Mikes old style solo's, having more space to breathe, very melodic and using many exotic scales as oposed to his solo's on the new album which seem to be more about flash and with too much use of the 'wah-wah' IMO.
I know alot of people love it Russ's more aggressive vocal stylings but I much prefer his cleaner vocals where the 'gruff' vocals were used sparingly just to pepper some of the songs. V, while not my personal favourite SX album, perfectly encapsulated many of the things I love about SX and I think had Russel's best vocals.

I probably should have mentioned at the top of my post that I am incredibly opinionated about the music I love, and it probably sounds like I am just bitching. But despite these minor gripes I do still love the new material and will most likely continue to love SX material even if they do continue on the heavier path. Even so, I still have all the old albums to listen to even if I don't like the new stuff.

The band have stated that they are satisfied with their new direction and will continue n that path, which is great i still look forward to hearing what they can come up with. But I was a little dissapointed with PL and I hope the can maybe combine the old and new elements and make something amazing.
 
Welcome aboard Ben!

I can see what you mean, and I guess we already went through this a good bunch of times here. ^^
There has been a lot of discussion about the old SymX being more musically interesting than the new one, and I believe there is enough good points to support such belief imo.
It's not bad to be a bit opinionated though, everyone's got his opinions and critiques and I personally hope all the constructive ones will somewhat reach the band (Jax?;)) and hopefully help 'em shape their next delivery in a way that'll please the majority of fans.

Enjoy your stay! :kickass:
 
Agreed. I listened to that whole album the other day and was reminded how much I dig every song on it. The heavier stuff by SX isn't my favorite thing they do, but it's still really good.
They bring in new fans that way as well, myself included. My first exposure to SX was V...and while I was intrigued, there was something about it that put me off, maybe too proggy for me at the time. A year or so later I revisited The Odyssey and was really impressed...loved the heavier edge, got hooked, then went backwards and also fell in love with V. Part of it was just my musical taste evolving over time, but another part is that a talented band like SX, who shows diversity in their catalog, has a better chance to grab a diverse fanbase who appreciate different elements of their music. That's a big win for the band AND their fans.
 
I would love for them to go full on Symphonic with the new heavy vibe. Kind of a technical goth vibe musically without losing sacrificing their core sound.
 
I was kind of on board with a lot of different people's opinions in this thread. Almost every post in here makes some valid points.

Oh, except that one.... ^^^ ....right above me.

Personally, I think we're gonna get something similar to PL, maybe with one track full of synth and melody to please the older fans. I don't see them doing a full-on concept album (not looking to get into a discussion about whether PL is/is not a "true" concept album) or retreading back to the more prog-infused material.

I'm fine with what they're doing as long as they know the limitations to their heaviness.

(In case anyone is wondering, those limits are "Domination", which has already been pointed out by a few other agreeable folk).
 
I like Domination !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@ Ben101

Alright.. but I think Serpents Kiss has a very fun and interesting riffs throughout the whole song. I like the verse being in 5/4 and those parts after the verses being in 3/4 and it still sounds really cool.

And um.. technichal verse riff in Smoke and Mirrors? Correct me if I'm wrong but.. it sounds like hes just 16ing an Em with a bunch of notes at the ends of it..? Sorta like the 16ing in Haunted.
 
I like Domination !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@ Ben101

Alright.. but I think Serpents Kiss has a very fun and interesting riffs throughout the whole song. I like the verse being in 5/4 and those parts after the verses being in 3/4 and it still sounds really cool.

And um.. technichal verse riff in Smoke and Mirrors? Correct me if I'm wrong but.. it sounds like hes just 16ing an Em with a bunch of notes at the ends of it..? Sorta like the 16ing in Haunted.

Sorry yeah your right, mistake I didn't mean to say verse riff, I'm actually talking about the riff Mike plays just after the sweeping intro, which is also played in the chorus but just in another key? I'm not sure, but I love that riff just after the sweeping at the beginning of the song. Not the verse riff.
 
And um.. technichal verse riff in Smoke and Mirrors? Correct me if I'm wrong but.. it sounds like hes just 16ing an Em with a bunch of notes at the ends of it..? Sorta like the 16ing in Haunted.

He's "16ing" a D, but yeah. It's not too technical, save for the fills.

I also like Domination. Why it gets so much hate I'll never understand.
 
Yeah! D ! Cause hes 1 step down... I didn't even think that I needed to mention that so I didn't lol.

Domination is great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rotting from the inside out, ripping away at the CORE!!!!!!!!
 
Symphony X were my favourite band for a long time. The odyssey never grew old... even if i had it on repeat for a few hours (ok well I only did that once). I was looking forward to PL, and as I started to listen to it I was quite impressed by the first song. After that was a bit meh imo. Good songs that I listen to every so often, but nothing spectacular.

I guess its natural to get bored with a band after a while. Maybe its a good thing, cos after that phase I really started to expand out quite a lot into different genres.

So answering the question, Symphony X are already finished imo.