Band: Symphony X
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Discography: "Symphony X" (1994), "The Damnation Game"
(1995), "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" (1997), "Twilight in Olympus" (1998), "V:
The New Mythology Suite" (2000), "Live on the Edge of Forever" (Live Album,
2001), "The Odyssey" (2002), "Paradise Lost"
(2007)
When
getting to know metal music, one good strategy is to find the landmarks for every
subgenre in order to get the ear use to the large number of styles and
variations of the metal spectrum. With a classification system that is not
clear and often insufficient, one can be easily lost in different labels that
are use for naming the same style.
The
landmark band in progressive power metal is New Jersey's Symphony X, composed by an
all-star line-up of professional musicians: guitar hero Michael Romeo, keyboard
magician Michael Pinnella, outstanding singer Russell Allen, impressive bass
player Thomas Miller (replace in 2000 for Michael LePond due to health
problems) and competent (although not great) drummer Jason Rullo.
The music
of Symphony X can be described as the blending of symphonic, neoclassical,
progressive and power metal elements to perfection. A band not afraid of hard
to play songs, they have remarkable examples of songs of epic proportions such
as the 20 minutes long "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" and the 24 minutes long
"The Odyssey". What is even more impressive is that they performed the first
one live (as you can listen in their live album "Live from the Edge of
Forever"). With that alone enough to earn my respect, the incredible synergy
between the guitar and keyboard soloing and the amazing vocals skills of the
lead singer construct a very fulfilling listen experience.
If you don't
know the band, a good point of start could be their best work to date in my
opinion: the album "The Divine Wings of Tragedy".
Download Symphony X´s discography here
Song: "Sea Of Lies" from "The Divine Wings of Tragedy"
[Music: Michael
Romeo, Michael Pinnella, Thomas Miller]
[Lyrics: Russel Allen]
Today I've seen the shallow face I wear
Inside this shell,
a living hell endures
I'm held captive by my fear,
decaying hope and wasted years
The knife of time carves another
line around these eyes
Good and evil - lust primeval
Dragging me into a sea of lies
Losing faith in who I am
Never changing just rearranging
my life again
Through into an eternal abyss I fall,
Silent screams through paper walls
I pray someday the sun will shine
on me again (shine on me again)
Good and evil - lust primeval
Dragging me into a sea of lies
Lies ... lies ...
