The Latest News [updated 3/18 - Brief update]

[Jax]

Time for a new sticky news thread again now that there's enough happening that there are things to be announced relatively regularly.

Today's news:

Symphony X: MTV 2 premier and Mike Romeo on Headbangers Blog

The new video from Paradise Lost by Symphony X, “Set the World on Fire”, will begin airing on MTV 2’s Headbangers Ball this Saturday, January 19th. In addition, guitarist Mike Romeo has made his own contribution to Headbangers Blog which will be published soon.

[Jax]

A couple of updates..

~The London show will have just Epica opening, & for those concerned about Simone's current health problems, we've been assured that she will be fit and ready to perform.

~The show on 4/22 has been moved to The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, CA due to the other venue closing.

[Jax]

A video of the making of the Set the World on Fire video can be seen on Headbanger's Blog: http://headbangersblog.mtv.com/2008/...world-on-fire/

Complete with written commentary from Mike Romeo..leave a comment & let MTV know that you support the band!

Also, here's the Set the World on Fire video itself (which is now on SPV's YouTube page), for those of you who weren't able to see it on the MTV site:

You Tube

[Jax]

Setlist Poll results, the band's reaction, and more:

Jan. 24: I have spent MANY hours over the past few days tallying all of the setlist poll responses..holy cow, the turnout was awesome, thanks so much to everyone who responded (you can bet the next poll will be automated..LOL)!! In the interest of brevity, I'm not going to list all of the results, but rather, the top 5 requested songs from each cd; for the record, the song with the most votes overall was Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies).

Also, there have been comments all over regarding the Accolade songs not appearing in the top fives list, so I thought I'd let you know that the Accolade votes were done a bit differently since there were people voting for each separately, as well as people asking for both together. Because the point was to let the band know what ya'll want to hear (as compared to just providing a top five list for each cd), 'both Accolades together' was a separate category..if the votes had been split up between the separate songs, both would've been in the top five on their respective cds.

~Symphony X
Masquerade
Rapture or Pain
Absinthe and Rue
3-way tie for 4th: Premoniton, Shades of Grey, and Thorns of Sorrow

~The Damnation Game
The Edge of Forever
The Damnation Game
Dressed to Kill
A Winter's Dream - The Ascencion (Part II)
A Winter's Dream - Prelude (Part I)

~The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Of Sins and Shadows
The Divine Wings of Tragedy
Sea of Lies
Out of the Ashes
Candlelight Fantasia

~Twilight in Olympus
Smoke and Mirrors
In the Dragon's Den
Through the Looking Glass
Church of the Machine
Lady of the Snow

~V: The New Mythology Suite
Evolution (The Grand Design)
2-way tie for 2nd: Communion and the Oracle, and Egypt
Fallen
A Fool's Paradise
Rediscovery pt. II - The New Mythology

~The Odyssey
Inferno (Unleash the Fire)
The Odyssey
King of Terrors
Wicked
Awakenings

~Paradise Lost
Set the World on Fire (The Lie of Lies)
Paradise Lost
Eve of Seduction
Domination
The Serpent's Kiss

------------------

Jan. 26: I spoke to MJR yesterday, and he actually asked me about the poll before I had a chance to tell him about it; he was very interested to hear what the results were. He was on his way out the door to meet up with some of the other guys, & took a few minutes to write down the top fives so that they could discuss them; just like the last poll, he was surprised by some of the songs you all asked to hear. You'll be happy to hear that he said that they will definitely be using some of the songs that ya'll asked for. He also asked me to pass on the band's thanks to all of you for participating, so thank you from the band!

Also, Set the World on Fire will be played on Headbanger's Ball again tonight; I think that this is a VERY good thing, that it wasn't just a one time event.. exciting stuff for the band and their fans!

One more thing: Fan club members, stay tuned for an e-mail regarding the new membership structure, renewals, and the next fan club cd (which is going to be AWESOME)!

[Jax]

Symphony X Podcast

Interview with MJR, video, live footage..check it out!

You Tube

[Jax]

Check out the latest MJR interview here.

[Jax]

New interview with Russ..

[Jax]

MJR's long awaited Signature Model Caparison, the Dellinger-MJR Pro.White, will go on sale in October; photos and more info can be found here.

Also, check out Caparison's web page or MySpace page for dealer info, guitar forums, and more!

[Jax]

World Management would like to announce that on Nov. 4, 2008, Symphony X will release a special 5.1 Edition of their critically acclaimed release "Paradise Lost". The double disc package will include a DVD 5.1 mix by Jens Bogren of the whole album as well as two enhanced quality videos "Set the World on Fire" and "The Serpent's Kiss". The album can be pre-ordered on amazon.com .

In addition, Newbury Comics will have an exclusive edition of the 5.1 version of 'Paradise Lost', which will feature an autographed booklet signed by the entire band. There are only 500 signed copies available and they can only be bought from Newbury Comics, so click here to reserve your copy now!

In connection to this release the band is also playing 5 shows in the Northeast US:

19 November 2008 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
20 November 2008 - Wantagh, NY - Mulcahy's
21 November 2008 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
22 November 2008 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
23 November 2008 - West Springfield, VA – Jaxx

[Jax]

It's a Girl!

Ava Christine Allen was born on at 5:43am on Nov. 2nd 2008, weighing 5lbs 10oz.

Mom and baby are doing good

Ava was 4 weeks early..Russ says "I got home (from South America) just in time it seems.."

[Jax]

You have now entered the 'the band is writing the new cd' zone. Posting constant 'Where's the new cd? What's the band doing? Why is there no news?' threads won't get you any new info until the band's ready to tell you something new, so suffice it to say, the latest news is exactly that..

The band is writing the new cd.

More info as it becomes available.

[Jax]

Coming soon..

..a new website!

..a new label!

..a new cd!

Yep, it's a good time to be a SymX fan.

[Jax]

World Management and Nuclear Blast are extremely proud to announce the signing of Metal / Prog Gods Symphony X !!!

“As lifelong fans of the band, it is with great pride that Nuclear Blast announces the signing of US Metal / Prog Gods Symphony X!!!
Symphony X exemplifies the technical sophistication of progressive metal while transcending the genre by writing amazing songs with masterful musicality and great hooks!
This New Jersey-based super group effortlessly creates a balancing act between solid, accessible arrangements and song structures with highly technical, challenging instrumental work and unbelievable melodic vocal harmonies. This embrace of polyphonic lead vocals, combined with their classical-sometimes even Queen-like- choruses create a powerful, in-your-face mixture. With elements of thundering metal, rock, solos with unstoppable guitar shredding and intense keyboards - this potent group has grown with every release and is poised to compete with the commercial success of top groups in all genres!
Symphony X is currently creating their next masterpiece, anticipated in the spring of 2010!
Together, we will bring this talent to a new level! We hope you are ready for the ride!”

“We are happy to be the part of the Nuclear Blast Family and look forward to working with them for many years to come,” says Michael Romeo.

Jaap Wagemaker / A & R

[Jax]

Just got off the phone with MJR; he wishes everyone a Happy New Year and reports that the writing of the new cd is progressing well. He says that the riffs are written and all the ideas are there, they're just trying different arrangement ideas right now. We talked about how we're back to the usual routine of trying to find new ways to say the same old 'the band is writing the cd', and he said "It's hard to say. Every day is different, we're just doing our thing & trying to make the tunes cool. You put something together one day and then come back the next day & listen to it; sometimes it's cool, & sometimes it sucks & you have to change things around." They're still hoping to be done with the cd by spring.

[Jax]

Spoke to Mike today, and he sounded really happy about the progress that the band's making on the new cd. "Technically, we could be done" he said. "I put together some pre-production mixes for us to listen to, and it's all solid. We have over an hour of really good stuff that we really dig; there's more than enough stuff there that we can choose the best songs to go on the cd..but all of the songs are really strong. And there are two almost-done songs that we're going to try to wrap up in the next few days as well, one is shaping up to be 10 minutes plus; it's really cool stuff that we gotta use." He and Russell have started working through lyrics, and the band plans to start tracking in early March. "I think everyone will like it" he said, "it has a little bit of everything."

[Jax]

Just got off the phone with MJR, & have a brief update to share.

Things are moving right along with the new cd! The music is all finished, and Jason arrived in New Jersey this week; they're starting drum tracks today. Mike has promised to get photos of the recording sessions, so we should have the first of those to share next week; stay tuned.