SYMPHONY X Dichotomy Defined! 2002-08-23 07:26:53
The forthcoming album from New Jersey based Symphony X is a wondrous work. Nine polished tracks filled with ear candy for the most discriminating listener, but also a gritty guitar record, something the oft mislabeled 'prog metallers' really stressed this time out. Spending the best part of a week sleeping on the mixer's couch, guitarist Michael Romeo put the final touches on The Odyssey, named for the Homeric epic.
In addition to an 18 minute opus, tracing the plotline of the Greek classic, inspiration was also garnered from more contemporary works, like Poe's Pit And The Pendulum ('King Of Terrors') or Disney's Fantasia. "Russ (Allen, vocals) was over," begins guitarist Michael Romeo, "and I had Fantasia on, the Sorcerer's Apprentice scene. I'm a big movie buff. He thought the music was really cool. He said, 'You should write some riffs using that.' We kind of incorporated that and at one point I go into Paul Dukas' famous (theme). It's something for the fans."
The Symphony X faithful are an ardent bunch, scouring the Internet for the most minuscule tidbit of inside information. In some cases, getting the dirt before the band members themselves, as was the case with the artwork for The Odyssey. "Tomas, from InsideOut in Europe suggested the artist, who has also done some work for Rhapsody, He said, 'If you want some action type adventure scene, then this is your guy. Using the Cyclops wasn't right, so what other
part (of the Odyssey story) made sense? The Sirens. I sent him some ideas of what we wanted, the boat and the sirens, easy on the nudity, like hair draped over the nipples. He sent back some sketches and they were good, but the colors were too brilliant. Next thing I know, it shows up on the Internet. Three of the guys in the band hadn't even seen it yet! There were only three people who had copies of the artwork, me, InsideOut and the artist, but I find out some guy in Texas knows somebody..."
I hasten to inform such diehards that an extra, as yet unrecorded track exists from The Odyssey sessions. "There was one," confirms Romeo. "Usually we have just enough material, maybe not even enough. For this album, we have a good amount. It was mostly down to time. We were running behind and we were starting to do stuff like, 'Let's just get through this part and move on.' I was like, 'No, we can't do that. We have to go all the way, then move on.' It came to a point where that one song was good, but maybe we'll do it as a bonus track." The final running time of the album will be just over an hour.
On the disc, classical instrumentation and metal meet head-on. Harp, tubular bells, piano, pipe organ, acoustic twelve string guitar ('The Accolade') and scores of synthesized strings are evident throughout. "The last album had segues between songs. The orchestral stuff sounded OK, for what we had at the time. I invested a lot in that whole sound, keyboards and a lot of programming. The software I have for that is really sick! I went overboard. Here, it's used in big pieces and big pieces with the band." Allen also showcases his repertoire, giving the most varied performance of his career, a
cappella on 'Waltz With The Wicked', as well as gruffer moments, when called needed. "That was him. Once he heard the songs, he knew. He'd say, 'I'm going to sing this one rough.' He's good like that. He goes in and sings it first time too!"
The first time the public will get a chance to hear The Odyssey is in October
The forthcoming album from New Jersey based Symphony X is a wondrous work. Nine polished tracks filled with ear candy for the most discriminating listener, but also a gritty guitar record, something the oft mislabeled 'prog metallers' really stressed this time out. Spending the best part of a week sleeping on the mixer's couch, guitarist Michael Romeo put the final touches on The Odyssey, named for the Homeric epic.
In addition to an 18 minute opus, tracing the plotline of the Greek classic, inspiration was also garnered from more contemporary works, like Poe's Pit And The Pendulum ('King Of Terrors') or Disney's Fantasia. "Russ (Allen, vocals) was over," begins guitarist Michael Romeo, "and I had Fantasia on, the Sorcerer's Apprentice scene. I'm a big movie buff. He thought the music was really cool. He said, 'You should write some riffs using that.' We kind of incorporated that and at one point I go into Paul Dukas' famous (theme). It's something for the fans."
The Symphony X faithful are an ardent bunch, scouring the Internet for the most minuscule tidbit of inside information. In some cases, getting the dirt before the band members themselves, as was the case with the artwork for The Odyssey. "Tomas, from InsideOut in Europe suggested the artist, who has also done some work for Rhapsody, He said, 'If you want some action type adventure scene, then this is your guy. Using the Cyclops wasn't right, so what other
part (of the Odyssey story) made sense? The Sirens. I sent him some ideas of what we wanted, the boat and the sirens, easy on the nudity, like hair draped over the nipples. He sent back some sketches and they were good, but the colors were too brilliant. Next thing I know, it shows up on the Internet. Three of the guys in the band hadn't even seen it yet! There were only three people who had copies of the artwork, me, InsideOut and the artist, but I find out some guy in Texas knows somebody..."
I hasten to inform such diehards that an extra, as yet unrecorded track exists from The Odyssey sessions. "There was one," confirms Romeo. "Usually we have just enough material, maybe not even enough. For this album, we have a good amount. It was mostly down to time. We were running behind and we were starting to do stuff like, 'Let's just get through this part and move on.' I was like, 'No, we can't do that. We have to go all the way, then move on.' It came to a point where that one song was good, but maybe we'll do it as a bonus track." The final running time of the album will be just over an hour.
On the disc, classical instrumentation and metal meet head-on. Harp, tubular bells, piano, pipe organ, acoustic twelve string guitar ('The Accolade') and scores of synthesized strings are evident throughout. "The last album had segues between songs. The orchestral stuff sounded OK, for what we had at the time. I invested a lot in that whole sound, keyboards and a lot of programming. The software I have for that is really sick! I went overboard. Here, it's used in big pieces and big pieces with the band." Allen also showcases his repertoire, giving the most varied performance of his career, a
cappella on 'Waltz With The Wicked', as well as gruffer moments, when called needed. "That was him. Once he heard the songs, he knew. He'd say, 'I'm going to sing this one rough.' He's good like that. He goes in and sings it first time too!"
The first time the public will get a chance to hear The Odyssey is in October
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