The Odyssey (2002)
1. Inferno (Unleash the Fire) - A little more rockish than anything from
V. Not quite a return to roots for this band, but Russell's leaning far more heavily on a rougher more rock vocal, and I'm not sure I like it. Romeo's riffs are fairly wankish in this track. The lyrical content seems to be about evil dragons, which makes sense given the name. Nice gallop into the middle section, though. I feel like it recovers somewhat by the end.
7/10.
2. Wicked - I really enjoy the vocal style on this. It has a sense of wickedness about the murmur, and a great chorus. I like that this one seems to hit the next level quite nicely, with building crescendos towards that great chorus. Like the ghost of a witch ensnaring our hero. I like the symbolism of "following a star west" that seems to give the song's protagonist an almost magi-like quality. Solid instrumental, really like Romeo's solo, love the last "she saaaaaaiiaaaaaiaaaaid" at the end too.
8.5/10.*
3. Incantations of the Apprentice - Interesting faux-horn intro, nice build at the beginning. I really enjoy the keys on this track, Pinnella has found a way to make them sound completely unlike anything else they've used before. Lyrics on this one are very straightforward, an apprentice trying to learn magic, and learning the wrong stuff. I think maybe the interplay is a little too familiar to Wicked, and without such a great chorus. Short instrumental section that isn't terribly interesting, but isn't bad either.
7.5/10.
4. Accolade II - Normally, when I see a song's sequel, I get pretty trepidatious towards it; song sequels are what people do to cash out on other successes (Unforgiven III, literally both
Something Wicked albums). What we get here is a gorgeous re-imagining of The Accolade, with new layers added on. I listened to them back-to-back for this comparison, and while the music has many of the same calls, it is so much more mature and evolved. Pinnella gives the Accolade theme stellar new tiers. The lyrics follow on with the son of the first hero, and Russell belts out an incredible performance on the track. The chorus is chilling and simple and so earnest. A little shorter than the original Accolade, but I believe that's because the band has learned to tell the same style of tale with the complexities compressed and made more evident. This shows how SX has progressed into a titan of prog.
10/10.*
5. King of Terrors - This song has a level of cruelty to it, a violent edge. Based on the tale of
The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe, it gives us a new dimension to this band. The aggression and fear in this reminds me of some of the tracks off
Horror Show (specifically Jack) and is absolutely going to make it to the playlist I use when I personally need to find that certain aggression. While raspy Russell isn't usually my favourite, he hits something closer to a snarl here in the choruses and it really suits the song's subject matter. Great fucking song, with a killer clean chorus. The instrumental really cleans up. Pinnella murders the keyboard with violence, it sounds like the last spiraling heartbeats an anxious heart pumps as fate comes near, while Rullo's bass just
hammers home. Really good shredding from Romeo too, I find the guitar sounds less neat here, more rough, like he plucked Dave Mustaine's rig for a solo. One last thought, in the original tale, the protagonist is saved by the French army. The protagonist here is not given such a reprieve.
9.5/10.*
6. The Turning - Dragons, pits, witches, wizards, and now werewolves. I am being forcibly reminded of
Horror Show again. Good chorus, though, the "save my soul, losing control" part is really good. However, I think it is a little too similar in terms of tone to the previous song. It's still a good track, but it's one of the weaker on the album.
7/10.
7. Awakenings - I like the atmospheric opening, it's quite pleasant and it gives the idea of floating in a dream. Pinnella's piano is a perfect accouterments to Russell hitting soulful, meaningful notes on every word on the opening choruses. I love the way that the nightmare sequence is hinted at by slightly off-key piano - that's a brilliant little bit of musical foreshadowing that shows the maturity of the songwriters. This song is nothing more than a progressive Wasted Years - a warning against lamenting the past and celebrating our future. A grand instrumental section, too, but I think this one levels out at
8/10.
8. The Odyssey
Part I - Odysseus's Theme / Overture - We are introduced to the King of Ithaca via instrumental. His march is triumphant and martial - as it should be. Odysseus, let us not remember, is the ally of King Agamemnon, one of the victorious heroes of the Trojan War. This journey into lietmotif is positively Nobuo-esque and would sound just at home on the soundtrack of any JRPG from the early 2000s. The Odyssey's Overture, by comparison, is mourning and a mounting crescendo, perhaps a fitting way to tell the tale of a great wandering hero. One of literature's greatest journeys is ahead of us. The Trojan War has ended. The city has fallen. Paris and Hector, Achilles and Ajax are dead. Odysseus wants nothing more than to return home.
Part II - Journey to Ithaca - The King of Ithaca is in prison. He has been away forever, it seems, almost twenty years. And now he is ready to tell us the story of how he ended up captured by Calypso. The way the King's lament is written are nothing more nor less than the most beautiful lyrics written by Symphony X.
Part III - The Eye - Wicked and cruel keyboards from Pinnella and savage bass from Lepond pull us into a hurricane that savaged the Ithacan fleet and forced Odysseus off course. The Eye doesn't refer to the eye of the hurricane, though - no. It refers to the Isle of the Cyclopes. The one-eyed beasts that trapped and ate Odysseus's loyal sailors and soldiers. They were greedy and wanted to plunder the cave for its wealth, only to be trapped and killed. Eventually the surviving Ithacans escape and are given a magic bag...what is inside? Riches? Or something else? A great rock song here, Russell uses his voice to give the greed and aggression and fear of the Ithacans true life.
Part IV - Circe (The Daughter of the Sun) - A cacophony of music represents the opening of the bag. What was inside? The winds, save the west wind. The King was blown off course to Aeaea and he visited the titular Circe, who entranced him with her magic. The ethereal and enchanting keyboards are perfect here, Pinnella is the true standout of this track to date. The confusion and mystification of Odysseus is caught up gorgeously, though his will overcomes hers...and then she entrances him for a year, eventually gifting him knowledge home
Part V - Sirens - The first challenge was the sirens, the call of which would lure men to their death. Again cruel and haunting, the rolling guitars and bass and drums evident of a violent storm being surpassed. Short, but effective.
Part VI - Scylla and Charybdis - Next, the hero meets Scylla and Charybdis; the latter a whirlpool that can destroy any ship, the other a six-headed monster. He does so, but they ignored the final advice - his surviving sailors, as the music grows into a dark crescendo while all seems clear, consumed the holy cattle. They were slain, and only our hero remains, now bound to Calypso as his lover. Yet...Odysseus is not yet out of tricks. He eventually begins to tell his amazing tale...as his music returns, he is freed by Calypso, granted treasure and wealth, and finally...finally...after twenty years...returns to Ithaca.
Part VII - The Fate of the Suitors / The Champion of Ithaca - We return to a softer tune, for a heartbeat, before we crash into a battle. Why, when Odysseus was away, suitors tried to convince his bride that the Hero of the Trojan War had died. That one of the many misadventures he encountered has claimed his life. Russell catches the indignation of Odysseus as he sneaks into his kingdom as a simple beggar. It's time for one last battle. Triiiiumphant Champion of Ithaca! My god, that's stellar. Yet his fury is relentless; he kills another generation of Ithaca's finest men for their greed, as he killed the previous generation at Troy and on his Odyssey. Finally, Athena helps Odysseus restore balance and reclaim his throne, wife and heir, and bring the final battle of the greatest war of mythology to its end. We return to where we started in Part II:
Seems like forever that my eyes have been denied
Home - I'm finally home
I've been twenty years away from all I ever knew
I have returned to make my dream come true
Enough to make me weep.
11/10*. Triumphant, beautiful, engaging, climactic, and powerful. The best Symphony X song to date.
Final Score: 86%
* this song was added to my "Greatest Hits" playlist that stays on my phone at all time. A globally recognized mark of excellence.
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What a fuckin' travesty of a band. If these knock out a good Maiden album (an album that beat Show No Mercy too) you can all fuck off out of the Hall, and the forum should probably disband.
This is not serious, is it?