Symphony X

[Diesel 11]

What sort of notes? I've never done a review before, so I probably need a bit of advice.

I’m thinking of writing down exactly what I think when it hits me and not bottling up thoughts and then distributing them at random when I finally write the reviews. Go in with some preparation.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

I love song and album reviews, and would welcome them for an amazing band like Symphony X, but I also think describing each individual musical passage can be tedious (and trust me, I used to do this as well). This applies especially to a band like Symphony X, where each song can contain paragraphs worth of musical shifts and changes.

Glad to see others diving into Symphony X, regardless! (And at the perfect time of year, too). I’ll be getting into them again as soon as I finish up some Opeth.

 

[LooseCannon]

Symphony X was definitely a band that inspired me to do just that, but let's be clear, that's the rarity these days.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Welcome to the Symphony X Deep Dive Discussion 2021! We plan to discuss one Symphony X song per day, working chronologically from the debut album. There's no strict time limit or discussion topics, just song by song analysis and commentary. I'll try my best to keep it updated, but I'm sure we'll miss some days here and there.

@Diesel 11, @Midnight, @Detective Beauregard, and myself are all on the board, but please jump in whenever, wherever with thoughts, opinions, etc.!

Symphony X - Symphony X (1994)!



A little bit of background: this album was made solely because Michael Romeo was gaining attention from Japanese record labels due to his instrumental solo album, The Dark Chapter. He grew up playing with (then bassist) Thomas Miller, met (keyboardist) Michael Pinnella in a music store, hired (original singer) Rod Tyler from "the Jersey scene", and Rod brought in (drummer) Jason Rullo. The songs were pieced together, the band didn't have a ton of camaraderie, and Michael Romeo thinks it's a poor album that sounds like a demo. Let's dive in!

Into The Dementia/The Raging Season(s)

LYRICS:

Spoiler

From whom the Gods destroy they first make mad
Casting shadows on our fears
Malicious designs built strong and iron-clad catastrophic
Conclusion, judgement closes near

PRE-CHORUS:
Chaos sets the stage
Bitter months of violent rage
Spinning webs of timeless confusion
Help us find our way

CHORUS:
Tonight can we escape from this hell
(Seasons raging, sands of time will fall)
Conquer the wicked
Tonight can we escape from ourselves

Ten-thousand tyrants preach their treachery
Striking down the weary and the wise
Swords of oppression sever the artery
Of our freedom, victimized

PRE-CHORUS
CHORUS

Down-cast jaded, the glory has faded
So close your eyes
(Locked in the darkness all your life)
Dream a twisted tale, dark and venomous
(Do you really have a reason not to fell this raging season)
So infamous

Watch the raging inferno of serpents rip the flesh
From all your pride and glory
Then you die open your eyes, it's true

[Guitar Solo]

PRE-CHORUS
CHORUS x2

• Moodiness abounds on the intro track, with some typically ominous keyboard effects, bells, choirs, and Michael Romeo wanking away in pure post-Malmsteen fashion.
• Once the real song kicks in, we've got some pretty heavy, snakelike riffs that Romeo will definitely repurpose into better songs down the line...what is that song? Fallen? Sins and Shadows? I can't quite place it, but it sounds so familiar.
• It's interesting to note how much straight piano Pinnella plays throughout this song. All of the verses, choruses, and the bridge are pretty much straight piano chords and melodies.
• Obviously Symphony X were initially compared to Dream Theater because of the timing, but it's hard to hear literally any influence. If anything, I'm shocked at how much this song (especially the bridge) sounds like Queen. The choirs have always been very upfront and classical, but boy, it's pure Queen worship here.
• Typically terrible transition into Romeo's guitar solo.
• Speaking of Romeo, and I'm sure I'll talk more on this subject, but his guitar tone is terrible. Considering this album was literally pieced together because of the hype surrounding his instrumental demo tape/album, it's kind of shocking that his guitar has probably the worst production here.
• The less said of Rod Tyler, the better. He's not built for this music.
• I don't know why this song is sometimes plural and sometimes not. The original release (only in Japan) seems to be singular, the Special Edition is plural.

 

[LooseCannon]

Oh, this is cool. I'm down. I'll add some thoughts tomorrow!

 

[Diesel 11]

How do you kick off a discography and make a lasting impression on your audience? Romeo decides that the best way is to segue in from darkness with some powerful synths and noodly guitar. And if I'm quite honest... he doesn't really go far enough. There's so much more that could've been done with "Into the Dementia" than got done, but I'm sure a lot of the problem is Romeo's really watery guitar sound. Just doesn't go the full nine yards and is easily one of their worst intro / interlude tracks.

Now when "The Raging Season" kicks in, that's when things really start to get going. The riff hits, pulls back, hits again, and then starts thromping around vigorously, and it's pretty good, but it reminds me of "Evolution (The Grand Design)" from V: The New Mythology Suite, which is a much better song and executes the same general riff idea but better than this one does. Like Knick said, Pinnella is just straight up a pianist in this song, and it's pretty cool (although you can barely hear him, but the production as a whole is trash on this album anyway so whatever).

Man, it's so easy, given that this is Symphony X after all, to expect Allen's power to hit you across the face when the verses come up, but instead we're treated to a Rod Tyler who is... well, he's not really that bad, but his voice is just not strong at all. He sounds very whiny, the distortion on his vocals doesn't really sound natural, it just sounds Jersey, and he clearly can't really keep up with Romeo's songwriting. He does a pretty solid job throughout most of the song, but when the bridge comes around he struggles big time.

The verses in this song are very solid, classic Symphony X constructions and are executed fairly well. The pre-chorus is actually very strong, and I could've seen a version of this song where that was the chorus itself. Unfortunately it isn't, and the chorus we're given is honestly a weak point in the song. Not bad, but too much theater without much substance. The choir vocals here are really very much Queen, but bootleg Queen, and I don't really like Queen much to begin with, so maybe that's a positive? Once we hit The Divine Wings of Tragedy, the band will have learned how to make that a true part of their iconic song, but it just really doesn't excel here. It's interesting, but there are even other songs on this album that use it better.

The bridge is fine but kinda pointless. Love the piano there, but Rod is really having a hard time. The solo completely shifts the song's vibe, and Romeo and Miller throw in some noodling in there. The second half of the solo has a great, heavy underlying riff that I dig though, so that's cool. And the outro... well, they had to throw in something else into the pot, didn't they?

As a whole, this two tracks work decently well at introducing Symphony X into the world. Decently as in, actually not very well, but they're a decent listen all the same. But you wouldn't necessarily feel like returning to them very often, if at all, outside of a full album listen. Subpar intro, average song.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Now when "The Raging Season" kicks in, that's when things really start to get going. The riff hits, pulls back, hits again, and then starts thromping around vigorously, and it's pretty good, but it reminds me of "Evolution (The Grand Design)" from V: The New Mythology Suite, which is a much better song and executes the same general riff idea but better than this one does.

That's it! I can't help but feel like it's from another song, too. Romeo uses a lot of the same techniques and riff styles throughout the discography. Even the verse lyrics sound familiar to me...

The second half of the solo has a great, heavy underlying riff that I dig though, so that's cool. And the outro... well, they had to throw in something else into the pot, didn't they?

Yeah, that chunky riff and drum pattern is really cool, but the swirling guitar and keyboard wanking around it is a little ridiculous (as is the absurd flurry of notes that leads into and leads out of this section).

As a whole, this two tracks work decently well at introducing Symphony X into the world. Decently as in, actually not very well, but they're a decent listen all the same.

 

[Diesel 11]

Even the verse lyrics sound familiar to me...

Probably because they're typical Symphony X lyrics. Down the road they start to get a bit better at sticking to a subject, but here, in this song, they're broad and general. It's not that they're bad lyrics, they aren't, but it's just about "we're being controlled, can we escape from control, etc". Less interesting than what's coming up on even the very next record.

If you find a song of theirs that actually reuses lines from this one let me know cuz I'd be very curious to see how they improved them.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Probably because they're typical Symphony X lyrics. Down the road they start to get a bit better at sticking to a subject, but here, in this song, they're broad and general. It's not that they're bad lyrics, they aren't, but it's just about "we're being controlled, can we escape from control, etc". Less interesting than what's coming up on even the very next record.

If you find a song of theirs that actually reuses lines from this one let me know cuz I'd be very curious to see how they improved them.

AH! I found it! I know we're not there yet, but I knew I'd specifically heard the first line of The Raging Season before. Peep the second verse at 2:10!

 

[Diesel 11]

Hey, that's cool! The melody in that line in "Orion" is pretty similar to the melody in "The Raging Season", too, just a bit lower and slower. It's actually a very famous quote too, and it's no wonder that Symphony X latched onto it. I don't know which song uses it better - this one uses it as an interpretation for our society, and "Orion" for a character of Greek myth. But cool spotting!

 

[Detective Beauregard]

There isn't much about The Raging Season(s) that hasn't already been said, but I'll give it a stab.

• Into the Dementia was clearly whipped up by Romeo in his basement with a six-pack of cheap beer after the rest of the album had already been written. I can't really say anything about it because there's nothing really there. He wanted it to go another minute but got gassy and went to bed.
• Yes, the intro would later be (slightly) changed and used in a far stronger song from V. It then launches into a riff that would later be used on their fourth album (in a dragon's den).
• Solid verses with a nice drive. Pretty standard for Symphony X.
• The song breathes a bit with the melodic pre-choruses and a synced-up drum and bass groove. Not bad.
• The chorus is pretty weak and bounces around too much. It's too theatrical.
• The Queen bridge has some interesting vocal moments, but as has been stated, Rod Tyler isn't the guy to be doing this. Ever.
• The riff immediately after is somewhat bare bones, but ends with a neat bass/guitar run. Symphony X is like, pretty good at those.
• Pretty subpar solo for Romeo. The best part is the random bass run at the end.
• At 3:40 we have the most interesting bit of the song, and one of the highlight riffs of the album. It's too bad it didn't last a bit longer, because more instrumental sections means less Rod Tyler.

I'll be introducing the "Russell Factor" for this album, which is how I think the vocals in each song would sound if sang by Allen. The scale ranges from great to mind-blowingly outstanding. The real challenge will be the "Rod Factor" for each song from Symphony X's eight remaining albums.

The Raging Season(s)' Russell Factor: pretty dang good

@MrKnickerbocker Thank you for posting the lyrics. It's interesting to see the band devolve from whatever this is supposed to mean to the third-grade penmanship of Iconoclast and beyond. I'm guessing that Thomas Miller had more influence in the early days in this department than he was given credit for. Anyway, unless something really jumps out at me, I won't be commenting much on the lyrics. I'm also really bad at interpreting stuff. This one is obviously about Romeo's summer (and autumn?) of '93 when he went on a bender and picked fights with everyone he came across, screaming at them in a hilarious Jersey accent.

 

[Diesel 11]

It's interesting to see the band devolve from whatever this is supposed to mean to the third-grade penmanship of Iconoclast and beyond. I'm guessing that Thomas Miller had more influence in the early days in this department than he was given credit for.

Yeah Symphony X have never been great lyricists, but Iconoclast is some doldrums and “The Raging Season” is actually pretty solid. And Miller is probably the best lyricist in the band — “Candlelight Fantasia” is gorgeously penned.

 

[Detective Beauregard]

Yeah Symphony X have never been great lyricists, but Iconoclast is some doldrums and “The Raging Season” is actually pretty solid. And Miller is probably the best lyricist in the band — “Candlelight Fantasia” is gorgeously penned.

Oh, Miller was definitely the strongest in terms of lyrics. Currently it's Romeo and Russell fighting over who gets to pen the next tuf guy generic metal verse to get the kiddies interested.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Yes, the intro would later be (slightly) changed and used in a far stronger song from V. It then launches into a riff that would later be used on their fourth album (in a dragon's den).

Good catch! There's so much on this album that would be used later on far better material. This amplifies Romeo's feelings of this album being a "demo".

I still disagree that this, or pretty much any, song would benefit too much from a Russell performance. The melodies and music on this album are just not up to the usual SX standards, even the standards set by the rather pedestrian (in SX terms) Damnation Game.

 

[Midnight]

I still disagree that this, or pretty much any, song would benefit too much from a Russell performance. The melodies and music on this album are just not up to the usual SX standards

Masquerade '98 is a perfect example of this.

 

[Spambot]

MF, I'm in!
I skimmed some of their later albums, but it seems like this dive-in will last months and I'm OK with that tempo. Also, I don't think I ever got into a new band chronologically.

Yeah, there's not a lot to tell about Into the Dementia. First impact is great but is all that wankery really necessary? I expected some melody which will set the mood for the later track or maybe some explosive power chord. Kind of letdown.

The Raging Seasons is much better, and I agree you can really hear Queen in this one, especially in back vocals. I like how heavy they set the rhythm and the tempo transitions. That guitar wankery again - no like. I don't feel like the singer is really into it, it seemed more like he stood at the microphone with a though: "I'm here to do my job and then go home." Anyway, this is '94, right? From production it doesn't feel like it at all. I thought it was mid/later 80's from the first listen and how "thin" everything is.

For what it's worth, it's not that bad considering the fact it's opening songs on a debut album. God knows there are much worse openers and debuts meaning quality will probably pick up from here.

 

[Diesel 11]

For what it's worth, it's not that bad considering the fact it's opening songs on a debut album. God knows there are much worse openers and debuts meaning quality will probably pick up from here.

Yeah this is exactly how I feel. My ‘decently’ quip was really just to say — this is a terrible first impression for one of the greatest prog metal bands, but it’s not a bad listen overall. I think I’d probably take the whole album over Iconoclast and Underworld, although all three I don’t really play that much.

 

[Midnight]

I’d probably take the whole album over Iconoclast and Underworld

I haven't heard those two, but at least this one's short.

 

[Midnight]

Into the Dementia - How does Romeo kick off his band's debut album? By playing guitar underwater, of course! It's a completely forgettable instrumental.

The Raging Season - A quick little drum opening that would later be used in "Evolution (The Grand Design)", and the album properly begins! The opening and instrumental sections are actually kind of nice. The biggest problem is Rod Tyler, who sounds like a frog has taken permanent residence in his throat.

The Queen bridge has some interesting vocal moments, but as has been stated, Rod Tyler isn't the guy to be doing this. Ever.

Oddly enough, I find his singing to be slightly more tolerable if I think of him as a (bad) metal Freddie Mercury.

 

[Diesel 11]

How does Romeo kick off his band's debut album? By playing guitar underwater, of course!

That’s exactly what it sounds like! Completely muffled noodling.