Twilight in Olympus

Twilight in Olympus
Studio album by Symphony X
Released	March 1998
Recorded	Trax Studios, South River, NJ
Genre	Progressive metal, Neo-classical Metal, Power Metal
Length	52:47
Label	Zero Corporation
Producer	Steve Evetts, Eric Rachel, Michael Romeo
Symphony X chronology
The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997) Twilight in Olympus (1998) V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)

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Twilight in Olympus is the fourth studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, which was released in 1998. It features eight tracks, two of which have become classics: "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Through the Looking Glass", the latter an epic based on Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The drums on this album were played by Tom Walling, due to Jason Rullo temporarily leaving the band for personal reasons.

The album is also the last with longtime bassist Thomas Miller, who left the band during the album tour for personal and health problems.

Track listing

1. "Smoke and Mirrors" – 6:08 (Allen, Miller, Romeo)
2. "Church of the Machine" – 8:58 (Symphony X)
3. "Sonata" – 1:26 (Beethoven)
4. "In the Dragon's Den" – 3:59 (Symphony X)
5. "Through the Looking Glass" – 13:06 (Miller, Pinnella, Romeo)
6. "The Relic" – 5:04 (Allen, Miller, Pinnella, Romeo)
7. "Orion - The Hunter" – 6:56 (Allen, Miller, Romeo)
8. "Lady of the Snow" – 7:08 (Allen, Miller, Pinnella, Romeo)

Trivia

• "Smoke and Mirrors" cites J.S. Bach's Mass in B Minor (Kýrie eléison) in the instrumental interlude after the second chorus.
• "Sonata" contains parts of the second and third movements of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 ("Pathétique").
• "Orion - The Hunter" contains lyrics from Symphony X's debut album.
• According to Thomas Miller, "Lady of the Snow" was inspired by the popular Japanese mythological figure, Yuki Onna. According to Michael Romeo, "the band was looking for a musical and lyrical theme to represent tonalities and scale ideas for a new song, and Tom suggested the Lady of the Snow story, [so] the music was written to reflect the lyrics."
• Also notable is the absence of a title track, which appeared on Symphony X's two previous albums. Michael Romeo confirmed that the track was originally intended to be a long, epic song similar to "The Divine Wings of Tragedy," but was not finished in time due to deadlines. Rumors would later emerge saying the track would be included on one of their future releases. Instead, the song's riffs and melodies were broken up and used on the next album, V: The New Mythology Suite, scattered throughout the songs.
• As of 2011, the band has only performed five tracks from the album live: "Smoke and Mirrors", "Church of the Machine", "In the Dragon's Den", "Through the Looking Glass." and "Lady of the Snow". The track "Smoke and Mirrors" has regularly occurred in the band's set for years and is included on their live release Live on the Edge of Forever, along with "Church of the Machine" and "Through the Looking Glass"

Personnel

• Russell Allen – vocals
• Michael Romeo – guitars, sitar, mini-harp, backing vocals
• Michael Pinnella – keyboards, backing vocals, knife and chainsaw juggling
• Thomas Miller – bass
• Thomas Walling – drums