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Symphony X

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Symphony X
performing live in San Francisco, California, 2007
performing live in San Francisco, California, 2007
Background information
OriginMiddletown, New Jersey, United States
GenresProgressive metal, neoclassical metal, symphonic metal, power metal
Years active1994–present
LabelsNuclear Blast, Inside Out, Zero Corporation
MembersMichael Romeo
Michael Pinnella
Jason Rullo
Russell Allen
Michael Lepond
Past membersThomas Miller (bassist)[disambiguation needed]
Rod Tyler
Thomas Walling
Websitewww.symphonyx.com

Symphony X /ˌsɪmfəni ˈɛks/ is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community. They also have achieved more commercial success with the 2007 album Paradise Lost; the band's 2011 album Iconoclast is the highest chart position and the most first-week sales in the band's history. Michael Romeo about the origin of their name: "So, you know, the music we were coming up with had the keyboard thing and the guitar, and some classical elements, so the word ‘Symphony’ came up and, so the dramatic thing, you know? So then, somebody said ‘Symphony X’ and we were like, ‘yeah, that’s cool’ it is that kinda thing, and the ‘X’ is the unknown and all the other stuff we do."[1]

Biography

The Dark Chapter, Symphony X and The Damnation Game (1994−1995)

In early 1994 Michael Romeo (ex-Phantom's Opera, ex-Gemini) recorded a studio album entitled The Dark Chapter, which featured himself and keyboard player Michael Pinnella.[2] The tape attracted a fair share of attention, particularly in Japan.[2] He then recruited bassist Thomas Miller, drummer Jason Rullo, and vocalist Rod Tyler.[3] Their self-titled debut album was recorded in the same year, and released to a positive reception in Japan by the now-defunct record company Zero Corporation Label.[4] The band's second studio album, The Damnation Game, followed six months later. Singer Rod Tyler had left the band by then and was replaced by current singer Russell Allen.[5]

The Divine Wings of Tragedy and Twilight in Olympus (1996−1998)

The Divine Wings of Tragedy was the album, that first gave Symphony X exposure in metal circles. It took a considerable time to record the album, with the recording sessions beginning in 1996 and concluding in 1997. The positive feedback from the specialized press served to establish Symphony X in Europe; their success in Japan only continued to grow.

At the end of 1997 and for part of the next year, Jason Rullo, their drummer, had to stay away from the band in order to solve personal issues. He was temporarily replaced by Thomas Walling. Even with a temporary drummer, the band recorded Twilight in Olympus, released in early 1998. That year also saw the first live performances from the band, which by then had already gathered many fans from around the globe. Their first official show happened in 1998, in Japan. It was soon followed by a world tour. Bassist Thomas Miller left the band and was replaced by Michael Lepond in that year.

A compilation album, Prelude to the Millennium, was released by the end of 1998. As an extra, it featured a second version of the song "Masquerade" from the first album, with Russell Allen on vocals.

V: The New Mythology Suite and The Odyssey (1999−2002)

Jason Rullo returned to the drums for the band's fifth album, V: The New Mythology Suite, released in 2000. It was the band's first release on major progressive label InsideOut Music. The album was their first concept album, dealing with the myth of Atlantis. The album features classics such as "Communion and the Oracle", "Egypt" and the mini-suite "Rediscovery", and includes pieces of classical music.

The band went on a European and South American tour shortly after its release and recorded their first live album, Live on the Edge of Forever.

In 2002, the band released The Odyssey, an album prominently featuring a 24-minute long musical interpretation of the Homeric epic, the Odyssey.

Solo albums (2003−2006)

Keyboardist Michael Pinnella released a solo album, entitled Enter by the Twelfth Gate, on October 12, 2004.[6]

Vocalist Russell Allen's solo debut, entitled Atomic Soul, was released in the summer of 2005. With this album, Allen took a different musical direction from that seen in his work with Symphony X. It was considered by many—including Allen himself—to be a hard rock album.[7] Also in 2005, he recorded an album called The Battle with former Masterplan vocalist Jørn Lande under the moniker "Allen/Lande".[8] The two would later record a follow-up album entitled The Revenge, released May 11, 2007.[9]

In 2005 Symphony X was featured on Gigantour, a summer festival headlined by Megadeth with Dream Theater and Anthrax. Two Symphony X songs from the tour, "Inferno" and "Of Sins and Shadows", are featured on the Gigantour DVD and CD-set, released in September 2006.[10][11]

Paradise Lost (2007-2010)

Lead vocalist Russell Allen performing at a concert in San Juan, Puerto Rico on May 27, 2007.

The band's album Paradise Lost, a concept album loosely inspired by John Milton's epic poem of the same name, was recorded in Romeo's studio and released worldwide on June 26, 2007. The band claimed this work had darker themes musically.[12] The album included a special DVD of footage shot by the band throughout their history, available in FYE stores.[13] The release coincided with a 14-month world tour, including a tour through all of Europe with Dream Theater in the fall of 2007.[14] The band also revealed plans to perform in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as appear for the first time ever in Russia, India, and the Middle East.[14]

Paradise Lost debuted at number 123 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, selling 6,300 copies in its first week. The record also debuted at number 1 on the Top Heatseekers Chart.[15][16]

Symphony X released their first music video for the song "Serpent's Kiss" on July 28, 2007.[17] It was followed by a video for "Set the World on Fire," released on January 11, 2008.[18] The band toured North and South America from October to November 2008, and toured Asia in February 2009.

Iconoclast (2011-present)

On March 1, 2010, an update on the Symphony X official website announced, that the band had recorded most of their next album and that Romeo and Allen were working on lyrics; Romeo was getting ready to start doing tracking for the album.[19][20][21] The album's name and lyrical concept were revealed on January 29, 2011 in an interview by DJ JC Green of Metal Messiah Radio's "Heavy Metal Thunder" show with Russell Allen: the follow-up to Paradise Lost will be titled Iconoclast and will have its lyrics centered around "machines taking over everything and all this technology we put our society into pretty much being our demise."[22] When asked about a release date, Allen said, "We are in post-production, so the album is pretty much almost done. At this point, mixes are being wrapped up and finalized and it's off to mastering and should be ready for release in a few months, definitely first quarter of 2011. We've got the artworks all done, we're taking pictures next week... all that good stuff. So everything's on track for release pretty soon. Allen also commented that "Sonically, it's in the realm of [Paradise Lost] in a way, in terms of the sound of things; the guitar sound is a little different. Basically, the album is pretty intense, probably the most intense record we've ever done... "This album will contain a good body of work that harkens back to a lot of early metal, some early metal, and a lot of Symphony X standards that you guys know already, and a little bit of a newer sound too, here and there, just a newer direction."[22]

On February 25, 2011, Symphony X played the first show of their 2011 tour in Stuttgart, Germany, where they performed two songs from Iconoclast: "End of Innocence" and "Dehumanized". Some days later, in Antwerp, Belgium, they performed yet another new song, "Heretic". During their show in London, England, the band debuted another new song titled "Prometheus".

On March 25, 2011, it was announced on the Nuclear Blast website and Blabbermouth.net, that the new Symphony X album, Iconoclast, would be released in Europe on June 17 and in North America on June 21,[23] as a Standard Edition as well as a 2-CD Digipack.

Iconoclast debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, selling more than 7,300 copies in its first week. The record also debuted at number 7 on the Top Hard Rock Chart, number 19 on the Top Rock Chart and number 13 on the Top Independent Chart.[24][25] The album showcases the highest chart position and the most first-week sales in the band's history.

Sound

Symphony X is often compared to other progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Shadow Gallery.[26] Their music includes complex timings and odd meters while incorporating elements of symphonic metal and more traditional heavy metal. It also contains strong neo-classical elements reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Pantera, Megadeth, Randy Rhoads, and other bands.[27]

Recording studio: The Dungeon

The Dungeon is the studio located at the home of Symphony X's guitarist and composer Michael Romeo. The albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite were partly recorded in The Dungeon, while The Odyssey, Paradise Lost and Iconoclast were fully recorded there and produced by Romeo himself. Symphony X spent a sum of money upgrading The Dungeon and buying state of the art orchestration software and tools for the rich symphonic arrangements in their songs.

Line-up

Current members
Former members
  • Thomas Miller − bass guitar (1994−1998)
  • Rod Tyler − vocals (1994)
  • Thomas Walling − drums (1998−2000)
Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title U.S. FR[28] UK
1994 Symphony X - - -
1995 The Damnation Game - - -
1997 The Divine Wings of Tragedy - - -
1998 Twilight in Olympus - - -
2000 V: The New Mythology Suite - - -
2002 The Odyssey - 67 -
2007 Paradise Lost 123 60 161
2011 Iconoclast 76 - 167

Other albums

Year Title Type U.S. FR[28] UK
1999 Prelude to the Millennium Compilation - - -
2001 Live on the Edge of Forever Live - 145 -

Music videos

  • "The Serpent's Kiss" – 2007
  • "Set the World on Fire" – 2008

References

  1. ^ "Interview with Michael Romeo of Symphony X (4/4/08)". http://theheaviestmatteroftheuniverse.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b Edwards, Owen (March 4, 2008). "A Perfect Symphony Part One: 1970's to 2000". alloutguitar.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18. [dead link]
  3. ^ "Symphony X". PROG METAL BLOG. blogspot.com. January 9, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  4. ^ "Symphony X Band Info: Members: Michael Romeo". symphonyx.com. July 5, 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  5. ^ "Official Symphony X FAQ: Why did Rod and Jason, and Tom Walling leave the band? How did you find Russell?". symphonyx.com. September 2003. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  6. ^ "Enter By the Twelfth Gate: Michael Pinella". Amazon.com. December 22, 2004. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  7. ^ Turner, Joshua (June 3, 2005). "A Little Bit O' (Atomic) Soul - An Interview With Russell Allen". progressiveworld.net. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  8. ^ Sandvall, Anders (November 11, 2005). "Russell Allen of Allen/Lande". metal-rules.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  9. ^ Rockitt, Rob (June 21, 2007). "Allen/Lande - The Revenge (Release Year - 2007)". hardrockhideout.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  10. ^ Beaumont, Christopher (August 23, 2006). "DVD Review: Gigantour 2005". Blogcritics Magazine. blogcritics.org. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  11. ^ "Gigantour: Various Artists". Amazon.com. September 5, 2006. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  12. ^ Ritchie, Jason (2007). "10 Questions with Symphony X". getreadytorock.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  13. ^ Jax VH, Symphony X Internet representative (June 27, 2007). "Bonus dvd, tour dates, and sales figures, oh my!". Symphony X MySpace Blog. myspace.com. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  14. ^ a b "Official Paradise Lost Press Release". symphonyx.com. March 26, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  15. ^ "Paradise Lost reaches 1 on Billboard Heatseekers Chart". billboard.com. July 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  16. ^ "Paradise Lost Sales". symphonyx.com. July 13, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  17. ^ "Watch Symphony X's 'Serpent's Kiss' Video Online". metalunderground.com. July 28, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  18. ^ "Video Premiere: Symphony X's 'Set the World on Fire'". Headbangers Blog. MTV Networks. January 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  19. ^ "Symphony X Plans North East Shows In Support Of 5.1 Special Edition of "Paradise Lost"". metalunderground.com. November 6, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  20. ^ "Symphony X Announces South American Tour Dates". metalunderground.com. August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  21. ^ "Symphony X: More Asian Tour Details Revealed". blabbermouth.net. November 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  22. ^ a b "Symphony X: New Album Title, Lyrical Concept Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  23. ^ "Nuclear Blast".
  24. ^ "Iconoclast chart position". billboard.com. June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  25. ^ "Iconoclast cracks US Top 100 Sales". blabbermouth.net. June 30, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  26. ^ Begrand, Adrien (September 16, 2005). "Fates Warning: Awaken the Guardian (Expanded Edition) – PopMatters Music Review". PopMatters. PopMatters Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  27. ^ "Official Symphony X FAQ: Who influenced each of the band members?". symphonyx.com. September 2003. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
  28. ^ a b "Recherche pour: Symphony X". lescharts.com (online database of record charts compiled by France's record industry). June 30, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
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