The sounds of the intro from the Underworld album start at 9.15 AM, and I am fairly sure that the first song will be from the Underworld album, but, oh, am I surprised when I hear the intro from Iconlast taking over.
Ok, these guys are really starting out strong! I mean… WOW! It’s an explosion from the beginning and this just shows that they are back, and back with a clear statement that they are here to stay.
Singer Russel Allen is so strong with his vocals and the whole band is singing along to the chorus, and so are the entire audience.
And when the second song comes along, “Evolution (The Grand Design)”, I start to realize that this will become a really sweaty night! For both the band and the crowd. I love what they are doing now! That they actually play the older songs, and I just hope that they can keep this energy up during the rest of the night.
During “Serpent’s Kiss”, guitarist Michael Romeo shines with his perfect playing and I am getting goosebumps all over! To hear how perfectly tight SYMPHONY X is is mindblowing! The funny thing, though, is that Russel introduces the whole band by their names, but forgets to introduce himself… Well, I guess he thinks that we all know his name already.
The band launch into “Nevermore”, I think I have died and gone to heaven when I hear the perfection of all of the musicians. The timing of these guys is just perfect, they are so much on beat, and I can see how they communicate by eye contact and I think to myself “Can it get any better than this?” This is like having musicasm (sorry to offend).
The lights go down a bit, and singer Russel Allen starts to talk. And he tells us what a difficult time he has had after the horrible accident he was involved in, and that he thinks about it every day.
The crowd goes completely silent when he tells his story and I can feel my eyes starting to tear up, because I can not imagine the horror he has been through, and that he has the strenght to be back on stage and actually talk about it, makes my heart bleed. GOD BLESS!
“Without You” is aired, and the entire audience sings along, and cellphones and actual lighters come alive (just like in the old days, huh?) I hope that Russel Allen can feel the love and empathy from the crowd, because I certainly do.
Russel Allen’s voice is perfection! He has that bleeding, scratching sound in his voice that touches me to my core.
I feel like I just want to jump up on stage and give him a big hug.
Oh, my godness, Symphony X play the first notes of “Domination” and I just HAVE to grab my mobile phone and start sending live, because I want all of my friends who aren’t attending the show to actually see this!
Bass player Mike Lepond is just amazing with his instrument. I do not understand where that energy comes from, but he is really showing the crowd what he is made of.
Lepond and drummer Jason Rullo are the rock solid pair that makes it look and sound so easy it’s scary, because what they play together is not anything you can learn over night, and it makes you wonder how many hours, days, weeks, years they have been practising to be so in sync with each other.
Next up is “Run with the Devil”. The best parts of this song in my opinion are when the bass, keyboard and guitar are totally in sync. And I was used to hearing the same with Dream Theater back in the day, but SYMPHONY X takes it to another level (yes, seriously) because this song has that edge I love, and the riffs that keep you caught up in the song all the way from beginning to end. What I see these guys do on this stage can only be explained by one word; SICK!
I have a hard time understanding that this is actually live, and that they truly ARE this good… Goosebumps… Again.
I don’t know how much more I can take now. I feel totally overwhelmed and just full of so much happiness and joy, to be able to watch, listen to and experience this. SO much talent amongst five different individuals on one stage. I feel so overwhelmed that I actually need to take a few steps back to get myself together and take a deep breath.
Well, that break didn’t last long… I hear Mike Lepond play the first bass notes of “Sea of Lies”, and I am totally back in the SYMPHONY X world again. And when I say back in their world, that is exactly what I feel. They have a way to somehow create a world inside our world. I hate to compare bands, but this was the way DT made their audience feel during the beginning of their career, but there is a new band in town, and they are taking over!
I have to also say that the way singer Russel Allen is talking and joking around with the audience and fellow band members between songs is refreshing. He has a great sense of humor! A true entertainer who belongs on a stage (if he actually wasn’t born on one)!
The keyboards and drums are starting to play, and I know it’s “fly time” or as Russel says, it is time for fire. The crowd is going wild singing along to “Set the World on Fire”.
I think the whole Copenhagen area (or at least the island of Amager) are hearing “Fly with me forever hiiiigh”, because I can surely hear every single person in the audience singing along to the chorus. And if they can’t hear the crowd singing, they can probably hear the double bass drums played by Jason Rullo.
Amazing… Just AMAZING what these guys do.
Russel says “You’ve been a great audience, thank you Copenhagen”, and I look at our photographer, and down at my watch and say “No way, they’ve only been playing for an hour, that can’t be right”.
But I see that Mike Lepond puts his bass down by the stage, and I know that they will come back.
Russel comes back on stage after a short while, and asks if we are ready for one last song. We should get ready for 25 minutes of it!
I can not believe they will play “The Odyssey” in its entirety live.
This will be pure ecstasy, and when I hear Michael Pinnella playing the beginning on keyboard, my jaw drops to the floor.
A band that hasn’t been playing live together for a long time should not be able to do this.
“The Odyssey” has so many elements, and it is so technical, that not many musicians should be able to play it other than in a studio with breaks and takes. (I personally only know of one other existing band capable of it, but let’s not mention them.) But they are doing it live and it sounds amazing!
I look around me, and it’s not only my jaw that is dropping to the floor. I see so many smiling faces in the crowd, and it seems I am not the only one who is stunned by the fact that it sounds so good.
I do not have to be biased here, because I can promise those of you readers that weren’t attending this concert, that the entire audience had the same feeling. SYMPHONY X is an amazing band.
The musicians are out of this world. All five of them are so talented it is SICKENING (in a good way)
Next time you see a poster near you announcing that SYMPHONY X is coming to a city near you, hurry up and get your tickets. They are sold out fast!
New Jersey’s progressive metal masters SYMPHONY X are delighted to announce a European tour, which will take place throughout May and the beginning of June this year. The run will see the five piece hit eleven countries in one month – with the tour kicking off on May 7th in Lyon, France, culminating in Gelsenkirchen, Germany at the Rock Hard Festival.
“We are really excited about the upcoming tour! Can’t wait to get back on the road and look forward to seeing everyone again very soon!”, says the band.
Symphony X 2019 tour dates:
07 May France Lyon Ninkasi Kao
08 May Switzerland Pratteln Z7
10 May Italy Treviso New Age
11 May Italy Bologna Estragon
12 May Italy Rome Orion
14 May Italy Milan Alcatraz
15 May Germany Munich Backstage Halle
16 May Germany Ludwigsburg Rockfabrik
17 May Germany Berlin Lido
18 May Germany Hannover Faust
19 May Denmark Copenhagen Amager Bio
21 May Norway Oslo Rockefeller
22 May Sweden Stockholm Klubben
24 May Finland Helsinki Nosturi
26 May Sweden Gothenburg Pustervik
28 May Germany Hamburg Knust
29 May Germany Dresden Beatpol
31 May Germany Aschaffenburg Colos-Saal
01 June Belgium Vosselaar Biebob
02 June Holland Nijmegen Fortarock Festival
04 June UK Coventry Empire
05 June UK Holmfirth Picturedrome
06 June UK London Electric Ballroom
07 June France Paris La Machine du Moulin Rouge
08 June Germany Gelsenkirchen Rock Hard Festival
Tickets are on sale now!
Symphony X released their latest critically acclaimed studio album ‘Underworld’ in 2015, via Nuclear Blast. They triumphed in creating a panoramic ‘album rock’ experience in an era cursed with diminishing attention spans. Heavily inspired by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, ‘Underworld’ drew on the themes from the Divine Comedy, most notably the part on Inferno. As homage to Dante’s use of the number 3 and its multiples, the band utilised the motif in both lyrical and melodic context. The first song on the album is a three syllable, three note melodic phrase and in the verses there are three references to three songs on the bands third album, ‘The Divine Wings Of Tragedy’.
You can purchase “Underworld” here: http://nblast.de/SXUnderworld
A distinct murmur went around the world in 1994 when a certain six-string guitarist from New Jersey named Michael Romeo of the prog band Gemini recorded ‘The Dark Chapter’ demo and sent it out to record labels. It seemed the new guitar messiah of the coming 21st Century had made himself known to the world and he’d soon launch a new band that would stir up the prog genre. With an innovative mixture of heavy metal, progressive rock and neo-classical sounds, Romeo and his men in SYMPHONY X recorded a debut album (released in Japan in ’94; released worldwide in 1995) that began their journey to create a blueprint for the young generation of prog metal bands to follow.
“The Damnation Game” (1995) celebrated the debut of the band‘s second asset: the charismatic, deeply emotional and relentlessly aggressive vocals of Russell Allen. “The Divine Wings Of Tragedy” (1997) placed the emphasis on the band’s progressive approach and is considered one of SYMPHONY X’s biggest masterpieces. “Twilight In Olympus” (1998) livened up the band’s classical aspects with the instrumental ‘Sonata’ (which is based on the piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Pathétique’ by Ludwig van Beethoven). Via “V: The New Mythology Suite” (2000), the quintet delivered their first concept album at the turn of the millennium that dealt with the myth of Atlantis. “Live On The Edge Of Forever” (2001) was visual proof that the band could easily transpose their complex material onto the stage. Oriented towards the eponymous poem by English poet John Milton, the thrashing harshness of “The Odyssey” (2002) is said to be the band’s most aggressive album to date. “Paradise Lost” (2007) is the darkest and most gothic-like work in the band’s discography. With “Iconoclast” (2011) SYMPHONY X raised the bar even further, a commanding declaration of an inventive blend of classic rock, straightforward heavy metal and ambitious prog.
Latest videos:
‘Kiss Of Fire’: https://youtu.be/6uY6MNuMdUU
‘Nevermore’: https://youtu.be/_z3AHbjeb1U
‘Without You’: https://youtu.be/xZe-Pmgq9DY
Links:
If you are strictly a Symphony X fan, and that is all you want to hear from their guitarist, then you may be slightly disappointed. Call it provocative, call it daring – call it what you want, but this is damn good music. Technically, this is NOT Michael’s first solo work. Way back in 1994, he released The Dark Chapter in several countries. This War of the Worlds Part 1 is his first worldwide solo release. Let’s take a look at the tunes, shall we?
Introduction sets up the general ambience of the coming tunes. It may surprise you in the end. Fear the Unknown includes some seriously fleet-fingered guitar work and busy drums. The vocals are urgent and in your face. I believe the track Black is the centerpiece. It is about as heavy as 300 crazy warriors bent on kicking in your face and mind. Fucking Robots should get five cool points just for the title. Djinn features some sounds you may not normally hear… Believe features the skyward bound vocals of Mr. Castellano. Difference features some heavy double-bass drum work. War Machine features some gorgeous classical violin work. Oblivion and Constellations also feature some beautifully intricate soloing and in your grill pounding, pounding what’s left of your mind into ultimate submission.
Long story short, if you are a metal fan with an open mind, you just might dig this new recording from Symphony X‘s main shredder. If you aren’t, then you won’t!
]]>Musically “Pawn And Prophecy” might be slotted into a ‘Classic U.S. Power Metal’ pigeon-hole – and here I’m thinking of bands such as Jag Panzer, Virgin Steele and Manowar – but the compositions are enriched with ideas of their own (even some Doo Wop/Boogie finds its way into the album). Not even a Prog-sounding ‘The Mulberry Tree’ – which reminds me a lot of classic Uriah Heep – sounds out of place amongst lots of jagged Metal sonorities. So yes, there are a lot of facets to this album but it never ceases to feel like a direct in-your-face Metal release.
The album’s level of musicianship is quite high and the first thing to strike me is the amazing performance of vocalist Alan Tecchio (Watchtower, Hades, Synaptik). His screams and vocal range in songs such as ‘Avengers Of Eden’ and ‘Masters Of The Hall’ are impressive.
As with his previous album, LePond here freely indulges in his bass-playing skills – ‘I Am The Bull’ is a good example. But it’s not just the bass guitar….and the lead vocals….that shine. The riffs of songs such as ‘Masters Of The Hall’ and ‘Black Legend’ are headbanging delights and the guitar solos in the same ‘Black Legend’ are full of contagious energy. Helping to bring LePond’s compositions to life are his Symphony X band mates Michael Romeo (guitar) and Michael Pinnella (keyboards) as well as other guests (scroll down for the full list of musicians). All of them are at the top of their game.
I cannot fail to mention the album’s title-track. Surpassing the 22-minute mark in duration, it’s basically Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ re-imagined for the Metal fan. With moods ranging from tranquillity to utter fury the song ‘Pawn and Prophecy’ is as epic as it gets.
Tired of the same old Power Metal? Then put on this “Pawn And Prophecy” and, as Tecchio screams in ‘Avengers Of Eden’, “Riiiiise!”
]]>The adventurous and diverse War Of The Worlds / Pt. 1 is due out July 27th on Music Theories Recordings
Watch the video for Black here:http://smarturl.it/5az601
Internationally acclaimed guitar hero Michael Romeo has announced the release of his eagerly anticipated first
official solo album, War of the Worlds / Pt. 1, on July 27th thru Music Theories Recordings / Mascot Label Group.
The wildly ambitious 10-song disc sees the founder, chief songwriter and prime mover of the progressive titans
Symphony X furthering his reputation as one of the world’s preeminent axe slingers and composers of adventurous,
multi-faceted orchestral metal.
“It’s me putting all the things I love about music in a blender,” says Romeo. “Somebody might listen to it and say,
‘What is this guy thinking?’ But it’s all about being creative and having a good time with it.”
Michael Romeo (Symphony X) – Guitars
John “JD” DeServio (Black Label Society) – Bass
John Macaluso (Yngwie Malmsteen, Ark, James LaBrie) – Drums
Rick Castellano – Vocals
Michael Romeo – War of the Worlds / Pt. 1
Track List
Introduction
Fear The Unknown
Black
F*cking Robots
Djinn
Believe
Differences
War Machine
Oblivion
Constellations
Release Date July 27, 2018
Available Formats CD, 2LP+MP3, and Digital.