THE ODYSSEY

I look at this album as pretty much a Divine Wings of Tragedy #2. Not necessarily in terms of quality, but in terms of album and song structure. You have a number of shorter songs with a ten minute track hidden somewhere in there, a twenty-minute-plus epic, and a final closing bonus track. They both have a track called Accolade, and neither album is conceptual like V or Paradise Lost. Nevertheless, the music and the production is much stronger here than on The Divine Wings of Tragedy, hence the extra star.

Nevertheless, when this album is looked at, it's merely Symphony X playing their game still. Noodly guitars, fast but uninspired keyboards, a strong rhythm section, and fantastic vocals. That is, it's same-old Symphony X until the 24 minute title track comes on, which breaks the mold of Divine Wings. To be honest, out of the four CDs I have the privilege of owning by this band (Divine Wings, V, Paradise Lost, and The Odyssey), this is my least favorite all around. It's not bad, but a number of the songs just never hit me, due mostly to the fact that I'd listened to the other three first and suddenly there were no surprises or tricks here.

The vocals are again the selling point of this album. On The Turning and The Odyssey in particular, Russel Allen blows the rest of the band out of the water. The Turning features him heading a standard progressive/power metal tune about werewolves, if I understand correctly. The Odyssey, though, takes him on an a symphonic, orchestral journey that doesn't spend half its length in noodles and soup, unlike the standard sort of Symphony X track.

All in all, a good album by Symphony X's standards, with all the fast guitars and howling Russels you hope for in such a release. As far as it stacks against the progressive metal world, though, there is very little new to be found here, very little progressive. And so being fairly average as far as prog goes, an average rating it gets.