THE ODYSSEY

After producing what was at the time their most progressive album to date in the form of V: The New Mythology Suite, I suppose it's only natural that the Symphony X pendulum would swing back towards the power metal side of their sound. With production values occasionally fluctuating but mostly holding firm, it's all very exciting prog-tinged power metal with the perfect Homeric fantasy concept underpinning it, but it doesn't seem quite as groundbreaking and thrilling as The New Mythology Suite was, and spends a lot more time in much more traditional power metal territory. I suspect many fans of the more progressive side of Symphony X will, like me, find this frustrating, particularly since The New Mythology Suite showed us precisely what they are capable of.