THE ODYSSEY

Not bad at all, Mythology has to be one of the most interesting things ever. And Symphony X pulls off a great lessons teaching you about the Great Odysseus and his adventure through Sirens, Cyclops Polyphemus (I think the name is hard to pronounce and spell), going to the land of death and passing through scylla and land of the lotus eaters of such. Just to return to his beautiful Penelope. Also explains the twelve ring shot and slaughtering the suitors-which were harrasing his wife and son (Telemachus) for the royalty and money they inherited- very well. But what of the content alone? There's the music as well, great support and well put together riffs. Perfect for those metal and non-metal heads looking for a mythical lesson. The rest of the CD, however, is probably more for the metal people. Depends, I have let people who aren't into metal listen to it and they still find it good.

To me, this is probably Symphony X's hardest they dish out, or alteast it feels it as the vocals are a little harsher than normal (That's saying a lot too, they're already pretty harsh in the other albums). As the songs progress I find the solos and other features very entertaining. There's plenty of power from where these guy came from, and they dish it well. Trust me, The Turning is proof of that, awsome solo with a ton of power. You also Get Inferno too, great intro to the CD with power giving you the sense that: these guys want to be hard! Apprentice song and Accolade are decent songs as well, they've got moments to make you like the album, Awakenings is probably up there with Odyssey.

I personally, find Symphony X a little to hard for my tastes, but they deffinetly have talent. And this album is actually quite good when I'm looking for a hard mixture of music. Giving it a 3 wouldn't do justice, because I find it as an excellent addition to anyones collection. But definetly not a masterpiece. If you want hard, check the CD out. Want a lesson on Odyssues, check out Odyssey, if you want some metal with talent and musical value, then jump into the universe of Symphony X and hold on. 4/5 stars to one of the most influencial prog metal bands that exsist yet.