ICONOCLAST

Symphony X

Progressive Metal

3.75 | 507 ratings

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prog058

I'm going to have to give this 5 stars.

Inevitably this won't be rated as highly as say, The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, or, V: The New Millennium Suite, because it is not as progressive. Here Symphony X are continuing the sound they established on Paradise Lost. The music is heavier, less progressive, but this by no means degrades the album. Here is an album that will go off every time you listen to it. You will be headbanging along, but you will also be able to admire the technical virtuosity of the players (especially Michael Romeo) and the incredible vocals of Russell Allen, who is truly one of metal's best, and the songwriting is first class.

The best track on here is probably the most progressive one, When All Is Lost, which has some beautiful vocals and piano with the highlight being the instrumental section where complex guitar and piano lines interchange and move the listener to new heights of ecstasy. The whole song is filled with such emotion and flows so well from one section to the next it is the natural highlight of the album for me.

Nearly everything here is first class. Some of my other favourites include: Dehumanized, Heretic, Iconoclast, and Children of a Faceless God.

This is an album that probably does not quite reach the heights of a couple of their earlier, more progressive albums, but I don't think we should hold the lack of 'prog' in the traditional sense (long songs, classical like suites, etc) to the detriment of the record, because as a record it gets better with every listen, and it is testament to the talent of this band that it warrants so many, calling you back, searching desperately for the repeat button on the stereo.

prog058 | 5/5 | 2011-7-4

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