V - THE NEW MYTHOLOGY SUITE

Another great album from Symphony X, combining their progressive virtuous metal (with some doom influences and some remissness from power metal like their paced rhythms) with majestically classical music, particularly MOZART. The album is very consistent, with great grandiose melodies, great complex instrumental arrangements and performances, fairly good musical transitions, variety. A must to your ear.

The concept of the album is very fictional, in someway remembering Ayreon, in which it tells a story of the lost civilization of Atlantis, created by superior beings from cosmic space who started to create creatures. But something went wrong and several beasts were created. Among their creator, they (Dark side) were banished from Atlantis, till the day they went back and fought with the Good side in Atlantis, winning the war and affecting mankind beyond that, with dark forces surpassing the balance with good forces. But there is still hope and mankind will have an important play on that matter.

I don't find any weak tracks at all, from the beginning to the end the tracks have the same high quality with all the factors I described. But still, I would like to emphasize some tracks. Evolution is one of those, with a good melody with very complex guitar work. To appreciate also is the rhythm of Fallen and the progressive subtleness and beauty of Communication and The Oracle. I find in The Dance of Balance/Lacrimosa a memorable track, with psychedelic complex drumming creating a wonderful tense atmosphere leading to a soft organ crescendo followed by emotional chorus taken by Mozart. Mozart presence in the album is also patented in the great A Fool's Paradise, another highlight, with the classical composer's musical arrangements making the final bridge of the track and preceded by great and strong melody reinforced tremendously by a well-orchestrated chorus and with the powerful paced drumming. The final track, the great suite of the album, The New Mythology, has also its great moments, many transitions remembering DREAM THEATER but a la Symphony X, with its great chorus leading once again the emotion accomplished by the instrumental power.

Many ingredients make this progressive record a must to all progressive music lovers. Epic, classical, melodic, virtuous, powerful, diverse, in sum, great sonority, though not brilliantly original.