THE ODYSSEY

Symphony X's The Odyssey is one of the better progressive albums to come out in the last couple of years. It is definitely on the "metal" side of progressive metal in its sound and musicianship, but its composition and themes do give off a progressive vibe. Inferno, the opener, is more in the straight metal vein, but it is certainly a worthwhile track. Wicked is of less quality; Incantations of the Apprentice is much more intresting. Accolade II starts getting into the progressive spirit, it is the second part of the Accolade series (kind of a knight's tale story) and is a mini-epic. It contains some symphonic elements, with a more keyboard driven feel than the previous tracks. King of Terrors is loosely based on an Edgar Allen Poe story (the Pit and the Pendulum). It has a very dark feel, and it contains a short narrated section that is truly creepy in the musical context. Awakenings is very prog, a blending of jazz, neo-classical, and metal influences that comes off very pleasingly. Michael Pinella's keyboard works wonders for this song.

And finally we have The Odessey. Wow, is all I can write. The track starts off with a rousing horn theme, transitioning into a shorter dark guitar part, and then the very lyrical Odyseus Theme. Russell Allen gets a chance to shine with this track, and his vocals are extraordinarily and appropriately expressive. Michael Romero's guitar also is brilliant here, ranging from speed-metal blaze solos to scene-setting voice accompaniment. Other highlights of this epic include the wonderful use of time meter to accentuate feeling in Sirens and the instrumental Scylla and Charbydis. Champion of Ithaca is catchy and appropriately triumphant end theme, one that will leave you humming when the actual music ends.

The Odyssey is a very good piece of work by a band sometimes overlooked because of the established titans in the prog metal genre. The level of quality in the album varies somewhat, but overall is pretty high. I recommend this work to all prog metal fans, and even those who aren't too fond of prog metal should give it at least a try. It gets four stars, I only wish I could give it 4.25.