Symphony X - Topic

A distinct murmur went around the world in 1994 when a certain six-string guitarist from New Jersey named Michael Romeo of the prog band Gemini recorded The Dark Chapter demo and sent it out to record labels. It seemed the new guitar messiah of the coming 21st Century had made himself known to the world and he’d soon launch a new band that would stir up the prog genre. With an innovative mixture of heavy metal, progressive rock and neo-classical sounds, Romeo and his men in SYMPHONY X recorded a debut album (released in Japan in ’94; released worldwide in 1995) that began their journey to create a blueprint for the young generation of prog metal bands to follow.

The Damnation Game (1995) celebrated the debut of the band‘s second asset: the charismatic, deeply emotional and relentlessly aggressive vocals of Russell Allen. The Divine Wings Of Tragedy (1997) placed the emphasis on the band’s progressive approach and is still considered to be SYMPHONY X’s ultimate masterpiece. Twilight In Olympus (1998) livened up the band’s classical aspects with the instrumental ‘Sonata’ (which is based on the piano Sonata No. 8 ‘Pathétique’ by Ludwig van Beethoven). Via V: The New Mythology Suite (2000), the quintet delivered their first concept album at the turn of the millenium that dealt with the myth of Atlantis. Live On The Edge Of Forever (2001) was visual proof that the band could easily transpose their complex material onto the stage. Oriented towards the eponymous poem by English poet John Milton, the thrashing harshness of The Odyssey (2002) is said to be the band’s most aggressive album to date. Paradise Lost (2007) is the darkest and most gothic-like work in the band’s discography.

Considering this accomplished history of prolific creation, prog connoisseurs may ask themselves how SYMPHONY X could possibly go one better. The answer comes from the singer himself, Russell Allen: “Iconoclast delivers a summary of our previous work and a musical positioning of SYMPHONY X within the second decade of the new century.” Meanwhile, Michael Romeo raises the bar enormously with his guitar work: “This record will only become accessible to the listener after several runs. That was our purpose – otherwise we would have failed trying to create a multi-faceted and profound album that gives pleasure to our fans for a long time!”

‘Iconoclast,’ an opus of an eleven-minute opening track, leads off with convoluted, labyrinthine guitar parts that become smoothly interconnected. To