UMUR "Symphony X" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US, New Jersey based power/progressive metal act Symphony X. The album was released through Japanese label Zero Corporation in December 1994. Symphony X formed in 1994 after Guitarist Michael Romeo and keyboard player Michael Pinnella had recorded the former´s solo album "The Dark Chapter" in 1992 (the album was originally recorded as a demo, and didn´t see an official album release until April 1994) and subsequently opted to form a full band lineup. Symphony X released the 5-track "Dance Macabre" demo in 1994 and two of the demo tracks "Taunting the Notorious" and "Rapture or Pain" have both been re-recorded and included on this debut album.

Stylistically the material on the album is a combination of European power metal and US power metal, with an occasional progressive metal touch (listen to the middle section of "Shades Of Grey"). There are many neo-classical leanings and a strong Yngwie Malmsteen influence, but Symphony X are generally a pretty dark and heavy US power metal influenced act. Lead vocalist Rod Tyler has a strong voice and a powerful delivery. He can sing both higher pitched and more rough mid-range vocals with great conviction. The music features many vocal harmonies but also loads of choirs. The latter are greatly influenced by the multi-harmony choir arrangements of Queen. Duel keyboard/guitar harmony leads are also an element of the band´s sound.

Tracks like "The Raging Season" and "Masquerade" are great examples of Symphony X´s sound on this debut album. Powerful, heavy, melodic, anthemic, and well performed US power metal with neo-classical elements, but most tracks on the album are of a good quality. So on most parameters this is a high qality release and a great and promising debut album by Symphony X. But...and there is unfortunately a but here...the sound production simply drags the album down. When you have a virtuoso guitarist like Romeo in your ranks, it makes no sense that the rhythm guitar is often buried and placed low in the mix. The drums also feature an unpleasant sound, and overall the instrument and the vocal tracks sound a bit disjointed in the mix. You can hear every instrument and vocal part, but when combined the outcome doesn´t do the otherwise good quality material justice. If you are not an audiophile, the production issues may not be a problem though, and personally I can live with the issues to a degree. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

martindavey87 After his 1994 solo release, guitarist Michael Romeo was met with a proposal from a record label to form a band and record an album in the similar vein to his solo material. "Sure, why not?"... and thus was born one of progressive metals most popular and influential bands.

Borrowing heavily upon the neoclassical style of shred made famous by Yngwie Malmsteen, Symphony X's self-titled debut release is a humble album that shows a band with the potential for big things, with the only major setback being the rather subpar production. While it's certainly not terrible, it just lacks that little bit of punch that the music really needs. It's a punch that would be added to future releases, and the difference is immediately noticeable.

As for the music itself, it's nowhere near as ambitious as the bands later releases, which would go on to utilize massive orchestrations, but it's still pretty good, and lays down a solid foundation upon which the band would establish their defining sound. As expected, Michael Romeo's guitar playing is the star of the show here, with his neoclassical virtuosity matched perfectly by keyboardist Michael Pinella, both displaying enough talents to secure their careers in a post-grunge metal scene. Vocalist Rod Tyler does a good job, and is vastly underrated for his work on this album, but it's his only appearance with the group and he will soon be overshadowed by his replacement, powerhouse singer Russell Allen.

'Symphony X' overall is a good debut, with early signs of greatness evident. 'Masquerade', 'The Raging Seasons', 'Premonition', 'Thorns of Sorrow' and the ballad 'Shades of Grey' are all notable reasons why this should be in your collection, and if you're a collector like me, it's certainly not one you'll regret having to own.

siLLy puPPy The eponymous debut album by SYMPHONY X came about after the release of founder and guitarist Michael Romeo’s solo project called “The Dark Chapter” where he hooked up with keyboardist Michael Pinnella. The two hit it off with that project which was successful in Japan and they decided to form a real band in its wake shortly thereafter and to this day are the only two members to appear on every SYMPHONY X album. This is one of those debut albums that gets a bad rap because of the poor production. It is also the only album to feature Rod Tyler on vocals before the much more dynamic Russell Allen took the reigns.

While i have a soft spot for debut albums that don’t quite live up to the better ones that follow, i can’t say that i don’t agree with the general consensus with this one. While the musicianship is already extremely strong on this album with sweeping arpeggios and neoclassical thunder gracing the album’s duration and Rod Tyler’s vocals not being nearly as bad as we are led to believe, the main problem with this one is not only the lackluster production but really the songwriting isn’t up to snuff quite yet. The dynamic interplay of progressive power metal parts just doesn’t quite fire on all pistons.

This very well could have been considered a much better album if it was their only release but SYMPHONY X would improve their sound significantly on the next two albums which would leave this one in the dust. While this is a decent power metal album, the progressive parts hadn’t evolved to an interesting point with the12:07 minute final track “A Lesson Before Dying” being the notable exception and despite the outstanding musical talent clearly heard here things just aren’t jiving together in the cohesive manner that SYMPHONY X is now so famous for. I’m also not sure if Rod Tyler had the vocal range that could have propelled the band into what they became because he seems to be struggling on some of the higher notes. Far from a bad release, it is far from a great one as well. A decent beginning that served as a launching pad for their career and one that most fans will surely encounter sooner or later.

J-Man Like a lot of debut albums, the first observation from Symphony X is often overshadowed by the rest of their discography, largely due to its mediocre production values and lack of dynamic frontman Russell Allen (who would join the fold with their next album, The Damnation Game). Both of these flaws, particularly the powerless production, prevent this self-titled 1994 release from reaching its full potential, but I wouldn't say that it's as non-essential as most others tend to believe. Especially considering its 1994 release date, Symphony X is quite an ambitious release - I can't think of any other albums that blended heavy-edged US power metal with neo-classical, symphonic, and progressive stylings before this one. It's a unique album when examined historically, and although Symphony X would tighten up the formula on future releases, this observation is still pretty enjoyable.

There are plenty of killer tracks like "The Raging Season", "Rapture or Pain", and especially the highly progressive "A Lesson Before Dying" here, so even though Symphony X is not as memorable as the band's future releases, it isn't anything to scoff at. It's an interesting debut that was unfortunately marred by a powerless production, but it still is a recommendable listen to fans of Symphony X.

The Angry Scotsman Symphony X's debut album, this self titled release displays their progressive, neo-classical, power metal sound and is fairly impressive musically but unfortunately not that good of an album.

First, the vocals are pretty bad. Russell Allen was not the vocalist on this album, and while it may be unfair to compare someone to Allen, (who is one of the best vocalists out there) Tyler is honestly just not very good. The vocals sound terribly forced often, and even when not they are flat out painful.

However, while the music is good, (sometimes great) it feels odd at times. While it is all there, it is not quite put together yet. The Symphony X sound still needs to be developed, not too surprising for a debut though. The only standout songs are "Absinthe and Rue" and "A Lesson Before Dying" which is a brilliant 12 minute prog metal epic.

The production is also not very good. While usually not an issue for me at all, here it detracts a bit from the album.

All that being said, this album has the pieces. The progressive thrashy power metal sound, Romeo's shred solos, and some real good songwriting. It is just inconsistent and undeveloped, and the vocals are pretty horrid. Only recommended for hardcore fans or those looking to complete the discog.

Two Stars

Andyman1125 A premonition

Symphony X is one of those bands that emerged in the 90s as a fusion of power metal and the quickly growing genre of progressive metal. At first, like many others, they stumbled, making more generic power metal than anything else. The compositions were pretty uninventive, with some quick neo-classical tricks and standard proggish tendencies to spice up the music with some cheesy symphonic effects and layers. Symphony X’s debut album follows this formula pretty well, outlining what much of the band’s discography will be like in the future. Michael Romeo shows his technical prowess throughout the album, ripping out shredding neo-classical solos meant to wow but are pretty mediocre overall. This particular album is really nothing special; it serves as a decent introduction to the Symphony X sound.

Into the Dementia is a one minute ambient intro with some effects and quiet guitar soloing behind the symphonic atmospheres. The song transitions into the true opener for the album, The Raging Seasons. The track opens with a nice riff and some symphonic layers to back it. This song is one of the better on the album, with some of the proggier and more creative riffs to compliment it. However, the guitar solos tend to detract from the song a bit. They consist of mostly tasteless shredding, with some awkward transitions to go along with them. Overall, the song opens for the album well, showing the listener the general Symphony X style without really showing you anything that special.

Premonition opens with a nice piano and symphonic piece, opening for a nice cheese filled prog/power metal riff session. The melodic qualities for the album are pretty poor, especially with the cheesy choir attempts backing Rod Tyler’s voice. My favorite part of this track is the sweeping guitar/synth sounding layer behind the guitar chugging, but sadly it is rather quiet and not mixed well. Overall, the song is another pretty mediocre effort, continuing a theme for the album.

Masquerade is certainly my favorite track on the album and one of the better compositions of this period (the “power metal” period). Although it is very neo-classical centric, the riffing is some of the better seen on the album, and Tyler’s vocal work is the best seen on the album. Although the stereotypical amateur mixing problems still remain to hinder the track, it does have some nice qualities and cool breakdowns. Overall, although it still isn’t fantastic, it is decent.

Absinthe and Rue is one of the better and the worst tracks on the album. At some points, the riffing is great, with some great foreshadowing to Symphony X’s future style. At other times, the melodic breakdowns and instrumental work is a little pathetic, with awkward transitions and other pretty bad qualities. Throughout the song it’s really a swinging game, with really great verse and then a wall at the chorus with some pretty cheesy power metal riffing.

Shades of Grey is one of the more awkward songs I have ever heard. Although the future style of Symphony X can be heard at times with some really cool use of polyrhythm and adventurous chords, the vocal melodies are painful at times. The attempted jovial feeling of the track is a bit of a failure on the band’s part, with Rod Tyler’s vocal style not fitting the song at all. Overall the song has the seeds of the band’s success, but also contains some of the band’s worst moments.

Taunting the Notorious is mostly just a stereotypical neo-classical track, with some steady riffing and double-bass work. Nothing that special comes out of this track, with some pretty standard Yngwie Malmsteen-esque soloing, although the switches between the guitar and bass solos are quite nice.

Rapture or Pain is in the same vein as Absinthe and Rue. It has some really great parts, such as the cool intro, but also has some pretty awkward moments as well. The instrumentation in this song is some of the better on the album, with some cool polyrhythmic moments and atmospheric guitar riffing. However, just like much of the album, the vocal melodies seriously lack at sections. Overall, the song is again pretty mediocre; with some generic riffing and at parts great sections, and at others pretty bad parts.

Thorns of Sorrow is just like many of the other tracks: some interesting keyboard work with some neo-classical power metal riffs to go along with it. Overall it is again pretty mediocre; the majority of the song is just some pretty standard verse-chorus-verse structure and some uninteresting riffs and themes.

A Lesson Before Dying is the 12 minute epic of the album, and a culmination of all the stress of mediocrity that built up over the album. Opening with a mellow acoustic part and some pleasant melodies for a change, the song is the first dynamic to really show up on an album filled to the brim with fast-paced power metal riffs. The track takes a while to get started up, which is a relief, and shows the band’s budding progressive metal taste as well. The track has some of the album’s best compositional goodies, with some jazzy feels and great proggish atmospheres. Overall, the song is definitely one of the better songs on the album.

ALBUM OVERALL: The immaturity of Symphony X runs amuck on this album, but just like any child, the traits of maturity are sown all over the place. Although the majority of the album is just standard neo-classical riffing and over-accentuated and muddled soloing, it does have a few (a very small few) select redeeming qualities. From songs that show the band’s developing styles to some interesting use of symphonic layers, the album is almost decent. However, the overbearing sense of mediocre power-metal riffs and mediocre neo-classical influence, the album is seriously put down from where it could have been alright. Overall, it’s not really very good, but is just a shy better than bad. 3- stars.

Phonebook Eater Symphony X's debut is really nothing too special, like most debuts of Progressive Metal bands. Even from this first effort the band expresses their theatrical and dramatic style in their songs, like many Power and Neo Classical Metal bands, as well as Neo Prog ( Fish-era Marillion, Pendragon). This element will always be part of Symphony X's characteristics, but some of these characteristics are still yet to develop, and will eventually when "The Divine Wings Of Tragedy" will be released.

As I said, this album isn't particularly good, even because of the band's singer at at the time, Rod Tyler, who isn't nearly as good as Russell Allen's powerful voice. In fact, the singer's vocals are flat, tired, and give no expressions whatsoever.

What makes this album good are the songs, some of them, great, some of them not bad. The solos aren't as spectacular as the ones from following albums, but still, some arrangements are enjoyable for me. The melodies are, like I said before, theatrical, and some times they can be effective, some times they just can't. The musicians already show an impressive technical preparation, but still they don't prove it completely.

An immature album, that is definitely the best way to describe this. Not very promising, but we all know that the band later on reached their maturity with the already mentioned "Divine Wins Of Tragedy", possibly the best and finest Neo Classical Metal album of all time. But when this debut was released, back in 1994, the band had still much more to prove.