Symphony X - Symphony X
| Release date: | 1994 |
| Style: | Symphonic power metal, Progressive metal |
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Owners: |
330 have it 19 want it |
01. Into The Dementia
02. The Raging Season
03. Premonition
04. Masquerade
05. Absinthe And Rue
06. Shades Of Grey
07. Taunting The Notorious
08. Rapture Or Pain
09. Thorns Of Sorrow
10. A Lesson Before Dying
11. Enhanced Element (features Screensaver and Band Interview Part I) [special edition bonus]
02. The Raging Season
03. Premonition
04. Masquerade
05. Absinthe And Rue
06. Shades Of Grey
07. Taunting The Notorious
08. Rapture Or Pain
09. Thorns Of Sorrow
10. A Lesson Before Dying
11. Enhanced Element (features Screensaver and Band Interview Part I) [special edition bonus]
Reviews 
Lyrics Special edition released in 2004.
Rating:
5.0
5.0
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Rating: 5.0 |
The first album of that amazing band is for sure the worst album I have ever heard in that kind of music. Even if the bases are almost here, musically, the vocals are awful and all the choruses sound like Queen gone bad. You easily understand why they have fired that singer! We all have to start somewhere but here Symphony X was on the wrong track. Read more ›› |
Rating:
2.0
2.0
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Rating: 2.0 |
Back to the humble roots of one of the greatest progressive metal bands of all time with their self titled debut. I would love to say that they started off with a bang and a great album, but they did not, not by a long shot. To put this mildly, it's bad; listening to this whole album enough times to write a review was not a fun experience. The instrumentation is actually pretty good; Romeo plays really well (though not as well as he would in the next couple of years), the drumming is complex with some fresh and different beats, the keyboards are fine, and everything is tight. Why did I say this was bad, you ask? Well, there are two reasons: the singer and the production. They are just awful, plus the songs and songwriting aren't that great. The production sounds really muted and just generally awful; it really affects the drums because it makes them sound really hollow and they deliver no punch at all. The singer sounds like he has some nasal problems; I have no idea what made Romeo think this guy could sing when this band started, but he really cannot (his name is Rod Tyler for anyone that cares). He is off key so many times and he just sounds bad; he is the main reason this album is basically unlistenable, though I think this album could have some potential if they re-recorded it now. Also, the songs are also pretty boring for the most part, the "heavy and intense" opener "The Raging Seasons" is just not enjoyable at all and the epic is boring and longer than necessary. Read more ›› |
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Comments: 16
Visited by: 547 users
| Mountain King K i K o Posts: 1361  |
Not that bad at all, it's just the production and some songs are not very good...
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675  |
The two real weak points of this album are the production, and the vocals. Although they do remind me a bit of Ripper Owens! lol When "Masquerade" was re-recorded with Russell Allen on vocals, it sounded like a totally classic Symphony X song. I think this album could do with re-recording actually...
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| Xtopher Posts: 60  |
I dont know why you people dont like this album. you cant really blame the production cause if that were the case you wouldnt like any black or death metal album from the early 90s. i dig this album, its obviously not their best, but i think there are some great songs like taunting the notorious, masquerade, absinthe and rue and the final long one that kicks ass. this album remade with russel's voice would kick most of this year's albums from certain big bands out there in the ass!
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675 |
Written by Xtopher on 28.01.2011 at 22:59 I don't know where you got the idea that I don't like the album from what I said.  I said it had weak points, but that doesn't mean I think its bad. lolThe songs themselves, are mostly very good, and I think if it was remade with Russell, it would sound awesome! The demo track "Danse Macabre" which never made it onto the debut is also an amazing song, and Id really love to hear Russell doing this one. xD
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| Xtopher Posts: 60 |
Written by Angelic Storm on 28.01.2011 at 23:04 yep, you are right about that, my bad. i should have said "i dont know why some people dont like...."
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| strade Posts: 677  |
Extremely underrated; one of their best.
---- My lo-fi synth project: http://luciddreamer.bandcamp.com
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| TemplarLS Posts: 48  |
Written by strade on 23.02.2011 at 00:44 Hell yeah!!!
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| PowerThrash Posts: 63  |
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| Sleeping Dragon Posts: 33  |
Easily their worst album, but honestly, the vocals aren't that bad...
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Definitely not that bad an album but I wouldn't get carried away, it's their worst for me.
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| qlacs "The Quaker" Posts: 1547  |
Music-wise it's close to the quality of their later records! I think they definitely should do a re-recording.
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| majormalfunction Posts: 1507  |
Production is weak and the singer, while not bad, is not good enough for this kind of music. The music on the other hand is pretty good, you can definitely see the beginning to what's about to come on the following albums. It's very neo-classic and classic prog metal-ish, which is a good thing. Nearly all songs here are above average and there's many songs that would be nice to see rerecorded since they are actually pretty damn nice. It's a shame that the band seems to neglect their two first albums when playing live, many of these songs would crack heads in a live setting.
---- Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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| nonZero Posts: 1334  |
I agree with the 6.6/10 rating, I would give it around 6.5-7.0, The production doesn't bother me too much (I listened to the special edition), but the vocals definitely do drag it down. With a better vocalist, this might have been 7.5-8.0 in my books as the music is quite good.
---- Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated) Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres) So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 5109  |
Written by nonZero on 07.03.2024 at 11:28 They should play the album live with Russel on vocals or do a re-recording of it with Russel (Dream Theater played the debut album live with LaBrie, not that that was an improvement  , but I bet it was fun for the audience, also not a bad live album - https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=10649 )
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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| nonZero Posts: 1334 |
Written by JoHn Doe on 07.03.2024 at 11:34 Given that it's been 9 years since their last album they've clearly run out of inspiration so they should definitely do this! Maybe it would respark their passion for the type of music they used to make...
---- Top 500 Albums (ordered & rated) Top 200 Overlooked Albums (with genres) So I Heard You Like Wintersun... (Time II find new bands)
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| JoHn Doe Posts: 5109 |
Written by nonZero on 07.03.2024 at 11:36 I don't think it's lack of inspiration is the problem, considering how good the two Michael Romeo albums were recently. Weren't they supposed to go on tour recently? Maybe a new album will come soon after. It usually does.
---- I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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