Preamble

Back in 2007, Symphony X released Paradise Lost which was my favourite album of that year, and also my favourite Symphony X album ever. Now, they are back with a new album after a 4 year break. I was looking forward to this album for a long time, so will it live up to the hype?

Review

The album has a very promising start with the epic beginning that we’ve come to expect from Symphony X. But as soon as the song starts it because apparent that this is not simply Paradise Lost 2, but instead a much heavier take on the whole Symphony X sound. The melody-centric songs have been replaced by a bunch of heavy riffs.

The reasons I love Symphony X are still here, they still do a great job of blending power and progressive metal. Fantastic vocals from Russell Allen make this album almost a blessing to hear, and his new aggressive voice is just further proof of his great ability. As you might have expected, the performance of the 3 Michaels is also top notch.

Unfortunately with the whole heavy switch over, many songs have lost their individuality. The songs sound too similar to each other and don’t bring anything new to the table. Even after a few listens I had trouble telling songs apart.

The album itself is a concept album, and while there is no connecting story line, all the songs having to do with the dehumanization of humanity due to technology. All these means is that you will hear similar lyrics across all songs, and the overuse of the suffix “-ized.”

My favourite songs on the album would be End of Innocence which sounds pretty similar to Eve of Seduction on Paradise Lost. The ballad When All Is Lost which sounds pretty similar to We Will Fly from Russell Allen’s solo album. Maybe it’s just the beauty of the old songs that draws me to these, but they’re definitely great songs.

The Bottom Line

I expected another Paradise Lost, and I didn’t get that. Yes, Symphony X isn’t one to do the same thing over and over again, and with that my longing for the next album is still here. Yes, some of these songs are enjoyable, but the rest of the album feels really stale in comparison. Needless to say, the performance on this album is top notch, all the members really give it their all however the writing could be improved.