TWILIGHT IN OLYMPUS

After hearing the excellent "Paradise Lost" album I became very interested in the work of Symphony X. Their blend of orchestration, symphonic prog and metal is compelling at best and so "Twilight in Olympus" is an album that I had high hopes for.

The problem is the album does not hang together and is quite forgettable for the most part with some glimpses of brilliance here and there. The liner notes state that the band did not deem this one of their better albums because there were musical differences and they were lacking inspiration. On the limited edition CD the interview with the band plainly states the album was rushed to appease the label, never a good thing, and they felt that the best thing on it was 'Through the Looking Glass (Part I, II, III)' and 'Smoke and Mirrors' and I tend to agree. These are both brilliant tracks and the band have played them live often.

It was supposed to have an epic track which became 'Odyssey' ending up on that album, so the band were disappointed at this. All is not lost as the aforementioned tracks are very well played and became popular Symphony X tracks. There are excellent time signature changes and metal power riffing from Romeo and Allen's vocals are clean and give it that Dream Theater feel, a band they are always compared to.

The resultant album is a bit of a misfire that features a lot of mediocrity, but as a transitional album showing the changes in style, it is important to the band and led to their trilogy of masterworks. The 20 page booklet and lyrics are part of the great packaging of the Limited Edition CD that features the interview and nice PC Rom visuals. The best was yet to come.