Need help with Symphony X

Well, I just got my first Symphony X album a few weeks ago. As a matter of fact, it was their last album, Iconoclast, since they had it available at the shop and I remember having read some good reviews about it. The thing is, I really like Prog Metal, though at the time the band I know (and like) best is Dream Theater, but I still want to get into some other bands, and as I had read, Symphony X is suposed to be among the strongest bands around. However, the thing is, I really didn't like Iconoclast, I found it almost as just another speed metal album (well, perhaps I don't know so many speed metal albums, anyway), and found little to enjoy about it. So, if there's anyone around who knows Symphony X well enough, should I stop here, or is there some chance that I may like some other album from this band?

If you enjoy Dream Theater you won't necessarily enjoy Symphony X as they aren't really all that similar.  I agree with zeqexes fully in his advice to you. I found that Iconoclast, to me, was just a barrage of sound that went on and on and kind of bored me and gave me a bit of a headache on top of that - however I will say that I haven't finished with it yet as I intend to try it out again to ascertain if there was perhaps something that I missed through the first few listens. Personally I would advise you to listen to the new Spock's Beard album.

I've listened to all of symphony x's albums a couple times over, (although admittedly i haven't listened to their older stuff in a while) and iconoclast is definitely their heaviest album. It is extremely riff based as is paradise lost, to the point where some of their breakdowns are almost thrashy. If you like the softer more melodic side of progressive metal I would suggest: V, twilight in Olympus, damnation game, and divine wings of tragedy 

V is the only Symphony X album that is great all the way through.

Divine Wings and The Odyssey have their title tracks and a few other songs but that's it.

Iconoclast also has a superb title track, but the rest of the album is mostly forgettable thrash metal, Very disappointed when that one came out.

Dellinger wrote: Well, perhaps I'll give it a try to those 3 albums. I'm not really too worried if the whole album isn't great (actually, there's no DT album in which I like all the songs), but with Iconoclast the problem was that I didn't actually like any song. As far as I see it, it's not because it's too heavy, but because there isn't so much going on, and it's not very melodic (for me, heavy and melodic aren't necessarily opposite things). And to think that when I saw Iconoclast on the music store they also had the Odissey one, and I was uncertain for which one to pick... however, when I went to buy it, they didn't have the Odissey anymore. Thanks a lot for your advice. Perhaps I'll try to hear that Odissey song on Youtube.

Jbird wrote: Dellinger wrote: Well, perhaps I'll give it a try to those 3 albums. I'm not really too worried if the whole album isn't great (actually, there's no DT album in which I like all the songs), but with Iconoclast the problem was that I didn't actually like any song. As far as I see it, it's not because it's too heavy, but because there isn't so much going on, and it's not very melodic (for me, heavy and melodic aren't necessarily opposite things). And to think that when I saw Iconoclast on the music store they also had the Odissey one, and I was uncertain for which one to pick... however, when I went to buy it, they didn't have the Odissey anymore. Thanks a lot for your advice. Perhaps I'll try to hear that Odissey song on Youtube. You didn't even like the song 'When All Is Lost' ?  That's a very melodic song..... But yes, Iconoclast is their heaviest, most metal album, and Paradise Lost wasn't too far behind that metal-wise. I'd recommend V: The New Mythology Suite for you to start with then. The keyboards on that album are more prominent than on other Symphony X albums.

Yeah, this is it. Now I have new hope on this band. I guess I'll be checking out the 3 recommended albums. It's only, well, I also want to get into "Pain of Salvation", "Riverside", and "Haken", plus get "Into the Electric Castle" by Ayreon (I already have all the albums that came after that one). Plus some other Prog not Metal albums. But I'll hunt this ones out.

I agree with some of the others here on checking out Divine, Twilight and V. Those are their best and most representative records overall, IMO.

I guess I seem to be alone here in absolutely loving Iconoclast (especially the title track and "When All is Lost").

But if you didn't like it, you might try their earlier stuff, which is a lot less heavy. The Divine Wings of Tragedy is easily my favourite of those; I'd go with that one.

Cthulhu42 wrote: I guess I seem to be alone here in absolutely loving Iconoclast (especially the title track and "When All is Lost"). But if you didn't like it, you might try their earlier stuff, which is a lot less heavy. The Divine Wings of Tragedy is easily my favourite of those; I'd go with that one.

Paradise Lost is the album that really drew me to the band though I loved Odyssey  and Iconoclast. Great band, great albums!