THE DIVINE WINGS OF TRAGEDY

I am probably going to be added to the "Some reviewers deserve to be shot" thread for this review! This is definitely the oddest review i have ever written. I will probably be mummified and tombed in an ultra dramatic way by loads of Symphony X fans!

Now here is an album that you will really enjoy. I apologise to any fans of extreme symphonic/gothic/power prog metal or whatever you want to call it. I don't know why but the word "Castlevania" comes to mind when i listen to this music. This album seems to be a big combo of neo classical, power, symphonic and prog metal. I just can't take this music seriously, on their latest album, "The Odyssey", the music is nowhere near as ridiculous as this. I can actually listen without pissing myself with laughter. I very much agree with the points that Bryan Adair raised in his review of this album.

The difference between our reviews is the rating. I find this album to be really good musically. Although Symphony X are the most UNSUBTLE Dream Theater rip off ever, they take their sound to levels where Dream Theater would never dare go (because if they made music as cheesy as Symphony X they would be classed as atrocious!). If you think Dream Theater is cheesy you have heard nothing. This album by Symphony X takes cheese to a whole new level. it's on the same levels as Dragonforce, Europe and Styx! Fortunately, this kind of cheese doesn't smell rotten, it is rather good and digestable cheese.

This album's best points are good vocals, great guitar work from Romeo and some decent songwriting. The best tracks are "Of Sins and Shadows", "Out of the Ashes", "The Accolade" and "Eyes of Medusa".

This album's bad points are that the cheesiness is meant ot be taken seriously, it fails in this because it makes me laugh so much. The ridiculously embaressing choir sections of the 20 minute title track and "Of Sins and Shadows". Luckily, i will still give this album a good score for comical value! The songs and concepts are very well written and even though they are DT ripper offers, they do have their own ideas and sound.

The keyboards are probably the biggest problem on this album, as well as on other albums i have heard by them. They do nothing but add cheesiness to the album. They may be technically good notes but they are nowhere near as good as Dream Theaters keyboard work. The cheesiness of the vocals i think is great cause it makes me laugh, but the cheesiness of the keyboards sounds like abuse of the instruments. It is not used well enough against the guitar, this is something that they never really got right, Dream Theater however got the balance between guitars, vocals and keyboards perfectly correct from square one.

This album definetly has it's ups and downs but overall i have a soft spot for this release, for bringing tears of laughter to my eyes. The only other prog band I really find funny are the amazing vocal styles of Gentle Giant. Symphony X are officially the best DT clones in my book but i would recommend any DT album over this one. However I wish they had encorporated some of the cheesier aspects of this album into "The Odyssey".