In 1994, a certain buzz went around the world when a certain New Jersey guitarist named Michael Romeo from the prog band Gemini recorded the demo of The Dark Chapter and sent it to record labels. It seemed that the new guitar messiah of the 21st century had made himself known to the world and would soon launch a new band that would reawaken the prog genre. With an innovative blend of heavy metal, progressive rock and neoclassical sounds, Romeo and his men from SYMPHONY X recorded a debut album that began their journey to create a blueprint for the young generation of prog metal bands to come.

The Damnation Game (1995) celebrated the debut of Russell Allen’s charismatic, deeply emotional and relentlessly aggressive voice. The Divine Wings Of Tragedy (1997) emphasized the band’s progressive approach and is still considered SYMPHONY X’s definitive masterpiece. Twilight In Olympus (1998) revived the band’s classical aspects with the instrumental “Sonata” (based on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 8 “Pathétique”). With V: The New Mythology Suite (2000), the quintet released its first concept album, which dealt with the myth of Atlantis. Live On The Edge Of Forever (2001) was visual proof that the band could easily transpose their complex material to the stage. Oriented towards the poem of the same name by English poet John Milton, the crushing harshness of The Odyssey (2002) is considered the band’s most aggressive album to date. Paradise Lost (2007) is the darkest and most gothic work in the band’s discography.

With this history in mind, prog connoisseurs might wonder how SYMPHONY X could do better. The answer comes from singer Russell Allen himself for the next album: “Iconoclast offers a summary of our previous work and a new musical positioning of SYMPHONY X in the second decade of the new century.” In addition to Romeo’s wild and explosive outbursts on his six-string, another very important ingredient shapes SYMPHONY X’s eighth studio album: the incomparable delicacy and depth of feeling expressed by Allen’s voice. Paying homage to his greatest idol, he confesses: “There’s a lot of Ronnie James Dio between the lines!”

Iconoclast can definitely be called a manifesto: a commanding statement of a creative blend of classic rock, outspoken heavy metal and ambitious prog. These are the elements that albums destined for an eternity of praise are made of!

Following Underworld, the ninth and so far last studio album of the group, released in July 2015. The album, although not a concept album but more of a theme album, is inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Inferno, with quotes on the door of Hell, Minos, various circles of Hell, the city of Dite, and finally after the second half of the album, Symphony X are inspired by the myth of Hades and in particular the myth of Orpheus.

Line up:

• Michael Romeo – guitar
• Russell Allen – vocals
• Michael Pinnella – keyboards
• Jason Rullo – drums
• Michael Lepond – bass