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Rating:
After listening to the latest Symphony album, I honestly had lost some interest in the band: too many symphonic arrangements, themes too pretentious and epic for an essentially prog band, in my opinion. Consequently, this "Paradise Lost" is a truly pleasant surprise, as it takes the group towards a less majestic sound with tones that sometimes approach Dream Theater (which is not necessarily a positive thing), although they maintain the usual biting power of their power roots.
To give an idea, I find that this album presents several similarities with "Stream Of Consciousness" by Vision Divine, a homegrown revelation of prog-power, although the latter generally do not indulge in the solo deliriums of the American band.
The album opens with an introductory track that, just to contradict me, is almost entirely symphonic, but it works well. The second track "Set The World On Fire (The Lie Of Lies)" is already one of the best on the album: a fairly classic power metal, with a rhythm section that feels like thunder and a chorus "hair in the wind" style, and ultimately there's nothing to be done: Allen's voice remains of a superior class compared to all his power colleagues for its ability to incorporate all the nuances of these in their best variant.
The third track "Domination" sees an increase in both the presence of keyboards and time changes, and leaves room for some of Romeo's spatial virtuosity. "The Serpent's Kiss", on the other hand, is definitely more progressive than the previous ones, but about halfway through, there's a well-inserted epic break. The title track is one of the two masterpieces of the album, the best; then again, ballads that succeed always touch more than all the others, and this one would have satisfied the old John Milton as well.
Following, we find the most prog track of the whole record, with a spine-chilling sequence of guitar and keyboard solos in the second half of "Eve Of Seduction". In "The Walls Of Babylon" the title doesn't lie, as there is a return to epicity, albeit not excessively pompous. The eighth track "Seven" brings us back to a power full of energy, where drummer Rullo does honor to his (granted, at least funny) surname. "The Sacrifice" is the penultimate and the worst track of the album: the reason lies in its hybrid nature, it is a piece that wants to be another ballad, but doesn't give up on some prog breaks without a minimum construction, resulting in a bit of a whine! Perhaps it was a studied expedient, but placing the worst track as the penultimate one enormously enhances the beauty of the last "Revelation (Divus Pennae Ex Tragoedia)". A multifaceted progression where the symphonic element appears at the right moments and then gives space to the instruments, with a chorus that sticks in your head more than the others: the heralded second masterpiece of the disc.
One of the best Symphony X albums I can remember since "The Divine Wings..."; moreover, it presents tracks where the extreme technique of the musicians does not clash with the emotional value of the music.
To be clear, the latest Dream Theater compared to this is really boring, a sign that being technically maniacal never pays off; I consider "Paradise Lost", at least for the moment, as one of the best albums of the year and a cornerstone of modern progressive metal.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
08 Seven (07:01)
Above all - high and mighty - will like a towering
steed - a Web of Conceit that I weave
More...wanting much more - grasping with
Envious Eyes - dark desires lead to words
that cut like knives
Frozen in your tracks... No remorse
Embrace the rack - Twisting down your spine
... 'till the End of Time
It's Fire and Ice - make the Sacrifice
No one there to catch you when you Fall
It's Shadow's and Sin - Enemies Within
You'll be fine, so cross the line and Damn it all
Slip into Shades of Nothing - yesterday's
promises die - More, taking more than I need to
bleed you dry
Cut your throat - Abandon all Hope 'blood-money
lusting' portrayal - Break the trust from dawn
to dusk bring down the curtains on you final
act of betrayal
Empty hands recoil... feel your Blood begin to boil
Tails and Fangs or Doom - violently consumed
It's Fire and Ice - make the Sacrifice
No one there to catch you when you Fall
It's Shadow's and Sin - Enemies Within
You'll be fine, so cross the line and Damn it all
Virtue or vice? Will you pay the price?
When there's no one to catch you when you fall
...so Damn you All...
Give me hot-blooded yearning - infect and pollute
all that's pure - more than my heart can endure
Vengeance and Fury - Screaming
and eye for an eye - lashing out in Anger
I curse the sky
Demon Song is sung - first your ear ... and then
your tongue - Wear this Mask of Fire - and burn
for all you're desired
It's Fire and Ice - make the Sacrifice
No one there to catch you when you Fall
It's Shadow's and Sin - Enemies Within
You'll be fine, so cross the line and Damn it all
09 The Sacrifice (04:49)
Your Eyes singing to me sweet lullabies
While you lie there in submission
Forbidden desire
Alone in the moonlight hearts of fire
Burn away our inhibitions
When the stars lose their fire
And night steals the morning away
Forever and a day
I will stay, I will stay here with you my love
Sacrifice a heart beat away from paradise
All my reasons given way to temptation
Fear and shame
Looking for someone else to blame
We're devoured by these foolish accusations
With every fleeting breath I take
Maybe our love was a mistake
Eternal life I traded for one moment beside you
When the stars lose their fire
And night steals the morning away
Forever and a day
I will stay, I will stay here with you my love
When the stars lose their fire
And night steals the morning away
Forever and a day
When the stars lose their fire
And night takes the morning away
Forever and a day
I will stay, I will stay here with you my love
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Other reviews
By actingout
Michael Romeo’s guitar is absolutely devastating, and the drum sound does justice to the great musician Jason Rullo is.
‘Paradise Lost’ is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, with a unique delicacy and intensity.
By zambo
This album is simply splendid, characterized by a more aggressive yet technical sound.
Paradise Lost is one of the most beautiful tracks composed by the band in 13 years of honorable career.
By Dreamtheater
Symphony X is showing a severe lack of innovation.
They are slowly fading, and "Paradise Lost" confirms it.
By Hellring
Romeo’s guitar, Allen’s voice, Pinnella’s keyboard, Lepond’s bass, and Rullo’s drums are perfect in every section of the album.
Iconoclast returns to us, four years after Paradise Lost, a band in great shape with clear ideas.
