Symphony X
The Odyssey

THE REVIEW

Waiting for "Paradise Lost" let's analyze the work that precedes it, namely "The Odyssey" released in 2003. From the name alone, you expect a colossal work that will remain in the history of this group that has managed to evoke so many emotions... unfortunately, this is not the case.

In order: "Inferno (Unleash the Fire)" opens this work right away with a nice riff by Romeo that will be repeated several times throughout the song but doesn't really captivate. Followed by "Wicked", which is similar to the previous one: rhythmic with guitar in the foreground. Usual solos in the central part including one by Russel who, as always, delights us with his extraordinary vocal power. "Incantations Of The Apprentice" continues the thread of the first two, pleasant and fast, the instrumental part leaves a bit to be desired... there's too much disorder in my opinion. "Accolade II" starts very calmly, the metal is put aside for a moment in favor of melody, resulting in a good track both in the sung and instrumental parts where finally the solos are linked to the rest of the song and are not too exaggerated. It arrives at "King Of Terrors"... well, it's the highlight of the work, a powerful and aggressive track from the first notes where the singer brings out all his impressive voice, excellent! It is followed by "The Turning", a good song as well, perhaps a bit too repetitive but the instrumental part asserts itself.

With "Awakenings" the pace slows down with a very calm start (the bassist, who had been missing so far, also reappears), a tranquil sung part accompanies us until the drummer and Romeo's entry that shake things up, the instrumental piece is interesting with the alternation of the sweet sounds of the keyboard opposed to the harder ones of the guitar. And here we arrive at the suite. "The Odyssey" is a terrible stop under all points of view: first of all, that really bad start should be eliminated, which I define as the lowest point reached by Symphony X, they wanted to create something majestic, but it resulted in a mess with the addition of classical instruments that worsen the situation, fortunately after 3 minutes the direction changes but it remains at a low level without finding any cue. There's no thread to follow and slowly you get lost among the thousand notes played, so much boredom, alternation of rhythms, and hints of melodies make it a mediocre and soulless song. The end also needs reviewing. As already mentioned, a masterpiece was expected, but instead, we are only VERY disappointed and sleepy. What a shame. The idea of putting the Odyssey to music was great, but I can't connect the greatness of that work with this song. A missed opportunity.
It closes with the bonus track "Masquerade" that helps us recover a bit.

Well, what can I say, it started fairly well with the first 7 tracks only to fall with the last one. Romeo brings out the best of himself as a player but not as a composer. We are light years away from their masterpieces. 2.5 for the esteem (..and the trust in the future).

No one will agree with me, but that's how I feel...