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Rating:
In 1998, SymphonyX followed up a pivotal album for them. "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" is unmatched by them now, being their masterpiece. Just a year after the release of that massive masterpiece, they delight us once again with an excellent album, although not comparable to the previous one, endowed with a new, more original style, maintaining the status that made the X band famous: "Twilight in Olympus".
First of all, the line-up changes: on drums now sits Thomas Walling, which might disappoint those who were expecting breathtaking syncopations, of which Rullo was a master. Walling starts his work with tracks that have a rhythm far from impressive, yet rich in restarts and accelerations which will become the strong points of these tracks. Naturally, we find the always-present Romeo (in shape and always ultra-technical on his guitar) and Pinella who create admirable instrumental parts. The themes are reminiscent of mythological situations on a base of prog with power-like and neoclassical atmospheres that so much distinguish our band.
The music begins immediately with an opening that smacks of baroque music with "Smoke & Mirrors", in which the instrumental performance is as always impeccable, and with a singer, Allen, who wisely doses the (exceptional) range of his vocal cords. The track is very engaging, although endowed with a fairly standard rhythm, and I start to miss Rullo's odd-time signatures. The second song has become a symbol of Symphony X's music, from which many fan clubs also take their name: "The Church of the Machine" is an excellent song, but what is surprising is the lyrics: a formidable antithesis between mythology/religion and today's progress in a truly amazing musical ride. The influence of classical music is present in the small interlude named "Sonata" based on the theme of Beethoven’s 8th Sonata in C minor, an excellent fresco of the versatility of our musicians. This small track ushers us into another beautiful piece: "Into the Dragon's Den", which I find, in my opinion, a bit too short, but it features a truly spectacular unison instrumental section.
And here we come to the suite, a real gem: "Through the Looking Glass" is organized into three sublime parts. In various interviews, Romeo has often praised this gem, saying it is often moving for him. I can't disagree, being an incredible tribute to dreams, imagination, and fantasy. I would define it as a manifesto of modern musical art: conceptually perfect, just as the musical aspect is impeccable. Chilling is Allen when he cries "dream on". The listening cannot stop, however, at the suite, and I continue to savor the notes of "The Relic" which highlights the skill of a bassist like Miller, while I find the last two "Orion-The Hunter" and "Lady of the Snow" somewhat understated, despite offering an excellent conclusion to the album.
Yet another good, indeed, excellent effort by the American progsters. Despite being written just a year after that masterpiece which is "The Divine Wings of Tragedy", it maintains an excellent quality level and is not a child of the rush to return to the market and shows no style slip-ups or lack of interesting cues. The suite is its testimony. A merit of the album is that it is (almost) never boring and captivates with every listen. The rating isn't 5, but 4, for the simple reason that it follows their masterpiece.
Recommended for fans of the group but also to all followers of the genre. And why not, to those who want to discover a great, excellent band.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Smoke and Mirrors (06:08)
It's all perpetual dreams, this hidden life ain't what it seems
Walking dead we are
Victims of misfortune and lies, and tortured bringers of demise
Circling above like vultures
They reap the harvest that we sew and take, like trusting fools
Promising charade
All days now disappear from weeks to months, from months to years
Forever bound, shackled to the wall
The night falls,
I've seen 1000 moons rising in the sky
The night calls,
I feel the midnight as it slowly cloaks my eyes
Touched by the kiss of the sunrise
Live with shadows and fears
Behind smoke and mirrors
Try to turn back the years
Living inside smoke and mirrors
Sacred and serpentine, a hypnotizing twisted theme
Weaves our souls to roar
Like candles in the wind, our echoed cries above the din
Fade into this faceless sculpture
In the wheel of chance and fate, spinning as we watch and wait
A mystery to us all
On the edge of sanity, we tread the seas of destiny
Forever bound, silent voices call
The night falls,
I've seen 1000 moons rising in the sky
The night calls,
I feel the midnight as it slowly cloaks my eyes
Touched by the kiss of the sunrise
Live with shadows and fears
Behind smoke and mirrors
Try to turn back the years
Living
Inside smoke and mirrors
Live with shadows and fears
Behind smoke and mirrors
Try to turn back the years
Living inside smoke and mirrors
Ohh... the night calls
02 Church of the Machine (08:57)
Bow down
In the platinum maze
Twilight cathedrals
Spread the system plague
Forging sacred thrones
In the void unseen
Merciless judgement in the church of the machine
I'm the master, looking down from the edge of space and time
Flesh and steel intertwined
I am the future
Sacrifice your soul and succumb to me
Nailed to your faith, you'll believe
Scream and no one hears my pleas
Faceless masses falling to their knees
Bow down
In the platinum maze
Twilight cathedrals
Spread the system plague
Forging sacred thrones in the void unseen
Merciless judgement in the church of the machine
Pyramids in the sky
Playing out their cosmic games
Rulers of us all
Forever cursed we live in pain
Cursed we live in pain
(Cursed we live in pain)
The creator, 'Neath the darkened sun my empires rise
Artificially devised
The destroyer
Fierce intentions flow from a virtual rage
Forever lost and enslaved
Total mesh of soul and steel
Life force under my command
Twisted baptism of fire
Between machine and man
Scream and no one hears my pleas
Faceless masses falling to their knees
Bow down in the platinum maze
Twilight cathedrals spread the system plague
Forging sacred thrones in the void unseen
Merciless judgement in the church of the machine
Bow down in the platinum maze
Twilight cathedrals spread the system plague
Forging sacred thrones in the void unseen
Merciless judgement in the church of the machine
04 In the Dragon's Den (03:58)
Placid skies,
Through crystal gazing eyes
Slaves to our desire,
In a ring of smoke and fire
The dungeons call,
Two faces on the wall
Candles light the way,
For a moonlight serenade
Through the nights and days,
We will find a way
A way to carry on what we believe
An empty door,
Ashes on the floor
Hypnotic array of lights,
Dragons calling throughout the night
Omen in black,
Chained down to the rack
The end never in sight,
Soaring through an endless plight
Through the nights and days,
We will find a way (find a way)
Silence fills the shrine,
giving us the sign
Forever lost,
Forever in the dragon's den
Born with second sight,
Essence burning bright
Forever lost,
Forever in the dragon's den
Silence fills the shrine,
Giving us the sign
Forever lost,
Forever in the dragon's den
Born with second sight,
Essence burning bright
Forever lost, forever in the dragon's den
06 The Relic (05:03)
Silver cross in ancient halls, deep inside the castle walls
Bound to sleep, forever locked in chains
Evil carved into the stone, ancient words they've never known
A serpent's silent shroud still remains
Come with me and I'll make all your wishes come true
Lifting the chains of oppression from you
Wiping away the lines carved in your face
Take the Relic from this place...
Carry on, into the horizon, wielding courage, staff in hand
Journey on, through shadows and dreams, and what
lies beyond the guardian's keep
Prey and siege in voiceless woe, dust was scattered long ago
Awaken from the dark and endless sleep
Man's desires-now mortal wounds, believing tales and shallow truths
Hardened hearts now tremble in the keep
Trust in me and I'll lay all your nightmares to waste
Take the Relic from this place
Carry on, into the horizon, wielding courage, staff in hand
Journey on, through shadows and dreams, and what
lies beyond the guardian's keep
Carry on, into the horizon, wielding courage, staff in hand
Journey on, through shadows and dreams, and what
lies beyond the guardian's keep
Carry on, into the horizon, wielding courage, staff in hand
Journey on, through shadows and dreams, and what
lies beyond the guardian's keep
07 Orion - The Hunter (06:56)
Child of the oceans I am, walking on the waves
Stirring the pools, I silence and calm the tides to a glaze
Touched by a vision of love, her beauty recognized
Elusive to me, progressions are now violence in disguise
On a quest for light, and braving the seas
Chasing the morning star, wait for me...
Now I'm blinded, this vision I cannot see
I cannot see my future destiny
Ohh... the hunter looks at you with eyes to kill
Praying for your life-the mighty rage against the still
For whom the God's destroy, they first make mad
Receiving the sun, and falling like hourglass sand
Child of the sea I am, in starlight I reside
Glow silver and white, eternal and bright in the sky
On a quest for light, and braving the seas
Chasing the morning star, wait for me...
Now I'm blinded, this vision I cannot see
I cannot see my future destiny
Ohh... the hunter looks at you with eyes to kill
Praying for your life-the mighty rage against the still
Ohh... the hunter looks at you with eyes to kill
Praying for your life-the mighty rage against the still
Ohh...the hunter
Ohh...the hunter
Ohh...the hunter
I'm the hunter
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By Dreamtheater
"Michael Romeo's opening riff is fantastic!!!"
"Romeo is a genius who composes extraordinarily beautiful music and knows how to bring out a fantastic melody in every album..."
