Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael Lepond.
Their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community. They also have achieved more commercial success with the 2007 album Paradise Lost and the 2011 album Iconoclast, which reached number 76 on the Billboard 200. Romeo explained the band's name in a 2008 interview; "So, you know, the music we were coming up with had the keyboard thing and the guitar, and some classical elements, so the word ‘Symphony’ came up and, so the dramatic thing, you know? So then, somebody said ‘Symphony X’ and we were like, ‘yeah, that’s cool’ it is that kinda thing, and the ‘X’ is the unknown and all the other stuff we do."
Symphony X is the first studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, released in 1994 through Zero Corporation (Japan) and reissued in 1996 through Inside Out Music (Europe); a remastered edition was reissued on January 13, 2004 through Inside Out. The album's release came about as a result of guitarist Michael Romeo's 1994 solo album, The Dark Chapter, achieving success in Japan. This is the only Symphony X album to feature singer Rod Tyler, who would be replaced by Russell Allen on their subsequent album The Damnation Game. "Masquerade" was re-recorded and renamed as "Masquerade '98" for the 1999 compilation album Prelude to the Millennium.
Robert Taylor at AllMusic gave Symphony X 1.5 stars out of 5, noting the predominant Yngwie Malmsteen influences throughout the music and calling the album "Humble beginnings for what was to become a very original and influential band."
All songs written and composed by Symphony X.
"The Inquisitorial vengeance had been hurried by my two-fold escape,
and there was to be no more dallying with the King of Terrors..."
Edgar Allan Poe -
The Pit and the Pendulum
I awake - without the sun
encased in walls of steel
terror so real - it blinds me
Rancid darkness steals my breath
The Pit - on the edge of death
The wells of Hell know not my name
I slip away...into black I fade away
Terrified - to the left and to the right
Spirit of the Damned, iron shadows cast
Hear my desperate cries
Shrieking demon - far and wide
praying for this breath to be my last
Awake again - paralyzed
I'm shackled to this alter
sacrificed to their God
'Inch by Inch and Line by Line'
The Blade - descending lost in time
The fiends of Doom they call my name
I slip away...into black I fade away
Terrified - to the left and to the right
Spirit of the Damned, iron shadows cast
Hear my desperate cries
Shrieking demon - far and wide
praying for this breath to be my last
Terrified - to the left and to the right
Spirit of the Damned, iron shadows cast
Hear my desperate cries
Shrieking demon - far and wide
praying for this breath to be my last
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