Cheap Odyssey (Music) (Symphony X) Price

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Customer Reviews of Odyssey

Symphony X bring their "A" game
Prior to hearing "Odyssey" I owned two Symphony X albums, namely "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" and "V: The New Mythology Suite." While both were excellent albums, I felt that there was some missing element that kept them from achieving true greatness. Russell Allen is an excellent vocalist, and the skill level of the musicians is obvious, but there was just something about the songwriting, or the playing, or the production that kept me from really getting into those albums.

However, with "Odyssey" Symphony X have produced the perfect album I thought they were capable of.

This album has everything. It's creative. It's heavy. It's melodic. It's complex. It's grandiose. It's diverse. The vocals and music are uniformly terrific. It's even got a 24-minute long song based on Homer's "Odyssey." Sound good? Well, it should.

On Symphony X's previous album, the symphonic, keyboard-heavy "V," the band's resident guitar hero Michael Romeo had been somewhat of a supporting character. However, on "The Odyssey" Mike's pushed to the forefront, and he plays like he's making up for lost time. His riffs and solos deliver a fearsome intensity reminiscent of the best thrash bands, and Russell has no problem turning his vocal power up a notch to match. The aptly titled opening tracks "Inferno" and "Wicked," "Incantations of the Apprentice," and "King of Terrors" are as heavy as I've ever heard the band get, led by Michael's machine-gun guitars and Russell's biting vocals. "Accolade II," the sequel to a song from "DWOT," brings back some of the symphonic elements that characterized that album and "V," but it still places them in a heavy context.

My favorite song on the album, the eight-minute "Awakenings," is just more proof of Symphony X's genius. It starts out as a very pretty piano ballad, but then Michael comes out of nowhere with a barrage of crunching riffs and a neck-breaking solo, and Russell turns on the metal vocals again. Towards the end, the band mixes guitars and piano, and makes it sound completely natural. Needless to say, the song rules.

The centerpice of the album, much like on "DWOT," is the 24-minute (!) title track, based on Homer's epic poem of the same name. "The Odyssey," which somehow manages to be every bit as grandiose as its subject matter suggests, starts out with a cool dramatic symphonic intro that intersperses some heavy riffs from Michael with more traditional classical instrumentation. From there it's Symphony X at their finest: powerful vocals, heavy riffing, blazing solos (from both Micheal Romeo and keyboardist Michael Pinnella), rock-solid rhythm section, and some touches of piano. I'd try to describe the song in more detail, but at twenty-four minutes it would be hard to do without writing so much I'd put anyone still reading to sleep. Just hear it.

The band is helped on "Odyssey" by some of the best production you'll ever get on a metal album (or any album I guess). Symphony X creates some pretty complex song structures, and the crystal-clear production makes it possible to pick up every nuance. Jason Rullo is an excellent drummer, and I've always thought he was little too far in the background on "DWOT" and "V." Here, though, that's not a problem. His complex, precise drumming and Mike Lepond's thumping bass are clearly audible, and they only add to the album's already heavy sound. With every musician in fine form, and every instrument meshing perfectly, it would be pretty tough for this album NOT to rule.

With "Odyssey," I think Symphony X have hit their peak (although I'm going to get "Damnation Game" and "Twilight in Olympus" very soon just to make sure). This album is about as good a mix of metal and classical music as anyone is ever likely to produce. I like pretty much all types of metal, but when I want something tempered with plenty of melody and intelligence I know where to look. "Odyssey" gets my highest recommendation for all metal fans.

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Evidence that Prog Metal is still alive!
With their latest masterpiece The Odysey, Symphony X proves to the world that they're still alive and still kicking ass. Almost 10 years into their career, this band is still putting out music that rivals the best of the newest Prog Metal bands. As compared to their last album "The New Mythology", Symphony X's latest release is definately less orchestral overall, and more straight forward metal. The opening track Inferno is a firestorm of metal, purely brilliant. After this killer track, the next couple of tunes sound kind of flat, but in no way bad. Accolade II may be my favorite track on the album. It's an amazing combination of heavy rock and classical orchestral elements... Truly a brilliant track. Once again, after a killer knockout track, the next couple sound kind of like filler. No worries though, as the excellence returns with Awakenings, a song about transitions of a person through life. The choruses of this song are what great music is made of. Yet, no matter how great this track is, it pales in comparison to... THE ODYSEY. A 24 minute musical experience... Its heavy, its acoustic, its metal, its gentle, its orchestral, its everything... And watch out for the last part of the journey: "Champion of Ithica". This part of the epic is KILLER... Just the way I describe this album. Epically killer. CHECK IT OUT TODAY!

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Wow!
This album is amazing veary complex, and just sounds awsome. Unlike the last album, V, Symphony's new album starts off right in your face woth ana mazing gutar solo, that turns into one of the heavest songs on the album. The next song doesn't sound hard but it is, my band tried playing wicked and it fell apart beause it's so hard to keep together. The next song is my favorit song on the album, it's veary great playing. The next song shows the keyboard player shin at the begging, then gets heavey. King Of Terrer may be the heavest song on the album. The nest song is preaty heavey as well. then they slow it down a bit. The Odessey is in many people's minds( including my own ) on of the bands masterpeaces, it's one of the best epic's ever written. Mascarade has a veary hard guitar solo at the begging, a veary well written song.

Overall the album is briluant, a must have, a classic, and anyother good tittle out there, veary well writen, and veary complex.