Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Symphony X
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: 2015
Length: 63:57
Rating: 4.5/5
Symphony X, the progressive metal heavyweights from New Jersey, are back with their ninth studio album, four years after »Iconoclast« (2011), which was their most ambitious record to date and came out as a double CD.
»Underworld« arrives four years after »Iconoclast«. Clearly, a longer stretch between records suits the band just fine when it comes to crafting new compositions in real depth. Symphony X have always been the address for perfectionism, both in sound and in the hunt for the right balance within their progressive metal vision, somewhere between melodic catchiness and aggression. And that, of course, is once again seasoned in the traditional way with just the right dose of complex figures (sudden breaks in rhythmic structures, ultrasonic improvisational acrobatics in the crossfire between guitar and keyboards).
»Underworld« once again puts all the band’s main trademarks in one place. By nature, it’s nowhere near as ambitious and complex as its fiercely angry, very aggressive and in every respect outstanding predecessor »Iconoclast«. This time the band decided to soften the arrangements a bit and pull a studio record out of their sleeve that treads the middle ground between high musicality and aggression. So Symphony X are flirting with their past again. They glanced back toward »Paradise Lost« (2007), but you can’t miss the nods to even older work either, especially in some phenomenal chorus melodies, such as the albums »The Odyssey« (2002) and »V: The New Mithology Suite« (2000). So the songs deliver an album with more musicality and compactness again. It feels a little softer and, after several spins in the CD player, gets under your skin much sooner than the more complexly built »Iconoclast«. The opener Nevermore already points to that flirtation with the past, with lyrics that contain references to the album »The Divine Wings of Tragedy« (1997).
Russell Allen basically combines, in equal measure, the aggressive guttural approach that »Iconoclast« is thoroughly soaked in (as is most of »Paradise Lost«) with the melodic, distinctly clean vocal dominance that marked the band’s early era and that you can hear today on the Allen / Lande albums. On »Underworld«, Symphony X have managed to create a whole pile of excellent chorus melodies that slip into your ear instantly in the musical sense and take over the listener. It’s right in the choruses that Allen leans hard into his clean vocals, and the band, all in all, develops and squeezes out the musical maximum. In the verses (and pre-choruses too), Russell Allen still holds on to a raspy voice that now and then trades in sheer brutality. Two such examples are the opening Nevermore and the title track right after it. The latter carries a distinctly “thrashed-up” guitar phrase (the main riff), and in both songs the band gradually builds up an enormously spiky sonic edge, which adds to the feeling of great gloom. Distinctly hard riffing follows in Kiss Of Death, then Charon and Run With the Devil. Romeo builds an incredibly massive sound out of these riffs. The massive wall of riffs is downright possessed.
The musicality described above first peaks in the highlight called Without You. In this song Allen goes in with clean, melodically polished vocals the whole way through, packed with real passion and intense emotion. Without You has one of the most beautiful chorus melodies on the album. The album is also once again seasoned with neo-classical elements, woven in by the brilliant playing of the one and only Michael Romeo, backed by Michael Pinnella’s superb sense for the keyboard parts and the way he complements them. The guitar phrases are once again masterfully embellished and upgraded with orchestral elements (including operatic vocal lines). Compositional perfectionism gone wild!
The album doesn’t have a proper concept, but it once again draws inspiration from Greek mythology (Orpheus) and from Dante’s Divine Comedy. This time the story is set up so that anyone can identify with it. Everyone who listens to this album can step into the role of the protagonist, go down to Hades and then, richer for the many experiences gained, escape from it happily and return to reality.
»Underworld« is the album where Symphony X managed to capture the ideal balance of all the elements that have always adorned their musical vision. The album has it all. The right dose of complex structure, balanced with ultra-catchy musicality (especially in the chorus melodies and motifs), and distinctly aggressive passages of Romeo’s unbridled »shredding«. So in the course of their evolution, Symphony X have put together an album that couldn’t present the essence of their music any more authentically »in one piece«. Gone are the days when the note of musicality was dominant. It gradually faded, and with »Iconoclast« the band pushed out an extremely aggressive album and even put musicality in a somewhat subordinate position. »Underworld« walks the ideal middle line wisely and cunningly, masterfully merging both elements into a fascinating symbiosis. It’s an excellent document of Symphony X’s great experience and studio perfectionism, and it would deserve a full stage performance on a concert tour, a live manifesto. Yet another outstanding album that a true fan of the band won’t want to pull out of the CD player for quite a while.
Line-up
Russell Allen – vocals
Michael Romeo – guitar
Michael Pinnella – keyboards
Michael Lepond – bass guitar
Jason Rullo – drums
Production
Michael Romeo
Track list
1. Overture
2. Nevermore
3. Underworld
4. Without You
5. Kiss of Fire
6. Charon
7. Hell and Back
8. In My Darkest Hour
9. Run With the Devil
10. Swansong
11. Legend
