Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997)

Published by sybercope | Filed under Rock

WOW! This pure prog metal album certainly belongs to my all-time top 10 prog metal albums so far! For those who like bands like Shadow Gallery, Eternity X and Dream Theater, then this album is definitely a good one to acquire.

First of all, let’s talk about the rhythmic electric guitar: it has a rather powerful and razor sound; it is often very scattered, despite it is all the time very synchronized and disciplined, which gives this record a special metal trademark style; it is also not rare to hear quite sophisticated faster passages, being symphonic a bit like Yngwie Malmsteen’s work. Like Dream Theater, the electric rhythmic guitar here is not extremely monolithic, so that the other instruments can easily be appreciated; however, it is recommended to not turn the volume too loud because the miscellaneous keyboards, often in the background, are rather delicate & essential, and thus need a low volume level in order to be fully appreciated.

The lead vocals have MANY different tones, and some remind me a bit Black Sabbath’s Tony Martin; some of the miscellaneous backing vocals have a clear Queen’s influence (Bohemian Rhapsody).

The magic, charming and ear candy modern keyboards are really addictive; there are many excellent keyboards solos a la Dream Theater, and some floating keyboards often give an awesome heroic ambience to the whole.

The excellent drums are quite varied and never bland; the bass does a pretty good job, even if we feel it is not there to steal the show.

The tracks contain many mellow, dreamy and magic passages; melodies are omnipresent in every track. When the razor rhythmic guitar is absent, there are very refined acoustic and distortion free guitars.

Many bits evoke mysticism, amplified by the serious, existential & religious lyrics. The tracks of this record often consist in a constant alternation between progressive, structured & melodic metal bits, and mellow, magic, charming, religious, beautiful, delicate & slightly sentimental ones.

The album contains 2 epic tracks: “The Accolade” and “The Divine Wings of Tragedy”: “The Accolade” contains a jaw-dropping mix of lush & floating organ + unforgettable lead & backing vocals; “The Divine Wings of Tragedy” is nothing else than a VERY progressive metal gem lasting nearly 21 minutes!

A couples of more mellow passages contain violin, catchy piano and bells to enhance the beauty, the elegance & the variety of this record. ~ Review by greenback @ Prog Archives






Tracklisting:
1. Of Sins and Shadows (4:58)
2. Sea of Lies (4:18)
3. Out of the Ashes (3:40)
4. The Accolade (9:51)
5. Pharaoh (5:28)
6. The Eyes of Medusa (5:26)
7. The Witching Hour (4:15)
8. The Divine Wings of Tragedy (20:42)
9. Candlelight Fantasia (6:45)

Total Time: 65:23

Line-Up:
- Michael Romeo / guitars
- Michael Pinella / keyboards
- Jason Rullo / drums
- Thomas Miller / bass
- Russell Allen / vocals