Ελληνικά
Genre: Progressive Power Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Country: United States
Year: 2015
Very few bands have managed to maintain a polymorphic but highly qualitative musical stability for so many albums. Symphony X is one of them. Having released some of the milestones of progressive / power metal, the Americans had something substantial to offer to the metal scene with every single one of their efforts.
Their transition from a more classical progressive sound that offered us masterpieces such as “The Damnation Game”, “Divine Wings Of Tragedy” and “The Odyssey”, to a more dark and aggressive style as witnessed in the opus album “Paradise Lost” and the amazing “Iconoclast”, was highly successful and it seems that this is the style on which they will continue to create from here on. Proof of this is the content of their ninth (!) studio album “Underworld”.
Based on the “Divine Comedy” by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri and specifically the chapter “Hell”, they return to the mythological subjects which were their main inspiration lyrically in the past. Although not a concept as stressed by Michael Romeo, guitarist and leader of the band, this record must be seen as a comprehensive listening experience from beginning to end. This is the correct way to deal with the material of “Underworld”, as a whole.
“Underworld” contains elements that brings in mind some moments from the first albums of the band but focuses more on the ‘in your face’ approach of their recent efforts. So we’re not talking about going back to the sound that made them famous, nor about taking the style of their latest albums to the next level. The amazing cover was created by Warren Flanagan (Watchmen, The incredible Hulk, 2012) and seeing the masks (a reference to their first album) and the drawings that symbolize the circles of hell, you can feel the dark vibe coming out of “Underworld”.
The album starts off with a heavy, bombastic, orchestral piece. “Overture” stays true to the same formula applied to both previous records, offering us shivers generously as the Oculus Ex Inferni of “Paradise Lost” and the intro of “Iconoclast” did. In the first song, “Nevermore” we witness the return to a more melodic approach with Russell Allen singing with more mellow vocals. At first i wasn’t pleased with the singing style, but the natural development of the song with the great melodic chorus and the solo storm near the end, finally got me. The title track opens the gates to the underworld with a nice theme on keyboards by Michael Pinella accompanied by the sharp guitars of Romeo. Dark atmosphere similar to the “Paradise Lost” album, with Russell switching to more harsh vocals with a very cool bridge before the chorus, but that’s where things start to get interesting. This is the ultimate combination of old and new Symphony X. Melody flirting with aggression and the ending being written once again by the magic fingers of Romeo. Things cool down immediately after that with “Without You”. Symphony X have proven that they have the talent to write incredible power ballad compositions full of emotion and although it’s a pretty decent song, it fails to create the atmosphere of similar songs of the past. Moving deeper into the levels of hell we find “Kiss Of Fire” which again brings out their aggressiveness with a composition that late DimmuBorgir kind of bands would envy. Strong riffing and some blast beat outbursts on the drums by the amazing Jason Rullo. Crossing the river of Hades with “Charon” you can’t help but be mesmerized by its beautiful oriental aesthetics. The almost ten minute “To Hell And Back” became an instant favorite with its smart tempo changes and the emotional ups and downs. “In My Darkest Hour” unfortunately goes unnoticed. In fact every time I listened to the album I could not find a reason to really like this song. I don’t like to use the term filler, especially when it comes to bands like Symphony X, but this song gave me this sense of incompleteness. “Run With The Devil” is a composition that definitely gives another tone to the whole material. Highly commercial structure yet so hyper-technical shaped, a nice twist that surprises the listener. “Swang Song” is the second power ballad in “Underworld”, and along with “Legend” they elaborately close the latest work of the Americans.
All the elements that brought Symphony X to the status they enjoy today are here. Gigantic and flawless production, incredible composing and playing skills (I forgot to mention the great Mike LePond on bass, check him also on Heathen’s Rage) and a throat that delivers expressiveness, melody, roughness and theatricality to the fullest. They know how to write excellent, yet commercial music and they don’t need to prove anything to anyone. Underworld is a great album. Certainly it contains some less inspired moments but the overall problem is that it was released after a magnificent synthetic streak. It will sure please some of the fans and perhaps it will disappoint some of the others. Those who expect innovations from Symphony X will have to wait. We expect high quality metal and this is exactly what we get from them.
4,5 / 6
