Search - Symphony X :: Twilight in Olympus

Songs make the Album

MacFactor | Portsmouth, RI | 12/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Following The Divine Wings of Tragedy Symphony X had a hard act to follow. And they did it extremely well. While the album has a similar feeling to their previous albums, they create a new standard. Only their 2002 album The Odyssey came close to replicating their success with this album. The power metal riffs and the wailing guitars somehow blend well enough to create catchy refrains. This is one of the few albums by any heavy metal band that I found myself humming to along in the car even when the album wasn't playing. The tone of the album shifts at various points, and is capped by the exotic "Lady of the Snow" which is a nice cornerstone to the album.



While it is an excellent album overall the songs seem to blend into one another. Each song seems to be produced under the same formula that was perfected in their previous albums. While there are really no standout songs on the whole album, except for the slower "Through the Looking Glass" and "Lady of the Snow" every song tends to blur together. However the strength of the album lies in the overall cohesiveness of the album and not in the individual songs.



The hidden gem in this album is in the singing. While I wouldn't Symphony X as a "singing band", the voice on Twilight in Olympus dovetails the album nicely. Allen's voice is haunting, but never needs to scream, he actually sings his way through this album. Even if you're not a huge heavy metal fan, check out this album, you'll be glad you did."