Symphony X: Америкалық прогрессив метал тобының тарихы

American metal band

Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael LePond. They achieved some commercial success with the 2007 album Paradise Lost and the 2011 album Iconoclast, which reached number 76 on the Billboard 200. The albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite were partially recorded in The Dungeon, Romeo's home studio. The Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Iconoclast and Underworld were fully recorded there and produced by Romeo himself.

In 1992, Michael Romeo (formerly of the bands Phantom's Opera and Gemini) recorded a demo album in his apartment which was sent to various record labels. The tape attracted attention in Japan with the now defunct record company Zero Corporation. In April 1994, a new version of The Dark Chapter, which featured Romeo and keyboard player Michael Pinnella, was released by Zero Corporation. Together, the band recorded a demo tape entitled Danse Macabre some time in 1994. It is unclear if the tape was intended for Zero Corporation alone, or if it was sent to other record labels for consideration. Two songs from the demo would be recorded for the band's self titled debut album, which was released by Zero Corporation in December 1994. Romeo explained the band's name in a 2008 interview; "the music we were coming up with had the keyboard thing and the guitar, and some classical elements, so the word 'Symphony' came up and then, somebody said 'Symphony X' and we were like, 'yeah, that's cool' it is that kinda thing, and the 'X' is the unknown and all the other stuff we do." After the release of Symphony X in 1994, Rod Tyler left the band due to creative differences and was replaced by current singer Russell Allen, who Tyler had previously introduced to the band. Following the release of The Divine Wings of Tragedy, drummer Rullo left the band due to personal reasons. due to pressure from Zero Corporation as well as "rushing back into the studio to get stuff done with [Walling]," continuing "I think of all our albums, that's not one of my favourites mainly because of that reason it's kinda rushed. Some of the stuff on there is not what it could and should have been." which was soon followed by a world tour. Following the initial run of Japanese shows, bassist Miller and drummer Walling both left the band due to their unwillingness to tour. Romeo stated the band wanted to focus on the record as a whole rather than any one particular song. In 2002, the band released The Odyssey, an album prominently featuring a 24 minute long musical interpretation of the Homeric epic, the Odyssey. The album was again released worldwide by Inside Out, and was the first album to be recorded entirely in Romeo's home studio The Dungeon. The band supported the album by touring North America with Blind Guardian, which marked some of the first North American shows for both bands.

The band's album Paradise Lost, a concept album loosely inspired by John Milton's epic poem of the same name, was recorded in Romeo's studio throughout 2006. The recording process was delayed numerous times due to water damage in The Dungeon, as well as an extended touring cycle. The album finally released worldwide on June 26, 2007 through Inside Out. The album has darker musical themes, with use of heavy riffs and classical motifs. A limited number of albums from certain vendors contained a special DVD, which consists of footage of the band's live performances. Paradise Lost debuted at number 123 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, selling 6,300 copies in its first week. The record also debuted at number 1 on the Top Heatseekers Chart. Following the release, the band embarked on a 14 month world tour, including a tour through all of Europe with Dream Theater in the fall of 2007. The band also revealed plans to perform in Japan and other Asian countries, as well as appear for the first time ever in Russia, India, and the Middle East. It was followed by a video for "Set the World on Fire", released on January 11, 2008. The band toured North and South America from October to November 2008, and toured Asia in February 2009.

On March 1, 2010, an update on the Symphony X official website announced that the band had recorded most of their next album, and that Romeo and Allen were working on lyrics; Romeo was getting ready to start tracking the album. The album's name and lyrical concept were revealed on January 29, 2011 in an interview with Allen on Metal Messiah Radio: the follow up to Paradise Lost will be titled Iconoclast and will have its lyrics centered around "machines taking over everything and all this technology we put our society into pretty much being our demise." On February 25, 2011, Symphony X played the first show of their 2011 tour in Stuttgart, Germany, where they performed two songs from the upcoming Iconoclast: "End of Innocence" and "Dehumanized". Some days later in Antwerp, Belgium, they debuted "Heretic". During their show in London, England, the band played yet another new song titled "Prometheus". Iconoclast released in Europe on June 17 and in North America on June 21, 2011, the band's first release through German label Nuclear Blast. The album was available as a Standard Edition as well as a 2 CD Digipack. Iconoclast debuted at number 76 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States, selling more than 7,300 copies in its first week. The record also debuted at number 7 on the Top Hard Rock Chart, number 19 on the Top Rock Chart and number 13 on the Top Independent Chart. The album showcases the highest chart position and the most first week sales in the band's history up to that point. John Macaluso joined the band on tour for their South American and European dates, giving Rullo time to recover.

The band began recording the drum tracks for their ninth studio album on September 9, 2014, and planned to release the complete recording by the spring of 2015. LePond stated they had ten songs written and that the album would contain either nine or all ten of them. On April 10, 2015 the band announced the mixing and mastering of the new album was complete. On May 18, 2015, the band announced the title of the album would be titled Underworld, and a release date of July 24 through Nuclear Blast. The first single from the album, "Nevermore", premiered on May 22. The band released the second single, "Without You", on June 19, which was made available for digital download. The band embarked on a world tour following the release of the album. although it was announced during a January 2018 interview with Metal Nation that the band had plans to get together in the following months and begin writing a follow up to Underworld. On July 14, 2017, Adrenaline Mob was involved in a serious vehicular accident, which resulted in severe injuries for Allen and the death of the band's bassist and their tour manager. In July 2018, according to Romeo, the band hoped to re group and make another album, but also said that he was giving Allen some time and space after dealing with the aftermath of the accident, and also Allen's touring commitments with Trans Siberian Orchestra. The band returned to the stage in May 2019 with a European tour. In June 2019, Romeo said the band were considering making their tenth album following the conclusion of their tour in August. In December 2019, the band announced a 25th Anniversary North American tour would take place in May and June 2020. However, the shows would later be postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

During bassist LePond's May 2020 interview with Metal Nation when asked about plans for him and the band, he had confirmed that the band was ready to start writing the tenth studio album, a follow up to their 2015 album, Underworld as soon as the virus slowed down, and that writing would begin in about "a month or so". Symphony X performed their 25th Anniversary shows in South America and North America, in August 2021 and May 2022 respectively. While promoting War of the Worlds, Pt. 2 in early 2022, Romeo confirmed that writing for the next album had begun. Romeo stated "we are working on it", noting the process "feels a little slower than normal" due to the band's extended hiatus and inability to tour due to the COVID 19 pandemic. In a November 2022 interview, Romeo reiterated that work was continuing but that the band had not yet settled on a theme or vision for the record. Their early albums in particular contain strong neo classical elements reminiscent of Yngwie Malmsteen, Randy Rhoads, and others. The band have been categorized as progressive metal, power metal, and neoclassical metal, though the band themselves dislike genre labels with Romeo stating they can be "misleading sometimes at the core of it all we're a metal band". Symphony X is often compared to other progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning, and Shadow Gallery.

Keyboardist Michael Pinnella released a solo album, entitled Enter by the Twelfth Gate, on October 12, 2004. Another solo album, "Ascension", was released in 2014. Vocalist Russell Allen's solo debut, entitled Atomic Soul, was released in the summer of 2005. With this album, Allen took a different musical direction from that seen in his work with Symphony X. It was considered by many—including Allen himself—to be a hard rock album. Also in 2005, he recorded an album called The Battle with former Masterplan vocalist Jørn Lande under the moniker "Allen/Lande". The two would later record follow up albums entitled The Revenge, released May 11, 2007; The Showdown, released November 5, 2010; and The Great Divide, released October 21, 2014. In early 2011, Russell Allen co founded heavy metal supergroup Adrenaline Mob with guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), who has since left the group. They have released three studio albums, Omertá (2012), Men of Honor (2014) and We the People (2017). Bassist Michael LePond released his first solo album, Mike LePond's Silent Assassins on September 26, 2014. It features guest performances from guitarist Mike Chlasciak (Halford, Testament), lead guitarist, drum producer and Symphony X bandmate Michael Romeo, and vocalist Alan Tecchio (Hades, Watchtower). LePond himself played bass and rhythm guitar. Michael Romeo's second solo album, War of the Worlds, Pt. 1, was released on July 27, 2018. The album features Rick Castellano on vocals, John DeServio on bass, and John Macaluso on drums. It was Romeo's first solo album since The Dark Chapter, which was released in 1994. War of the Worlds, Pt. 2 was released on March 25, 2022 with Dino Jelusick replacing Castellano on vocals. Jason Rullo's first album with new band 3 Rules, Rule of 3, was released in 2020. The band is composed of guitar player Ron Sanborn and bassist Artha Meadors.