Symphony X

The Divine Wings Of Tragedy

(c)(p)1997 InsideOutMusic

Licensed from ZERO Corporation, Co. Ltd.

Review by Jason Sorens

Symphony X has staked out a position on the radical fringe of neoclassical / symphonic metal. With their airily titled "The Divine Wings of Tragedy," SX's third release, the band has become something of a cult classic among progressive metal fans (who, as you may or may not know, appear to dominate the Internet), even though they get no U.S. distribution (despite the fact that they are from New Jersey and record there).

I say that the CD sounds like Iced Earth because of the crunchy speed/power metal guitars, which make an appearance on almost every song and pretty much dominate the first half. Make no mistake: this is no wimpy prog pop band like Queensryche. Another interesting feature of the music is their use of Queen-like vocal choruses and harmonies. It is a unique and catchy device, which they use well. In their keyboard and lead guitar melodies (yes, they use a keyboard, but it mostly does not detract from the heaviness) the album sounds alternately like Dream Theater and Stratovarius: sometimes American jazzy prog, sometimes Teutonic neoclassical.

The lyrics belong to the realm "of sins and shadows" (the name of the first song), with allusions to the eyes of Medusa, the Pharaoh's crypt, the Knights of the Templar, and even (gasp!) a "candlelight fantasia," whatever that is. As you might guess, I find the lyrics a little cheesy at times, though they are mostly well enough written.

The title track is a twenty-minute epic in seven parts. They pull it off reasonably well for one of these grandiose epics, which I usually find overambitious, underachieving, and boring in the middle. This one is all that, but less so than most.

The highlights for this CD are, for me, "Out of the Ashes," "The Accolade," and "Pharaoh," which sit back to back, and "The Witching Hour." Symphony X has a knack for making catchy choruses and melodies, which sound at first a little commercial but then strike one as too vainglorious, too magnificent, too *intelligent* to be pop in intention, if not in execution.

I recommend "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" highly for any progressive aficionados, and it should also appeal strongly to fans of power metal in the vein of Iced Earth and Nevermore. It doesn't have the general metal appeal of Stratovarius' latest collection of infectious anthems and gothic melodies, but goshdarnit, in an ideal world, it would.

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