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This album is simply badass. Another gem from SX. These guys cant do no wrong it seems. One of my favorite od the year so far.

How is this one compared to Iconaclast ? Their previous release bored me to death.

[quote="grandbazaar"]How is this one compared to Iconaclast ? Their previous release bored me to death.[/quote]

Well if you are expecting something like DWOT , V or The Odyssey chances arethat you are going to be disappinted. Underworld is probably the most aggressive and straight forward album SX has done. Some kickass , groovy and even thrashy riffs present throughout the whole thing. The symphonic elements of the past are laid into the background.

Personally i really like it but i can see why some won't. It's more in the vein of Paradise Lost except with even more aggression imho

Having heard enough of this album, the review is pretty much spot on.....& I also agree with the last post, it does sit somewhere happily between Iconoclast & Paradise Lost, with more emphasis towards Paradise Lost. Thankfully we have more keyboards in this album & I find the album flows much better when they are present.

I think they've really drawn on all their influences & used parts of all their albums to create a fantastic album....this album surprised me yet converted me quickly as I did not want more of Iconoclast. Well done Symphony X, well done !

faster and thrashier, you say? i only listened to The Odyssey and Paradise Lost, they had their moments but i generally thought "wow i really wish they would pick up the pace like at the start of Eve of Seduction"

totally checking this out then

I'm somewhat "new" to Symphony X. Or new and new, I've listened to everything they've released for the last 5 years, but I don't have the intimate relation to The Odyssey that every hardcore fan seems to have. To me The Underworld is a million times better than Iconclast and one of their best albums ever. I'm somewhat biased towards a heavier sound though, since my main genres are thrash and death metal.

So with with risk of pissing some "true fans" off, I think The Underworld is a great album.

90/100.

[quote="BaronVonSadist"]I'm somewhat "new" to Symphony X. Or new and new, I've listened to everything they've released for the last 5 years, but I don't have the intimate relation to The Odyssey that every hardcore fan seems to have. To me The Underworld is a million times better than Iconclast and one of their best albums ever. I'm somewhat biased towards a heavier sound though, since my main genres are thrash and death metal.

So with with risk of pissing some "true fans" off, I think The Underworld is a great album.

90/100.[/quote]


That's funny actually because I dont "LOVE" The Odyssey either, I certainly enjoy it & that comment wouldn't piss me off one bit. Glad you love Underworld, because now that I have the album in hand I have to agree it is a fantastic album.

Wow, I better check this one out. I appreciated the Odyssey but this sounds like it could be more to my liking.

It all sounds the same and it's missing a lot of emotional context IMO. They write like Slayer write. It's a cool sounding riff, but the music has little to communicate. I love some Symphony X, but I walk away from it like I went on a roller coaster, not driven wildly around in the car recklessly at 100mph.

Yeah, after listening I basically agree with Adveser. Great if you loved this, but I can only respect it.

I think both of you need to clean out your ears, it all sounds the same? These songs in no way sound the same........no, that fine award goes to the majority of their last album Iconoclast. But to state there is no emotional connection/ nor feeling to the music is completely comical, i'm not sure what album you must have been listening to.

Well, this is still power/prog so the chance of me finding no 'emotional' connection to the music is pretty high. The title track to the Odyssey, as well as some Anubis Gate albums, come a lot closer to my criteria for actually evoking meaning. Sorry if this offends.

Really enjoyed Paradise Lost when it came out, but everything else that they have done doesn't do much for me.

It's riffs that sound good. And a singer that sounds good doing what he does. It's not the expression of emotions through music and they never has been. Compare a Shadow Gallery song like "Mystery" that sounds similar to the types of riffs and notice the emotional context to the words he's saying. I never ever hear that with SX. Again. I like the music, but I would have a very very hard time singing along with it and starting to break up emotionally because the music is amplifying the emotional impact of the lyrics and the vocal melodies are expressing the same mood. I get a lot of "we're badasses and are going to rule the world - aren't we good at playing our instruments?" type of feel and not much more from SX. And people accuse DT of being soulless? That said, the album is probably outstanding but doesn't form a framework of creating an emotional attachment to the ideas and music like many other metal bands.

Wow! Just when I thought they were fading... This is the best they´ve done since Divine wings. I liked P.L. and even Iconoclast but this is far better.

I actually enjoyed this more or less they played straightforward in comparison to some of the tech/wank stuff I've heard on previous albums. But then truth be told I'm not overly familiar with this bands music, in spite of them being one of the first metal bands I've ever heard off. The riffs have a nice crunch due to the production, and I loved the songs Charon, Nevermore, Kiss of fire, and Underworld. They're actually kind of memorable, though I don't think I'd listen to this album very much.

Good stuff 7-8/10, I need to check out Iconoclast now

[quote="Nickelback666"]I actually enjoyed this more or less they played straightforward in comparison to some of the tech/wank stuff I've heard on previous albums. But then truth be told I'm not overly familiar with this bands music, in spite of them being one of the first metal bands I've ever heard off. The riffs have a nice crunch due to the production, and I loved the songs Charon, Nevermore, Kiss of fire, and Underworld. They're actually kind of memorable, though I don't think I'd listen to this album very much.

Good stuff 7-8/10, I need to check out Iconoclast now[/quote]

I'd check out Paradise Lost first since you liked this album even though Iconoclast is a good album in its own right.

[quote="The Magician"]Wow! Just when I thought they were fading... This is the best they´ve done since Divine wings. I liked P.L. and even Iconoclast but this is far better.[/quote]


Yes it is. This album is a culmination of the bands music over their career. The more I have played this album the better it has sounded. Really, Symphony X is just a great band that continues to excel at what they do!

[quote="FelixtheMetalcat"][quote="The Magician"]Wow! Just when I thought they were fading... This is the best they´ve done since Divine wings. I liked P.L. and even Iconoclast but this is far better.[/quote]


Yes it is. This album is a culmination of the bands music over their career. The more I have played this album the better it has sounded. Really, Symphony X is just a great band that continues to excel at what they do![/quote]

Yep a culmination. They´ve given a whole lot more thought to the songs and quite a few new surprises like the death riffing in Underworld etc. I found a lot of tecnical but feelingwise empty spots on both P.L and even more on Iconoclast. But the´ve fixed it in this one. Fantastic album!