Symphony X

Symphony X

Symphony X is an American progressive metal group from Middletown Township, New Jersey, formed in 1994 and active since then. The band’s line-up centres on guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael LePond. Its membership history also includes Thomas Miller, Tom Walling and Rod Tyler.

Style and sound

The group works in progressive metal, with elements of neoclassical metal, power metal and symphonic metal. Its music often combines metal riffing with classical influences, symphonic arrangements and extended compositional structures.

Early releases

Michael Romeo records a 1992 demo album, The Dark Chapter, which leads to interest from the Japanese label Zero Corporation. A revised version appears in April 1994 and features Romeo with Pinnella. Romeo then recruits Miller, Rullo and Tyler for the full band project, which records the demo Danse Macabre before releasing its self-titled debut album in December 1994 through Zero Corporation. After that release, Tyler leaves and Allen joins the band. The second album, The Damnation Game, follows in 1995 and is first issued in Asia by Zero Corporation before later appearing in Europe on Inside Out Music.

Breakthrough and later albums

The Divine Wings of Tragedy appears in 1996 in Japan and in 1997 in Europe, increasing the band’s international profile and establishing its place in the progressive metal scene. Rullo then leaves and is replaced by Thomas Walling for Twilight in Olympus, released in 1998. The band performs live for the first time that year, beginning with a concert in Osaka, Japan, before a world tour. Around this period, Miller and Walling depart, Rullo returns, and LePond becomes the permanent bassist after a period with Andy DeLuca as a touring musician.

The compilation Prelude to the Millennium also appears in 1998 and includes a re-recorded version of “Masquerade” with Allen on vocals. V: The New Mythology Suite, released in 2000, is the band’s first concept album and focuses on the myth of Atlantis. It is also the group’s first worldwide release through Inside Out Music. Live on the Edge of Forever, the first live album, is recorded in Paris and released in 2001. The Odyssey follows in 2002 and includes a 24-minute piece inspired by Homer’s epic poem. It is the first album recorded entirely in Romeo’s home studio, known as “The Dungeon”.

Commercial recognition

Several later albums are recorded in Romeo’s home studio, including parts of The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite, and the entirety of The Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Iconoclast and Underworld. Paradise Lost, released worldwide in 2007, draws on John Milton’s poem of the same name, and its recording is delayed by water damage to the studio and touring commitments. It debuts at number 123 on the Billboard 200 and reaches number one on the Top Heatseekers chart. The band supports the album with a long world tour and videos for “Serpent’s Kiss” and “Set the World on Fire”.

Iconoclast, released through Nuclear Blast in 2011, focuses lyrically on technology and the relationship between humans and machines. It debuts at number 76 on the Billboard 200, the band’s highest chart position at that point. Underworld follows in 2015, also on Nuclear Blast, with singles “Nevermore” and “Without You” issued ahead of the album. The group tours in support of it.

Touring and recent activity

Symphony X takes part in Gigantour in 2005 alongside Megadeth, Dream Theater, Nevermore and Anthrax, and live performances of “Inferno” and “Of Sins and Shadows” later appear on Gigantour concert releases. In February 2013, Rullo is hospitalised with heart failure and later recovers; John Macaluso plays drums on South American and European tours during his absence. The band enters a temporary hiatus in 2017, partly because of Allen’s commitments with Adrenaline Mob. Allen is injured in a road accident that year, which also kills Adrenaline Mob bassist David Zablidowsky and the band’s tour manager. Symphony X returns to live performance in 2019 with a European tour, with anniversary touring in South America in 2021 and North America in 2022. Work on a tenth studio album continues while the group remains active.