Michael Romeo reminds me of Yngwie Malmsteen, only he plays the guitar right. As for the rest of the band, they put on an impressive show of skill. In general, Russell’s vocals are great – you only need to listen to songs like The Sacrifice and Eve of Seduction if you doubt that. Russell Allen’s attempt at harsh yelling (maybe rapping?) made me grimace at first – though, lucky for the listener, he abandons that style throughout most of the rest of the album. Well, when the chorus comes in, you are assured Symphony X has maintained the power metal standard of extremely awesome and catchy sing-a-long choruses.Ībout the vocals… outside of the admittedly awesome chorus they’re not that impressive in the first song. Upon hearing the heavy riffing and keyboards turn into a thrash-fest of guitar abuse and an intro of harsh vocals, you may wonder if Symphony X really did abandon their power metal roots. After an impressive intro, the full band comes into play as we head back to American metal with Set the World on Fire (Lie of Lies). A full orchestra goes through two and a half minutes of what you would expect from a prominent Norwegian black metal band. What did I get? Upon hearing the short intro, Oculus ex Inferni, I knew I had made a good decision by getting this. Aforementioned, I have never listened to Symphony X prior to this, so I was open to absolutely anything. However, I haven’t bothered to make the connection and don’t really plan to - I’ll just make this easy and stick to why this album is so freakin’ sweet. For those who don’t know, it’s an epic poem about the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden – I’m sure the names Adam and Eve ring a bell. Now, I believe Paradise Lost is supposed to have a main focus around John Milton’s work, “Paradise Lost”. Paradise Lost is everything you would expect out of great music – heavy riffing, epic vocal performances, melodic interludes, teary-eyed ballads and shredding solos to make your hairs stand. Hailing from none other than the greatest state in America, Symphony X releases the power metal album of the year. Of course, Symphony X only furthers my point. I picked this up because I like power metal, I like progressive, but mostly… I believe New Jersey is the greatest place in the world. I say “unexpectedly” because, well, I don’t own any other Symphony X and didn’t know what to expect. In fact, this is an unexpectedly great album. Did Symphony X try to hard with Paradise Lost? Not at all. The act of one band mixing European power metal with an American heavy metal trend might turn out to be, lets say… disastrous. The thought of a neoclassical/progressive/power metal band from New Jersey is a little weird… even a little scary. Being a sure contender for album of the year, Paradise Lost is everything beautiful, everything harsh, and most definitely everything awesome. Review Summary: This album of epic proportions offers the best of American heavy metal.
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