The Summary Judgment Reviews:
Title: V
Artist: Symphony X
Label: Metal Blade
Release Date: 10/10/00

Rating: 5 Skulls
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    • Submitted by garthg (10/12/00):
    Gothic choir-like vocals over synth strings can only mean one thing: here comes a prog album. Symphony X came out of nowhere. The album was handed to me by a friend, and I have to thank him for opening my eyes to this band. And I gotta wonder where they've been all my life.

    V features killer riffs, melodic vocals, fantastic harmonies and driving double-bass drumming, all within a phenomenal prog metal package. Those who are turned off by the impassioned, sometimes over-the-top vocals of most prog (also known, to those who hate them, as cheesy) would do well to steer clear of this album. Me, I love 'em, and this album delivers in spades. The leads by Russell Allen are not of the glass-shattering type such as Rob Halford or early Geoff Tate, but sit comfortably within a mid-range, which fits him well. The band combines to provide great choir-like backing vocals throughout the album, and has some great-sounding harmonies, almost reminiscent of the Beach Boys' best stuff (yes, the Beach Boys, and fuck you if you can't admit Pet Sounds is a great album.)

    The rest of the band performs amazingly well. The guitars, while not of the guitar hero variety have great crunchy riffs and chugging rhythms. The drums really suck you in, right from the first song, and drive the entire album. The keyboards bring depth and tonal variety to the album, though I would wish for a more sparing use of the synth keys, I'm a bigger fan of the natural sounding keys. Time changes abound, and song structure is of the complex, constantly interesting variety.

    I am, by all accounts, a die-hard Dream Theater fan. Make that fanatic. And Symphony X can't help but avoid comparisons to DT. Which is a big compliment coming from me. But, sometimes it's almost too much. Even the album cover reminds me of DT's albums: hyper-realistic scene with obvious Photoshop mosaic work under a dramatic sky (most of Dream Theater's albums fall into this category), and the mirror on the cover is almost too reminiscent of Awake. The music's also very Dream Theater-ish, "The Death of Balance" sounds like it was lifted from Dream Theater's "The Mirror."

    But, hey, I can overlook the similarities, and actually may be more drawn in because of them. If you're a fan of Fates Warning, harder Dream Theater (like Awake) or Trans-Siberian Orchastra's Beethoven's Last Night (or, I guess, Beethoven, but this is METAL Judgment, not Classical Judgment), run out and pick up this album. And, Metal Blade, thank you for finally bringing this band to American shores.
    5 out of 5

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