Symphony X's "V: The New Mythology Suite" is neoclassical metal enough for The Guardians

Rexorcist

First Post August 12, 2022 12:31 AM

I admit, it's not as blatantly neoclassical as Divine Wings of Tragedy or Twilight in Olympus, which pretty much shoved it in your face. But there's still plenty of it to go around in V. For one thing, the album's prelude starts out with the neoclassical vibe, and "Fallen," "On the Breath of Poseidon" and "Absence of Light" shove it in your face consistently, especially the finale. Every song on the album is walking that fine line between neoclassical and symphonic, but the neoclassical edge is specifically for the Symphony X specialty present in almost every song: the quick-paced and complicated melodies at every turn, as opposed to the typical characteristics of average heavy metal "riffs." Yes, some songs are more symphonic than neoclassical, like "A Fool's Paradise," but even that song has neoclassical two guitar solos back-to-back, practically defining the middle act. Hell, most of the songs that aren't "neoclassical" in the same way Twilight in Olympus songs are still have neoclassical influences and elements. The album even ends with the next song, skipping the final segue for the sake of discussion, "Rediscovery Pt. II." Not only is this one of the closest to the earlier works of Symphony X, but it's actually a finished product of a scrapped song from Twilight in Olympus. On top of that, it's the longest track.

I get that The Odyssey and Paradise Lost aren't quite neoclassical enough because Symphony X gradually got less neoclassical overtime. But think of it like Imaginations from the Other Side, considered the album that perfectly bridges the shift from the speed metal influence of Somewhere Far Beyond and the symphonic sound of Nightfall in Middle-Earth. V: The New Mythology Suite is that bridge, except the elements are stronger than Blind Guardian's "influences."

Neoclassical metal is also more known for (and I'm not saying symphonic metal doesn't do this, but that it's more common in neoclassical), taking either parts of or a full classical composition and performing metal versions. Neoclassical metal isn't even as bombastic or blatantly operatic as symphonic metal. So the real issue with this album's tagging is that it's just more diverse in general, further balancing the prog, neoclassical and symphonic with some occasional power.

Btw, I have to ask, is there a third party in which the genre tags are taken from, and if so, is it Rateyourmusic?