Il 1997 è l’anno di grazia per i Symphony X. Quest’album da loro sfornato è un capolavoro del metal anni ’90, nonché il loro apice artistico.
Non c’è paragone col coevo “Falling Into Infinity” dei “rivali” Dream Theater, anche perché non ci sarebbe motivo di farlo.
Validissimi musicisti, validissimi compositori, i Symphony X hanno oltrepassato i canoni del prog-metal, con grandiosi incastri barocchi e neoclassici. Oggi più che mai una realtà, sono diventati il punto di riferimento del genere; un chitarrista come Michael Romeo, mai fine a sé stesso, è inimitabile ma allo stesso tempo faro da seguire per i provetti virtuosi, che spesso erroneamente vorrebbero cogliere i messaggi dei Satriani o dei Malmsteen, andando così a complicarsi vacuamente il percorso artistico. Invece nel prog-metal, si dovrebbe sapere ormai, le cose buone si fanno in gruppo, e proprio i Symphony X, e ancor meglio quest’album, ne sono l’esempio evidente.
Nove le tracce, tutte caratterizzate da un intro dirompente, che precorre alla stesura fluida delle stesse. I testi epici, come ad esempio in “Out of the Ashes” o “Pharaoh”, vanno a sposarsi alquanto egregiamente con la musica; i cambi di tempo per quanto tipici del prog riescono sempre a sorprendere; alcune digressioni medioevali, come in “The Accolade”, condiscono alla meglio il metallo con quel tono epico. Un cantante come Russel Allen, altro esempio inarrivabile, è magnificamente grintoso e riesce a raggiungere tonalità impressionanti senza mai uscire dalle righe. La suite omonima, nonostante i suoi 20:41 minuti, non riesce mai ad annoiare, anzi, magniloquente e imprevedibile sembra quasi il manifesto di quest’arte.
Si potrebbe dire che qui il prog-metal viene semplificato, privandolo di quell’accezione troppo standardizzata, e allo stesso tempo si sente la concretezza e la concretizzazione di uno studio appropriato sul sodalizio tecnica-fluidità sonora. Non essendo un concept, non dovrete dedicarci troppo tempo, ma basta che sia “buono”.
E poi, consentitemi di dirlo, che cazzo di voce poderosa c’ha Russel Allen!
Elenco tracce testi e video
02 Sea of Lies (04:18)
Today I've seen the shallow face I wear
Inside this shell,
a living hell endures
I'm held captive by my fear,
decaying hope and wasted years
The knife of time carves another
line around these eyes
Good and evil - lust primeval
Dragging me into a sea of lies
Losing faith in who I am
Never changing just rearranging
my life again
Through eternal abyss I fall,
Silent screams through paper walls
I pray someday the sun will shine
on me again (shine on me again)
Good and evil - lust primeval
Dragging me into a sea of lies
Lies ... lies ...
[Solo]
Lies ... lies ...
03 Out of the Ashes (03:40)
In the house of my master
Beyond the gate there is a bed
of snakes where evil lays
Oh, I hear laughter
I forged the iron bars that
someday will imprison me
Ooh, mother will you help me
Mother will you help me
To find a reason to go on
Out of the ashes of my youth
- I rise a man (And through the eyes)
And through the eyes of truth
- I finally understand
The way
I've been beaten with his words
and whipped withh his lies
He will not break me down no
matter how hard he tries
Pray for my lost soul
Out of control the storm inside
me rages on and on and on
Mother will you help me
Mother will you help me
To find a reason to go on
Out of the ashes of my youth
- I rise a man (And through the eyes)
And through the eyes of truth
- I finally understand
The way
[Solo]
Out of the ashes of my youth
- I rise a man (And through the eyes)
And through the eyes of truth
- I finally understand
The way
05 Pharaoh (05:28)
Ancient lands, lost in time
Storms of sand, walls of lime
Surround this mask of death I wear
Awakened by intruder souls
The jackal screams as my stone gods behold
Desecraters of Ra
Pharaoh's curse upon you
Who dares to invade his sacred ground
Gods of the Nile arise to strike you down
Forgotten days of my rule, cities
blazed with gold and jewel
Diamond symbol of riches
beyond compare
Now I lay cold in this chamber of
stone
Fools forsaken the wrath of my
throne
Desecraters of Ra
Pharaoh's curse upon you
Who dares to invade his sacred ground
Gods of the Nile arise to strike you down
Mystic gods of the stars
- I summon thee from afar
Sun, moon and earth
- align for my rebirth
I feel the blood flow through my veins
The life force shines on me again
Let the ritual begin
- you will pay for your sins
I am god, I am king of the land
The hour of judgement is at hand
Winds of revenges sweep through the sand
The mighty pharaoh lives again
[Solo]
Pharaoh's curse upon you
Who dares to invade his sacred ground
Gods of the Nile arise to strike you down
08 The Divine Wings of Tragedy (20:42)
[Part I: At The Four Corners Of The Earth]
On the edge of paradise
Tears of woe fall, cold as ice
Hear my cry
Renounce, have you, thy name
Eternal is my pain
Eternal is the pain that leads me
to the thrones of temptation
Eternal is the pain that leads me
to the thrones of temptation ...
[Part II: In The Room Of Thrones]
(Instrumental)
[Part III: A Gathering Of Angels]
There was a time ...
When nine choirs sang the
endless melody of light
Music of the spheres
Threre was a place ...
Where mortals embraced thunder
and majesty
Their fate lay in our hands
Feel my wings slowly fading -
forever lost in time - I cry
[Part IV: The Wrath Divine]
The burning conflict I'm feeling
It summons me to descend into
the other side
And just beyond the stars blazing
A beam light from a red, velvet
moon illuminates me
I will devise, from perfect skies
A dark and vengeful day
Faith and mercy gone astray
With strength of infinite measure
The mighty sword divides order
from chaos in the kingdom below
And from the mansions of glory,
This empty soul cries out one
final plea ...
The end has begun
Our worlds collide, now in
disguise,
You'll feel the Wrath Divine
Tears of woe fall from the sky ...
[Part V: The Prophet's Cry]
The prophet cries
Vast battalions rage on in the sky
Rising rom the north
the bringer of war
Eve of destruction
Summon all who have 'power
over fire'
Impending doom from shore to
shore
Standing on the edge of paradise
I sacrifice my truth and loyalty
Seven deadly sins consume you
all, a dance with death
I taste the victory
(Eternal is the pain that leads me to temptation)
Rising from the north
- the warrior prince
Judgement without compassion
eyes of fear
Like the river styx,
the gates of hell -
"Abandon hope all ye who enter here"
The prophets cry
As armies fall from the edge of
the sky
The Prince of truth, now the
bringer of war
The day of wrath
Banish all kings from the face of the land
Dominion for strength is my name
[Part VI: Bringer Of The Apocalypse]
(Instrumental)
Eve of Sacrifice /
Armies in the Sky /
Dies Irae
[Part VII: Paradise Regained]
Looking out on a blue sky
I can see a new world arising
Like a prisoner unbound
I feel the power and the majesty
again
Looking up to the heavens
I can see what I left behind
Beneath the stars, moon and
warm sun
And all I know,
is my paradise has begun ...
09 Candlelight Fantasia (06:45)
Just one more night,
one more score.
Another question in my mind.
can't take no more.
Kissing the tear from my face,
as they fall to the ground in the silence...
In twilight, and faded times.
Spirits cold, with no love.
Bells ring the lonely chime...
Candle fire...
These lit dreams can't burn alone...
Winds of change,
bring songs upon my memory.
An empty heart and soul intoxicates me.
This darkened page orchestrates my final destiny.
Not knowing what,
what tomorrow will bring
From within the mirror's eyes,
I'm forced to run away and hide.
I feel those mystic eyes subside,
and leave me blind.
Through passages in time,
A prisoner locked behind the door.
Lonely roses slowly wither and die.
I can't escape this captive misery.
Heart stone cold, under supremacy.
Thrown into a raging sea of tyranny.
Life's vile walls have tangled me in webs.
Eternally within my futures threads.
Play the violent strings of my symphony.
Transcend,
the absence of this fantasy.
Just another vision,
washed away with the tide.
No place for forgotten ones.
I cannot deny,
what lies beyond.
Beyond this fantasy
From within the mirror's eyes,
I'm forced to run away and hide.
I feel those mystic eyes subside,
and leave me blind.
Through passages in time,
A prisoner locked behind the door.
Lonely roses slowly wither and die.
From within the mirror's eyes,
I'm forced to run away and hide.
I feel those mystic eyes subside,
and leave me blind.
Through passages in time,
A prisoner locked behind the door.
Lonely roses slowly wither and die.
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di wwwhatemoornet
Compratevi questo The Divine Wings Of Tragedy dei Symphony X e capirete cosa sono i Dream Theater: delle mezze seghe!
Non è tanto la bravura che vince ma la capacità di scrivere canzoni appassionanti che non siano solo una lezione di chitarra.
Di Dreamtheater
"'Of Sins and Shadows' è la mia canzone preferita di tutto il cd, ottima apertura!"
"La suite 'The Divine Wings of Tragedy' non convince pienamente: tanti buoni momenti, ma manca una melodia principale che rimanga impressa."
Di Chewbacca
"The Divine Wings of Tragedy segna un traguardo storico per la band del New Jersey."
"Sicuramente tra gli album power-prog migliori di sempre, capace di suscitare emozioni e scenari fantastici."
Di STIPE
Ascoltarlo è come intraprendere un viaggio fantastico, dal quale non sai se farai più ritorno.
La musica tocca l’Infinito, noi che ascoltiamo possiamo solo sfiorarlo.
Di splinter
Per fortuna ciò non è per i Symphony X, band che fa della tecnica uno strumento di potere!
I veri Symphony X nascono con questo album!
