By Andrew Bansal
American progpower stalwarts Symphony X have hardly put a foot wrong in their revered two-decade career thus far, and have released some tremendous material in recent years such as ‘Paradise Lost’ (2007) and ‘Iconoclast’ (2011). Four years later, the band unveiled their ninth full-length studio album ‘Underworld’ on July 24th 2015 via Nuclear Blast Records, and will be embarking on a potentially fascinating North American co-headline tour with fellow New Jersey veterans Overkill in September-October this year. A few weeks ago, I spoke to guitarist Michael Romeo about the new album and much more. Enjoy the conversation below:
Michael, it’s good to have you again on Metal Assault. The previous album ‘Iconoclast’ was put out four years ago now, and besides all the touring that you do worldwide, what have you done in the last four years in terms of the songwriting and how has the touring impacted that process?
As we’ve found in our experience, the writing seems to work best after the whole touring cycle is completed. I mean, I actually did try to write on the bus one time during a tour, and it’s hard, man. You can’t concentrate. You know you’re out there, you know what’s going on, you’re goofing around, and it’s hard to really get your mind in the frame of writing. So, whenever a new record comes out, we tour on it for one-and-a-half, two years and then once all that slows down and stops, then we really concentrate on the writing. This time was no different. It is a long time between records but it’s not like we were writing for four years. On tour when you have time off, you might have a riff or two here and there that you’re working on, but the bulk of the stuff always happens after the tour, when you can really get your head in that game. I think with this one, I started the initial writing around February-March 2014 and then we recorded in September. So it didn’t take that long to write. The new songs came together in a short amount of time. It wasn’t anything crazy, but of course you have the whole recording, mixing and the label needs to set up time to do what they want to do. It all adds to the time frame.
‘Iconoclast’ was your most commercially successful album, with charting positions and everything else. Did that ever come to your mind, as to how to keep up with that aspect with this new one?
I just try to write good stuff. The thing with us is we try to keep every album a little different. ‘The Odyssey’ may be had a lot more symphonic kind of things, and ‘Iconoclast’ was definitely heavier, more riff-driven and a little more aggressive. ‘Underworld’ is a little bit of all those things. So, obviously you want the record to do well and all that kind of stuff, but you’ve got to make yourself happy first. You have to really be into what you’re doing. That’s just how we’ve always been. Everybody wants to be more successful and always wants great things to come in any kind of work, but you have to love what you’re doing.
On this new album, I think you’ve reached new extremes in terms of the difference between the heavy and melodic parts. For progressive metal bands that’s always the ultimate thing. That’s where this album is the next step for you.
I agree! That’s one thing we’re pretty conscious of. Yeah, we pay attention to the fans, and obviously there are fans that like ‘Iconoclast’ more and there are those that like may be ‘The Odyssey’ or the ‘V’ record more. So, that’s in your mind a little bit, even though ou’re always doing what you want to do. There are all these influences. But yes, this record was definitely a conscious effort to kind of touch on all the things we’ve done. There’s some real heavy stuff on there, and then there’s some really melodic stuff, there’s progressive stuff here and there throughout the record. I think it’s a really good balance of everything. There’s something for pretty much everyone.
In terms of the approach itself, did you change yourself to incorporate these elements more, or was it the same as ever?
Early on, there were a few things we talked about, and one was really trying to combine all the things we’ve done, still keep the heavy stuff and may be get back to some of the melodic stuff. The big thing was, just trying to make the album feel like a whole thing without it being one big giant concept song or something like that. There was definitely a lot of attention paid to the flow of the record. Even before any riffs were written or anything, the flow was kind of sketched out in advance. We were discussing things like may be the slowest song would be followed by the heaviest song. We just outlined the flow of the record, and then it was all about making each song as solid as it could be, but everything already had a place in the flow and grand scheme of the record. There were a lot of things that in the past may be we didn’t do. Everybody tries to write good songs and tries to do what feels right, but this one was a little bit more than that. There were other things that worked. There was a little more planning, and the word ‘album’ came up a lot. This is an album and it really should be listened to as an album, because of the whole flow of the thing, keeping the listener interested with the ups and downs. There was a lot of emphasis on that, as well as on the songs, the performances and all that stuff.
Even though you say that, I feel that each song still has its own different style and identity.
Oh I agree, and it’s great that you say that. If we were going to do a heavy song, it had to be balls-out heavy, and just let it be that, and let it be as cool as it could be. And the same thing with the softer songs. You don’t want to put blast beats in it, but make it the best it could be for that kind of environment. So, I agree, man. We did put a lot into each song, and into the combination and balance between all these songs that form the album. Everybody has a hectic life and I guess it’s harder to sit and listen to a record but we wanted to stay true to that. Take some time out, get a beer, wine or whatever, and just listen and relax for an hour!
So, did the album actually come about song by song according to the flow you wanted?
We had the framework in the beginning, we kind of knew what we wanted to say and do. The writing thing has always been the same for years. We talk about it, we get together and map out some ideas, may be talk about the lyrical content and direction of the music. Then the guys let me go for a couple of months and come up with some basic songs or riffs. I just map out some rough demos with a drum machine, and we go over it. But I think having that framework in the beginning makes it a little easier. You kind of know, ok we don’t need to write ten ballad songs because it feels like there should only be two and they should be here, so just write two good ones. But even after everything was said and done, we were still noodling around with the order a little bit, and there are some songs that could have been here and there. But it’s weird, man. Everything does fall into place. There is a point in time when it becomes its own thing, and if you try to force it or change it, it just doesn’t want to go.
You mentioned album-oriented approaches. Sometimes, when albums are intended to be made as a whole, some songs get lost in the mix because the album itself is bigger than the songs. That may be a negative aspect of that approach, but you don’t face that.
Thanks, man. Every song got the attention, it really did. The songs had to be good on their own before they could be placed anywhere. I think all of us metal bands try to write songs and do what we do, and we do the best we can, but at a point you just cannot change it. Weird shit happens sometimes.
This is not a concept album, but when you listen to concept albums, sometimes the concept itself dominates the music. That should not be the case.
Yeah, unless you’re really going for that kind of thing and trying to make it like that. I think with us, on the last couple of records we kind of found a theme, and you can call it a concept, but the lyrics just kind of touch on it. With this new one, early on we were looking for some kind of inspiration for lyrical ideas and we looked at Dante’s Inferno, the Orpheus and Underworld myth, and this concept of going to hell and back. That just felt right. But we didn’t want to tell that story exactly and let the lyrics dictate everything. It was more about just the idea. So, a song like ‘Without You’ is the ballady song of the bunch, but it’s about anybody who lost something or someone. It’s a part of the puzzle, but it has a personal approach and I think that works. There is a danger of making the lyrics too much of a thing. When you find a cool idea and everybody wants to work on it, you have to make it your own, like how you feel about it and how you would say it. You wouldn’t be quoting old English. No one is going to sing like that (laughs). You have to try to keep it real. But on the other hand, if you’re going for that thing, go full steam ahead. It really depends on what you want from it.
Talking of the touring plans that you have coming up, you have a North American co-headline tour with Overkill. That’s a very interesting combination that people are looking forward to. How did that come about? Have you ever done shows or tours with them before?
We’re good friends with those guys for a long, long time. They are all pretty much in town here. We actually rehearsed at space that belonged their bass player D.D., and I can’t remember how long we were there but he would always be around. We became friends with his band, always running into each other, he did a couple of records where I helped out, and if I need some help he’s around. So we became family with those guys and we always said we should do something together. Sometimes when we’d go up to Canada up to a festival, we’d split a bus and travel together. We get along really good, so there was always that thing that it would be cool for us to do something. So, may be now the time kind of seems cool. They’re definitely thrashier than us but we’ve got some heavy stuff too, and I think the variety is great and I think it will work.
Most prog bands don’t really go out of their bubble or envelope of prog itself, and they just keep doing the same kind of tours with similar bands, but I think you’re reaching out to more of the non-prog fans with this tour, and that’s great.
Yeah, man. As a fan when you’re going to see a band, you want to see some different things. You don’t want to see six hours of the same stuff. At least I would think so, but may be people do. We just want to keep it interesting and give the audience a couple of different things and let them have a good time.
Symphony X links: website | facebook | twitter
Symphony X / Overkill North American co-headline tour dates:
09/18/2015 The Palladium – Worcester, MA *
09/19/2015 Upstate Concert Hall – Clifton Park, NY **
09/20/2015 Dome Theater – Niagara Falls, NY *
09/22/2015 Agora Ballroom – Cleveland, OH *
09/23/2015 The Intersection – Grand Rapids, MI **
09/24/2015 House of Blues – Chicago , IL *
09/25/2015 Rave – Milwaukee, WI *
09/26/2015 Mill City Nights – Minnesota, MN **
09/27/2015 Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB – CANADA **
09/29/2015 Mac Ewan Hall Ballroom – Calgary, AB – CANADA **
09/30/2015 Union Hall – Edmonton, AB – CANADA **
10/01/2015 Knitting Factory – Spokane, WA **
10/02/2015 Vogue Theatre – Vancouver, B.C. – CANADA *
10/03/2015 Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA **
10/05/2015 The Grand Ballroom at the Regency Center – San Francisco, CA **
10/06/2015 The Regent Theater – Los Angeles, CA **
10/07/2015 Marquee Theatre – Tempe, AZ *
10/09/2015 The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX *
10/10/2015 210 Kapones – San Antonio, TX **
10/11/2015 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX *
10/13/2015 The Ritz – Tampa, FL *
10/14/2015 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA **
10/15/2015 The Filmore – Charlotte, NC **
10/16/2015 The Filmore – Silver Spring, MD *
10/17/2015 Terminal 5 – New York City, NY *
* Overkill closes
** Symphony X closes