V-The New Mythology Suite
Encyclopedia
V: The New Mythology Suite, a concept album
, is the fifth studio album by progressive metal
band Symphony X
. The album deals with the story of Atlantis
, ancient Egyptian mythology
, and astrology
. It is the first Symphony X album to feature bassist
Michael Lepond
. Drummer Jason Rullo
also rejoined the band on this album, after being absent on Twilight in Olympus
.
's Requiem
, Mozart
's Requiem
, Bach
's Concerto for Harpsichord in D minor, BWV 1052
and Cantata No. 188, and Bartók
's Concerto for Orchestra
.
's album V
. The latter is also the fifth album of the respective band and was released earlier in the same year. Both bands perform progressive music and both are signed to InsideOut Music. Also, both albums are nearly as long (their lengths differ by 11 seconds). Both bands have said that these similarities are a complete coincidence.
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, is the fifth studio album by progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Symphony X
Symphony X
Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...
. The album deals with the story of Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, ancient Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
, and astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
. It is the first Symphony X album to feature bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Michael Lepond
Michael Lepond
Michael Anthony LePond III is the bass guitar player of the North American progressive metal band Symphony X, and also is the bassist for Dead on Arrival, a heavy metal band from New York. The group issued an album - Alive and Kickin’ - on the independent Polo label in 1996...
. Drummer Jason Rullo
Jason Rullo
Jason Rullo is the drummer for the progressive metal band Symphony X. He has been featured in the Modern Drummer readers' polls. He also performed on the 2003 self-titled album by Redemption, a super group including members of Prymary and Fates Warning...
also rejoined the band on this album, after being absent on Twilight in Olympus
Twilight in Olympus
Twilight in Olympus is the fourth studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, which was released in 1998. It features eight tracks, two of which have become classics: "Smoke and Mirrors" and "Through the Looking Glass", the latter an epic based on Through the Looking-Glass, the sequel to...
.
Track listing
- "Prelude" – 1:07
- "Evolution (The Grand Design)" (Allen, Pinnella, Romeo, Rullo) – 5:21
- "Fallen" (Allen, Lepond, Pinnella, Romeo, Rullo) – 5:51
- "Transcendence (Segue)" (Romeo) – 0:38
- "Communion and the Oracle" (Pinnella, Romeo, Rullo) – 7:45
- "The Bird-Serpent War / Cataclysm" (Pinnella, Romeo) – 4:02
- "On the Breath of Poseidon (Segue)" (Romeo) – 3:02
- "Egypt" (Allen, Lepond, Pinnella, Romeo, Rullo) – 7:04
- "The Death of Balance / Lacrymosa" (Romeo, Rullo) – 3:42
- "Absence of Light" (Allen, Pinnella, Romeo) – 4:59
- "A Fool's Paradise" (Allen, Pinnella, Romeo) – 5:48
- "Rediscovery (Segue)" (Pinnella, Romeo) – 1:25
- "Rediscovery (Part II): The New Mythology" (Allen, Pinnella, Romeo, Rullo) – 12:01
Sound
As well as the band progressive metal style, this album also includes excerpts from VerdiGiuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Requiem
Requiem (Verdi)
The Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi is a musical setting of the Roman Catholic funeral mass for four soloists, double choir and orchestra. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet and novelist much admired by Verdi. The first performance in San Marco in Milan on 22 May...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Requiem
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
, Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's Concerto for Harpsichord in D minor, BWV 1052
Harpsichord concerto
A harpsichord concerto is a piece of music for an orchestra with the harpsichord in a solo role Sometimes these works are played on the modern piano; see piano concerto...
and Cantata No. 188, and Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
's Concerto for Orchestra
Concerto for Orchestra (Bartók)
Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123, is a five-movement musical work for orchestra composed by Béla Bartók in 1943. It is one of his best-known, most popular and most accessible works. The score is inscribed "15 August – 8 October 1943", and it premiered on December 1, 1944 in Boston Symphony...
.
Similarities to Spock's Beard's "V"
There is some remarkable similarity with the cover of this album and the cover of Spock's BeardSpock's Beard
Spock's Beard is a progressive rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Neal played keyboards and was the lead vocalist, as well as being the primary songwriter before leaving the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. Alan plays electric guitar...
's album V
V (Spock's Beard album)
V is the fifth studio album of progressive rock band Spock's Beard.The release of V also produced a CD single, this time promoting the track All on a Sunday. The track itself was re-recorded in 2001 and is slightly different from the album track...
. The latter is also the fifth album of the respective band and was released earlier in the same year. Both bands perform progressive music and both are signed to InsideOut Music. Also, both albums are nearly as long (their lengths differ by 11 seconds). Both bands have said that these similarities are a complete coincidence.
Personnel
- Russell AllenRussell AllenRussell Allen is the singer of the American progressive metal band Symphony X.-Biography:Before working with a rock band, he was a jouster at a Medieval Times Dinner Theater. He was introduced to the band Symphony X by former singer Rod Tyler...
– vocals - Michael RomeoMichael RomeoSince 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a new custom model, Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom, which he used to record the Symphony X album Paradise Lost...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Michael PinnellaMichael PinnellaMichael Pinnella is a keyboard player, most notably for the band Symphony X. He has also released a solo album, a mixture of classical and progressive-styled music titled Enter By the Twelfth Gate on the InsideOut Music label in 2004...
– keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s, backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Michael LepondMichael LepondMichael Anthony LePond III is the bass guitar player of the North American progressive metal band Symphony X, and also is the bassist for Dead on Arrival, a heavy metal band from New York. The group issued an album - Alive and Kickin’ - on the independent Polo label in 1996...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jason RulloJason RulloJason Rullo is the drummer for the progressive metal band Symphony X. He has been featured in the Modern Drummer readers' polls. He also performed on the 2003 self-titled album by Redemption, a super group including members of Prymary and Fates Warning...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Engineered by Eric Rachel