“We don’t cheese out with a bunch of noodling.” Symphony X and Iconoclast
Prolific isn’t a word that can be used to describe Symphony X in terms of album releases. Yet they’re one of only a handful of bands whose patient fans retain an unfaltering allegiance despite the band often leaving up to five years between albums. Returning with Iconoclast – their first album since 2007’s Paradise Lost – the band at least acknowledge that they’re in a privileged position.
“Yeah, the most amazing thing about Symphony X is how we’re able to resurrect our career every time. That to me is like raising the dead. In fact, that should be the name of the band – Raising The Dead,” laughs frontman Russell Allen with endearing honesty. “We have a great fan base who are very loyal and they hang in there with
us for as long as they can and then we also seem to be able to win over new audiences. We talked about trying to keep the time down between albums but we know that these records are going to be around long after we’ve gone. Symphony X doesn’t just make a record just to go out and stay in the game.”
(Image credit: Nuclear Blast)
That openly declared perfectionist streak – which warrants that the band refuse to unleash an album until they’re wholly satisfied – is an admirable one, but not without risk. It’s not unrealistic to suggest that Symphony X would have a far greater profile if they adopted a speedier studio routine. It’s a tactic that also intensifies their in-studio stress as they pressure themselves to record something that they feel matches their self-imposed high standards.
“Yeah, I think it’s really difficult as we do lose momentum and we’d probably be a much bigger band if we’d managed to write in much shorter periods of time, but it’s just never worked out that way,” concurs Allen. “It really does create a pretty intense pressure cooker, especially when you’re getting down to the wire on it. This album was supposed to be out the beginning of this year but everything took longer than we…
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