The artist: Symphony X are a key band in progressive metal who also mix power, symphonic and even neoclassical metal elements to their music keeping their versatility. The band is well known for having Michael Romeo and Russell Allen in the band who are the two that define the Symphony X style, despite Allen not being in the band until the second album. With Allen on board, Symphony X have released great albums such as The Divine Wings of Tragedy, V: The New Mythology Suite and The Odyssey. In the recent years the band take more time on the albums with Paradise Lost taking 5 years to come out after The Odyssey and the upcoming album Iconoclast coming out four years after Paradise Lost. It's better to take your time than to rush out a release.
The album: V: The New Mythology Suite is the concept album released in 2000 covering several subjects such as Atlantis, Egyptian mythology and astrology. The album contains many great tracks such as Evolution (The Grand Design) to kick off things right after the prelude, the instrumental On the Breath of Poseidon and the fantastic 12 minute closer Rediscovery (Part II): The New Mythology to make a climatic ending for The New Mythology Suite. There's actually a strange coincidence Symphony X had with Spock Beard who too made their fifth album in 2000 named V. Both bands have stated these events as complete coincidences, even though Spock Beard ended up making an eighth album in 2005 with "oct" in the title just like Dream Theater with Octavarium.
The song: Communion and the Oracle starts off with an acoustic intro which is shortly followed by some excellent keyboard performance which stands as a true highlight throughout the song. Russell Allen on vocals doesn't start until a minute in and this song provides some of the lightest and softest vocal performances from him but for a ballad it works like a charm. Communion and the Oracle fits in the astrology side of the album with the topic of unbalance between day and night. The solo part is only the beginning of the end of the song and the orchestral elements become much stronger together with the last verse that put Allen at the very best for his singing talent. Overall, Communion and the Oracle is a brilliant song in V: The New Mythology Suite that shouldn't be underestimated at all. This is where the band shows some great work with acoustic guitars, keyboards and vocal performance.
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