Rev: Do you want to say a few words about the new cd, The Odyssey?

MP: Sure, The Odyssey, let's see... Brand new one from Symphony X, that's a good album, we wanted to go back to our roots a little bit on this one, it's a mix, you know, it has some definite heavy stuff but it kind of encomposes everything we do... we were all brought up on metal and the metal-aspect is definitely there and progressive aspects are there too.

I feel that it is more groove-oriented in a way, especially in the guitars...

Yeah, absolutely, the riffs are awesome. It does have a groove that is excellent.

So, is this more like an evolution in the band?

No, it's not really an evolution, it's kind of going backwards, not in the sense of writing or anhything, just going backwards.

Back to the roots?

Back to the roots!

Is this a direction that the band will continue?

I mean, it's hard to say about directions... we like to write good songs. And it's going to sound like Symphony X in some way but we are not going in any one direction. All I can say is that it's going in a progressive direction, going in a more metal eveection. So it's hard to say what the next album is going to be like.

So, were you writing some music and then you found out that "Hey, this sounds groovy"?

Yeah, that's how it was for this cd. After "V" where we did this whole concept thing and I know that we had a lot of parts but for the most parts it was a lot of progressive stuff one that album. So we wanted this one to be a little different. And it happened to come out that way.

Are you never afraid of repeating yourselves? Or does it come naturally that you play new stuff?

It doesn't always come naturally, it's really hard. For a new album, we always try to make it better some way. And different. So it's hard not to repeat the stuff.

In "Awakenings" there is this funny jazz-part...

Which part? The middle section?

Yeah, the middle section.

Yeah, there is a piano in this whole middle section. It is a little jazzy. That is a big influence of mine.

And also your drummer, Jason Rullo, is into jazz?

Yeah.

So do you ever play some jazz in the band?

No, not really. Again, it's just an influence. And it's going to come out in the music some way. I'm heavily influenced by a lot of music. You know, the whole metal stuff, it comes out.

I think I heard somewhere that you were playing in a church?

Yeah, I have been doing that for a long time.

So are there any crazy solos in the middle?

(laughs) No. Nothing crazy.

Are you still doing that now?

Yeah.

Can the whole band live from playing with Symphony X?

We are working towards that. It's been hard up until now. We have been together since '94 and we really didn't start touring intil 5 years after. Our first tour was in 98 in Japan.

An also your albums didn't come out in the states...

Exactly, until "V" which was out first one actually released here. And now ofcourse everything can be released.

Do you think it will come soon that you will be able to live from Symphony X?

I hope so. I really hope so.

Do you have any numbers on the sales of "The Odyssey"?

Not yet. It was released 2 weeks ago. I don't know how they count the numbers, I think they have to wait a certain amount of time before they can get a legitimate number. But I have heard a lot of good things.

That's very nice to hear. I hope it's going to work for you. Do you think we are going to hear some more jazz parts from you? Like a solo from Michael Romeo?

It's possible. Again, everybody has influences and it's always going to come out somewhere.

Yeah, how do you do that? I mean as a band you have so many influences, how do you reach a common goal?

It's hard and I don't really think we found our sound until the third album, "Divine Wings of Tragedy". That's where it kind of came together. Before that, it wasn't quite there yet. But on "Divine Wings" it all just came together.

Do you ever disagree when you write something together? Like somebody who says "No, that's not good"?

Oh yeah, all the time. And that's good because it keeps everyone on their toes. If we are writing something and I play something that the others don't like, we work something else out. And we take it from there until we come out with something that works. And nobody's angry with anybody. So we always try to make it fun and, you know, to do some good work.

On the internet I have seen some comments about a nu-metal sound influence, especially in the guitars.

I wouldn't say it's nu-metal. Not at all. Once again, we are striving to make good songs. You know, whatever the song calls for, that's what we are going to come up with.

How come you put "Masquerade" as a bonus?

Oh yeah, that's because we re-did that with Russel. It is a great song and we decided to do that with Russel singing it. To kind of beef it up a little bit.

Did you ever think about re-recording the whole first cd?

Yeah, we definitely have. I just listened to it yesterday for the first time in, I don't know, three years. We definitely thought about that. I wouldn't mind doing a couple of things off of that.

How come you decided to put out mp3's on the official website?

Actually we didn't do it directly. We just wanted to give the fans a little taste of what it was going to be like. Just to promote it a little bit I guess.

But I thought that generally the band was against the whole mp3-internet thing?

Well, if it's on our website and if we "okay" it then it's cool. But as far as if anybody can go out on the internet and download or upload anything then, you know. We are against bootleg stuff but on our own site this is for promotional purposes.

I have heard that you think it's easier to write the long, epic songs than the short ones?

You know, sometimes the short songs are harder to write. Usually when we write, we have a storyline first. And it's really hard to get a whole idea into three minutes. So for longer songs, even though it's more work, it usually comes off a little easier than the short ones. We have written songs before that are two minutes long and we are never happy with them.

I know that you are touring now. How is it to be on the road over there?

Well, it's different than Europe, that's for sure. But so far it's been pretty good. The fans over here are cool.

How do you get along with Blind Guardian?

Ah, they are really nice guys.

Do you talk a lot with them?

Not really because we are on seperate busses. They played in Atlanta at ProgPower so we didn't meet them until we got to Montreal. But they are nice guys.

Do you like their music? Do you watch their shows?

I watched a little bit of their last one and it was pretty good. I know they have been around for a while but I have never really listened to their music.

How is the writing process in the band? Is it Michael Romeo who writes all the music and then you all put it together?

Yeah. Well, again it's always different. There really is no formula, it's never a set thing.

Did you ever think about releasing a solo cd?

Yes. I'm not saying that I'm in the process but I'm starting to think about it now.

That sounds good. What kind of music would that be?

You know, I don't know. I mean, it would kinda be like a band thing. A little different. It would be good music again.

Do you want any guest musicians or would it be you playing everything?

No, I would play but I don't know who else. I shall think about that for awhile.

Who would you like to play with?

Who I would like to play with?

Yeah.

As a band or myself?

Both things. As a guest musician on a new Symphony X cd or maybe on your own solo cd.

On drums Terry Bozzio. Definitely. I'd like Terry Bozzio on drums. John Patitucci on bass. I don't know. Maybe I'd ask Michael Romeo.

That should be an easy choice.

And no vocals. It's too hard to deal with singers. (At this point I believe that I hear laughter in the background.) Instrumental. All the way. And as far as a band, I'd like... Deep Purple is one of my favorite bands. Deep Purple, Kansas, ELP.

Did you ever think about having guest vocals on a Symphony X cd? Maybe some female vocals?

I actually wouldn't mind that. Certain things, I mean, sometimes we write music that actually calls for that. We've actually written stuff that we thought it would sound good on. But we didn't pursue this. But yeah, I'd be into that actually.

What do you think Russel Allen would think of that. I mean somebody else singing and not only him?

I think he would be ok with that. Yeah, he'd be fine with that.

You were playing as a guest musician on some cds, right?

Just one. I only did one. I did the Rush tribute with Romeo.

The Working Man cd.

Yeah, Working Man.

How was that?

It was great!

How did you do that? Did they send you a tape?

Yes. They sent us the tapes so we had it in our studio.

Do you feel that it is different to put a solo on somebody else's music, to get into that compared to Symphony X?

Yeah. But again it wasn't that hard being that it was a Rush tribute.

What was the last cd you bought?

The las cd I bought? I bought "The Best of Dio". I had them all before you know, I just don't know what happened to them. I bought that two weeks ago.

Do you hear any other new music? I know most of the guys in Symphony X mostly prefer the old stuff.

Yeah.

Any new bands you are into?

Not really. I don't even listen to the radio. I'm hearing nothing brand new that I'm into.

What's the future of Symphony X?

To write good songs, tour, you know... just keep doing what we are doing and try to do it better and better. Get out there and play for the fans. Just keep going forward.

What are the reactions from the fans when you were playing live the last few days?

I was really surprised. We were playing in Canada. It's a little more like Europe there. We'll see what happens in the states, I think it should be cool though.

Did the fans have time to learn the lyrics to sing along?

Oh yeah.

I think you have some die-hard fans.

It's really different over here. Everything is here for a couple of years, then it's gone and something new comes out.

Do you think that one day you are going to get tired of metal and start to play something else, like blues or jazz or...?

No, no, no!

Metal all the way?

Metal all the way!

What if you really had to start to play another style, would it be blues, jazz, classical or...?

Classical!

Classical?

Oh yeah. That's probably... that and the metal are most related. If we couldn't play`what we are doing now, we definitely wouldn't do blues or country or something! Or rap or something. All the big rap and hip hop and this stuff, it won't last. It's huge now and the whole Nirvana and all that movement. It's gone. It didn't last any years. That's just the way it is here. So it's really hard to endure. In Europe, bands who have been around for thirty years are still huge over there. And when they go over there, they play in arenas and when they play here, they play in bars.

So it must be a little strange for you when you play in Europe or Japan to be recieved like heroes and then when you play in the states...noting.

Exactly.

But you still have fans in the states, they are just more spread.

Yeah, that's true. Thinking about how bit the country is. How many people there are...

I don't have too many more questions now. Anything else you want to talk about?

Not really. A big thanks to the fans and I hope you enjoy the new album. And we are looking forward to get over there and play!