Symphony X

Symphony X is an American Progressive Metal band formed in New Jersey in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo.

New Jersey, April 1994. Taking advantage of the good reception of his demo, The Dark Chapter, guitarist Michael Romeo decided to form a band. The first member to join was bassist Thomas Miller, with whom Michael had worked for the last ten years. The duo then recruited drummer Jason Rullo, vocalist Rod Tyler and keyboardist Michael Pinella. They recorded their first album, “Symphony X”, between August and September 1994, being released in Japan in December of the same year.

In early 1995, vocalist Rod Tyler left the band during the recording of their second album, “The Damnation Game”. Russell Allen then takes over vocal duties. Just eight months after their debut album, Symphony X released their second album. Maintaining the pace of releases, in November 1996, his third album, The Divine Wings of Tragedy, was presented, considered the most successful until then, resulting in the emergence of groups of fans in parts of Europe and Japan. At the end of 1997, shortly before recording the fourth album began, drummer Jason Rullo left the band, being replaced by Thomas Walling.

In 2013, drummer Jason Rullo was hospitalized after suffering heart failure. In his recovery period, he was replaced by John Macaluso. Jason Rullo returned to the band in 2014, during which the band performed at the 70000 Tons of Metal festival.

The band began recording their next album on September 9, 2014, with drum parts, and plan to release it in spring 2015 (fall in the Southern Hemisphere). Michael LePond stated that they had ten songs ready and that the album would have nine or ten of them. He also said that all the lyrics and music were ready and that the album would be less heavy than Iconoclast: “If I had to compare, I would say it’s a combination of The Odyssey and Paradise Lost — something in there. There’s a lot of Symphony Classic X, which I think a lot of our fans were missing for a few years. So I think our fans will really like this album. It really just focuses on solid songwriting.” On April 10, 2015, the band announced that the mastering and mixing of the album were ready.

“Underworld” was released on July 24, 2015. Michael Romeu comments on the album’s theme: “I started looking at Dante and Orpheus in the underworld, where he goes to Hades or Hell to save a girl. So there’s the theme of Go to hell looking for something or someone you like.”

Symphony X Dungeon
The Dungeon is the studio located in guitarist Michael Romeo’s home. The band used this studio in the past to record some parts, and recorded the album “The Odyssey” entirely there, with Michael himself producing. Symphony

Current members
Michael Romeo − guitar (1994–present)
Michael Pinnella − keyboards (1994–present)
Jason Rullo − drums (1994–1998, 2000–present)
Russell Allen − vocals (1995–present)
Michael LePond − bass (2000–present)

Studio Albums

Symphony X (1994)
The Damnation Game (1995)
The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997)
Twilight in Olympus (1998)
V: The New Mythology Suite (2000)
The Odyssey (2002)
Paradise Lost (2007)
Iconoclast (2011)
Underworld (2015)