03/28/2011 13:58

Symphony X

Symphony X: 'Iconoclast'

US progressive metal legends Symphony X's new album (their 8th) 'Iconoclast' will be available in Europe on June 17th and in North America on June 21st, through Nuclear Blast.

Illustrator and film concept artist Warren Flanagan (Watchmen, The Incredible Hulk, 2012) is the talent behind the album artwork. Here, he shares his creative process on the new album's artwork:

"The idea was to create imagery that was a little darker in tone to previous Symphony X albums and to represent the overall theme of 'Iconoclast' into the artwork. The whole concept came from Mike [Romeo], who had a strong idea of what the cover should represent based off the music. I just ran with it. When the album's title was decided on, I focused the image based on the meaning of it. I also wanted to use the band's signature "masks" but present them in a way that connected to the new album."

Symphony X founder & lead guitarist Michael Romeo has the following to say about Flanagan's art:

"We worked with Warren on the last CD, 'Paradise Lost', and have a good relationship with him. When I talk to Warren about artwork ideas, a lot of times we end up making comparisons to films and movies. With the new CD, 'Iconoclast', the music and lyrics have a darker mechanical/technological theme, and I remember us talking about scenes from films like 'The Matrix' and 'Terminator'. From there, we sent him some song titles and lyrics (songs like 'Dehumanized,' 'Bastards of the Machine,' 'Electric Messiah') and just let Warren run with the ball. He has a great imagination and style, and he totally gets what we are trying to convey with the music."

The track listing for the jewel-cased version of Iconoclast is:

01. Iconoclast
02. The End of Innocence
03. Dehumanized
04. Bastards of the Machine
05. Heretic
06. Children of a Faceless God
07. Electric Messiah
08. Prometheus (I Am Alive)
09. When all Is Lost

The track listing for the 2-CD Special Edition digi-pak version of Iconoclast is:

CD 1:
01. Iconoclast
02. The End of Innocence
03. Dehumanized
04. Bastards of the Machine
05. Heretic
06. Children of a Faceless God
07. When all Is Lost

CD 2:
01. Electric Messiah
02. Prometheus (I Am Alive)
03. Light up the Night
04. The Lords of Chaos
05. Reign in Madness

Symphony X are currently on the Power Of Metal tour in Europe with Nevermore and will hit North America in April. View all upcoming Symphony X tour dates at their official website.

(source: Symphony X)

(older news about the topic:)

Here is the latest news from USA's progressive metallers, Symphony X:

"Technically, we could be done. I put together some pre-production mixes for us to listen to, and it's all solid. We have over an hour of really good stuff that we really dig; there's more than enough stuff there that we can choose the best songs to go on the cd... But all of the songs are really strong. And there are two almost-done songs that we're going to try to wrap up in the next few days as well, one is shaping up to be 10 minutes plus; it's really cool stuff that we gotta use," said guitarist Michael Romeo.

He and vocalist Russell Allen have started working through lyrics, and the band plans to start tracking in early March. "I think everyone will like it" Mr. Romeo said, "it has a little bit of everything."

(source: Symphony X)