The Excellence of Execution : The Odyssey

Something that I would like to make a regular occurrence on the blog is a post called "The Excellence of Execution". This is more of an award than an article and it will be awarded to song's/albums that we feel have been perfectly executed or as near to it as humanly possible. This post won't have a specific day, it can be any genre, it can be awarded at any time and will be posted as little as once a month to 4 or 5 times a month, in essence, it'll be a random occurrence; so to see it you'll have to be checking back with us regularly.

To start it off I'm going to post what could possibly be my favorite song in the prog genre. The song in discussion is Symphony X's "The Odyssey", from their album of the same name. The song is a symphonic metal retelling of Homers Odyssey, a tale which tells of Odysseus's ten year journey home after the fall of Troy during the Trojan war. In total Odysseus has been away from home for 20 years ''I've been twenty years away from all I ever knew", and is constantly dreaming of home, "Home - I dreamed of Home", Odysseus's mission is to return to Ithaca and re-unite with his lover Penelope (name not mentioned in the song). During the journey he encounters the Cyclopes, Circe, the Sirens and tries to avoid the Charybdis by sailing closer to Scylla, on top of this, when Odysseus gets back to Ithaca he finds others are trying to replace him and seduce his wife "I find my kingdom in jeopardy … As I spy so many who eye my Queen ". The Odyssey is one of the most important pieces of literacy works pre-Christ and it's mythology is constantly being re-told and referenced in other works.

Symphony X do an admirable job in telling this tale through their music, the structure of the song throughout constantly changing to emulate Odysseus's current emotions and situations, with great accuracy. The vocal range of X's Russell Allen within the song is suitable for the song, using soft tones during part II to describe the "rolling hills of Ithaca" and during part III using his trademark gruff vocals to go into first person as Odysseus and give orders to his men. The Odyssey is also home to one of Michael Romeo's most memorable solo's that’s seems to perfectly emulate Odysseus's journeys through the seas, to this day I'm not sure how he does this, but I think it has more to do with the story telling used and the relation you make with it and the music being played.

By taking the time to sit down and listen to this 24 minute epic, the tale it's telling and the music that backgrounds it, you'll very easily be able to tell why this song was chosen to be awarded with "The Excellence of Execution" and why it was also the first to be so. I really hope people take the time to actually listen to this epic as it is a song that will not be that known or on a lot of people radar's due to the underground nature of the prog scene; it is a beautiful tale and Symphony X execute it excellently, enjoy.

Symphony X - The Odyssey