Wednesday night, September 23rd, Symphony X and Overkill descended on The Intersection here in Grand Rapids, for an amazing show! They also featured a great band from Grand Rapids as their show opener, Blackgate! To wrap up the night, Symphony X brought out the heavy side of prog-metal, and the crowd loved it!

They kicked off their set with most of the new album Underworld, playing (if my memory hasn't completely failed me) seven songs from the eleven songs on the album. That was what they called their "taste" of the new album. Underworld is freaking amazing, in case you were wondering. Easily one of the best metal albums out this year.

I've been a fan of this band since I first heard their second album, The Damnation Game, back in 1995. They're a great band, heavy on the prog, heavy on the heavy, with one of the best singers out there, Russell Allen. This guy can do the clean singing, and the deathy growls.

Everyone in this band is at the top of their craft, even if three of the guys are named Michael, haha. Michael Romeo is the mastermind of the band, and an amazing guitar player. Watching him play, you can only think, "F***, I need to practice more."

The same goes for Michael Pinnella (keyboards), Michael LePond (bass), and Jason Rullo (drums). The level of skill all of these guys have is ridiculous. It's not even, "Hey, look at the cool arpeggios I can do!" It's totally I'm-just-going-to-play-this-impossible-arpeggio-while-talking-to-the-other-guys-about-the-post-show-meal-or-that-hot-chick-in-the-crowd kind of skill. It's like stuff they don't even think about anymore.

That's just hurtful, guys. Seriously. At least PRETEND that what you're playing is as hard as we know it is.

In short (too late!) - GO SEE THIS BAND!

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