SYMPHONY X Plans To Start Recording Long-Awaited New Studio Album In September

SYMPHONY X vocalist Russell Allen joined Mark Strigl on SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard (Channel 38),the home of hard and heavy classic rock, this past week for an in-depth conversation about his career and the status of the long-awaited next SYMPHONY X album.

During the interview, Allen discussed his work with SYMPHONY X, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, ADRENALINE MOB and Jørn Lande, as well as his experiences working with Mike Portnoy, A.J. Pero, David Z, Rich Ward, Mike Orlando, DISTURBED bassist John Moyer and others.

Asked by Strigl about the progress on the next SYMPHONY X album, Allen said: "The new album is pretty close to starting to get recorded because the music is all there. Me and the guys, me and [SYMPHONY X guitarist] Mike Romeo, who is the genius, he is the maestro of the entire thing, he has tons of material. So the next step is we got all the lyrics. We got the concepts that we want to do and now we are going to start putting it together and the plan is to start in September."

When asked if the album will come out in 2027, Allen responded: "Yes, for sure. It is just sitting right there. I haven't spoken to Mike in a couple weeks. We toured earlier in the year. We went out and did 11 countries in Latin America and stuff, a couple cruises, then took a hiatus — not as a band; just have not talked with each other in a bit. Just spending time with our families and enjoying the summer. This is the first summer I've kind of been home in awhile, having some barbecue, enjoying the time. So, yeah. September it all starts all back up. I will be getting my stuff down within that time, within that window before I have to leave for TSO."

The full conversation with Russell Allen and Mark Strigl can be heard on the SiriusXM app.

This past March, Romeo explained the long wait for the new SYMPHONY X album, telling Brazil's 92.5 Kiss FM: "In the old days, years ago, working on a record, we were getting royalties from the albums. So there was a little money coming in, and we were okay. We survived. And when it came time to writing a record, I could come down in the studio for as long as it took — a year, or me and [keyboardist Michael] Pinnella would come down, or Russ or [bassist Mike] LePond, or whatever it was. And we could kind of get the record done and just concentrate on the record a hundred percent. And then we go do the touring, and then it took time. And that's why it was always a little bit of time between the records. And then the last one, it's been so long because you kind of always have to tour now. I mean, it's great. We love playing."

He continued: "So, to be honest, dude, the honest truth is that after COVID, we started playing a lot just to kind of get everybody back on their feet and get some money coming in. And then it was, like, 'Okay, I'm gonna start working on riffs', whatever, a couple of years back. I'd come up with ideas. I'd come up with a handful of ideas. I'm, like, 'All right, yeah, good riff. Oh, this is a nice little melody. Got something here.' And I go on tour and I stop. Go on tour. It's, like, everything's great. I have a good time. I've got more ideas. I come home. More ideas. I didn't finish the ones from last time, so now repeat that, like, 20 times. And then I'm looking at a folder of ideas that's got 1,037 ideas. And I'm trying to sort it out, and I'm sending it to the guys. I'm, like, 'Guys, I've just got so much stuff. What's the good stuff? What should we go after first?' And their heads probably blew up. It's, like, 'Dude, this is insane.' And now it's starting to come together. It's, like, 'Well, this one's cool' and 'this one's all right.' 'That one, nah. We maybe don't need that.' So now it's actually starting to come together."

When the interviewer noted, semi-jokingly, that the next SYMPHONY X album should arrive "before 2030", Romeo said: "The schedule we're trying to get on is by the end of this year, let's have this thing recorded. Let's try to make this happen. Because it's not like we don't have anything — we actually have too much. But the problem is we don't have too much finished things. We have a billion things that are not finished yet. And looking back, I didn't do the smart thing, which I should have went back to the stuff before a tour. But it's hard. You come back and you're inspired and it's, like, 'Oh, I'll get to that other stuff in a minute. I've got this other idea.' And then I painted myself in a corner. I'm, like, 'Oh my God. This is insane.' And I send it to the guys. They're, like, 'Dude, what are you doing? I can't even comprehend this.' And I'm, like, 'Well, which ones are good?' And it's, like, 'Oh, they're all good.' I'm, like, 'That's not helping.' But we've got it. We've been talking and we've been sorting through the stuff, so it's cool. It's just trying to get on some kind of plan, some kind of schedule."

Earlier in March, Allen told Uruguay's The Dark Melody about SYMPHONY X's next LP: "Well, the gaps [between albums] have always been there [with SYMPHONY X]. They got worse and worse over the years. I think as we've started to be sort of self-produced in a way — I mean, look, I just built all this [home studio setup]. I've been working on everything. So, obviously, I'm in the studio right now. And Mike's [SYMPHONY X guitarist Michael Romeo] been working on this stuff for years, and the guys, I guess. The problem is that when we stop, it really messes up with Mike's creative process, and he's obviously the guy who's really the true musical director, I guess… How can I say that? The composer of the band, really, It's still a band, but he's the main guy, obviously, with the musical side of things, and the singing stuff, that's my thing. And so, the gaps have been worse, I think, as we start to just get lost in what we're doing. And then we have to stop and then start again. And we're just not that kind of band. Mike's not wired like that. He's a real kind of a mad scientist, genius guy. He just needs to be locked in his world and not be — 'cause he'll start something, stop, then go back after the tour. 'Ah, I don't remember any of that stuff. That stuff all was shit. Let me start again.'"

Russell continued: "We've got about — I don't know — [Michael] sent me 10 hours of stuff for a 55-minute record. It becomes a monumental task just to weed through all the stuff. And that's kind of where we're at. But he's honed a lot of it in, so we're getting close. And that's where the new album is at now. But this has been a while. People have gotta believe us when we say, 'Hey, we've been working on it.' 'Cause that's his process, and I'm not one to argue with that. It's not the best business model [laughs] if you're gonna try and make it make a bigger thing in this business, but who cares about that shit when you guys are there? It's all about the quality of what the fans are gonna hear, and that's our legacy, and that's what we leave behind. And so, obviously, at this tenure in our career, that's what we're more concerned about than a quick 'hey', whatever. But we are gonna try and use the time that Mike put in on this one. There's so much good material. We both feel that there's a lot to pull on for the next one. So there shouldn't be as much of a gap. The material's just too good. So it's, like, 'Okay, let's just pick out what this story or what this album's theme is gonna be, and then we've got all this other stuff that's great.' And it's in that SYMPHONY X realm. And we could definitely use that as a starting point for the next one. So there shouldn't be — I'm not gonna make any promises, 'cause every time you say shit like this, something always happens. But in the point that we're at now, that's where we're at."

He added: "I'm not gonna apologize to you guys for taking the time. It's nothing that we're sorry for. It's just how we create this stuff… [But] we don't wanna make you guys wait forever. It's nothing against you, the fan, or something to slight you guys. It's just our process, and it's just what it takes to get it done and make it on a level that we're proud of to put out. At the end of the day, we've gotta live with it. So that's kind of what we think about these things. So that's kind of where it's at. But it's coming along. It's really sounding good. It's really awesome."

In October 2024, Romeo told the "Coffee With Ola" podcast about the upcoming SYMPHONY X LP: "With us, it's not like, 'Oh, yeah, we're just gonna write one — how do you say? — single, and then just have a bunch of filler. It's, like, everything's gotta be as good as it can be. So, yeah, it gets harder and it takes longer. Then you throw in COVID and a bunch of other things, and then it's just, like, 'Oh, shit.' Now it's, like, I don't know — eight years or something. I lost track.

"What's different now than in the past is that we could take a bunch of time off. There would be some royalties from CDs back in the day coming in and kind of float on the downtime and really get the record done and then come back out [with a] new record, tour. So now it's, like, well, that money's gone. So we have to tour a little bit, keep things going, work on the record, go back out. So it's been like that for a while. And for me — I do most of the writing, so for me it's hard because you're sitting in the studio for whatever month, 'I got this idea,' and you're trying to put these things together, and it's, like, 'Oh, we've gotta go on tour now.' All right, cool. We do our thing. And then you come back, and it's, like, 'What the fuck was I working on again? Was this riff here?' And so you're trying to arrange all this stuff. And then you're, like, 'Oh, I've got all these new ideas.' So then you keep adding. And then after a long period of time, it's, like, 'Oh my god, there's so much stuff I can't even manage it now.' Plenty of material — like three hours of stuff — but now it's actually making sense."

Elaborating on when SYMPHONY X might be done composing the material for the next album, Michael said: "It's gonna take some time to organize everything. It's not like there's nothing there. It's [not], like, 'Oh, man, we have to start from scratch.' There's quite a bit. It's actually overwhelming. I never remember being this overwhelmed by the amount of stuff, 'cause over the last year and a half or whatever, every time there was a break, it's, like, 'Okay, I'll write something.' I didn't stop and [go], like, 'Well, let me finish this.' It was, like, boom, 'I got all these ideas,' and I just kept going. So now it's, like, all right, no more writing. Now more arranging."

SYMPHONY X completed an extensive tour behind "Underworld" in 2016, including a U.S. run of shows with OVERKILL and a pair of headlining performances in Australia.

In July 2017, Allen and his ADRENALINE MOB bandmates were involved in a crash that killed the group's bassist, David Zablidowsky.

In 2019, Allen — who has toured with TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA since 2013 — was injured during the rehearsals for TSO's annual winter trek and was unable to make the tour.

Romeo released his latest solo album, "War Of The Worlds Pt. 2", in March 2022 via InsideOut Music. The record featured guest vocals by Dino Jelusick (WHITESNAKE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA).