SYMPHONY X's RUSSELL ALLEN Explains Long Wait For New Album: 'There's So Much Good Material'

In a new interview with Uruguay's The Dark Melody, SYMPHONY X singer Russell Allen spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2015's "Underworld" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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."

Referencing SYMPHONY X's upcoming 30th-anniversary Latin American tour, which is scheduled to kick off later this month, Russell said: "We wanna get down there and have a good time and celebrate this sort of milestone in our lives and in our careers with you guys and then get right back into it here. 'Cause we're not really booking anything else after this for the rest of the year, unless something amazing comes along, another opportunity. But again, that causes problems for this process. So, we're weighing all those things out. I mean, there's really nothing, I think, that can get in our way in terms of shows and stuff at this point, beyond what we're doing with you guys, and so that gives us the entire summer, fall to get the songs completely finished in terms of what they're gonna be, and then the recording process is what it is and the time it takes to do that. But I feel like it's pretty strong that the album will be pretty much in the can by, hopefully, the end of the year, if not in the fall. If we get lucky and something just really takes off, maybe a little sooner release time. So that's all label stuff and management, and they've gotta figure out their windows."

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).

Photo credit: Danny Sanchez