SYMPHONY X's RUSSELL ALLEN: Fans Will Get Next Album When It's Finally Done

Metal Wani's Sairaj Kamath and William Richards recently conducted an interview with SYMPHONY X and ADRENALINE MOB singer Russell Allen. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Speaking about the progress of the recording sessions for SYMPHONY X's long-awaited follow-up to 2011's "Iconoclast", Russell said: "Dude, I have no idea. I did my tracks, and that's it. I haven't heard anything. I'm sure I'll hear something at some point, obviously, before the record's released, but the last I heard guitars were being recorded. I don't even know if it's being mixed yet; I haven't heard from Mike [guitarist Michael Romeo]. He's busy doing it, so I leave him alone, you know?! When he's done, he's done. And that's what all SYMPHONY X fans know and have come to accept about this band — that they'll get the stuff when it finally gets done, and that's it."

Russell also talked about the health of SYMPHONY X drummer Jason Rullo who in 2013 suffered heart failure.

"To my knowledge, he's in great health," Allen said. "Again, I have not heard his final takes [for the new SYMPHONY X album], so I have no comment on that."

Regarding the musical direction of the new SYMPHONY X material, the band's bassist, Michael LePond, told the "Talking Metal" podcast: "I think this album is not gonna be as heavy as our last one, 'Iconoclast'. If I had to compare this one, I would say it's a combination of [2002's] 'The Odyssey' meets [2007's] 'Paradise Lost'. It has a lot of classic SYMPHONY X elements in it, and I think our old fans are really gonna appreciate this one. So we're really excited about it."

According to LePond, "It wasn't a conscious decision to go back to the older sound; it just kind of happened. That's the way we write songs. We just start writing songs, and wherever it takes us, it takes us. But there's a lot of really cool, classic SYMPHONY X things in there. It's very, very musical. It concentrates just more on solid songs and great melodies."

The bassist also spoke about SYMPHONY X's continued success and seeming ability to gain new fans without compromising the musical ideals that form its core identity.

"One thing that's really amazing about SYMPHONY X and about our fans is, it seems like every record, we move up a little bit more, we get just a little bit more popular," he said. "We don't jump up into stardom; it's a slow climb. I mean, the band's been together just about 20 years now, and it just seems like with every album, our fan base grows just a little bit more, and we've been able to hold the old fans too. So, thankfully, we're still growing."

He continued: "It's always an amazing thing to see someone really young discovering SYMPHONY X. It just gives you the gas to keep going and just keep working hard."

SYMPHONY X's ninth studio album, "Iconoclast", sold more than 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 76 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Paradise Lost", opened with around 6,500 copies back in July 2007.

"Iconoclast" was released in June 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records.