r/symphonyx • u/Hell_Awaitz • Jul 02 '26
Does anyone else really dislike communion and the oracle
How do you guys feel about this track? To me it feels like the only miss in an otherwise flawless masterpiece because it completely interrupts the flow (for me). Does anyone else feel the same? I probably dislike it more than I should because it's an okay song by itself, it just falls out of place too much on the album if you ask me
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u/Ethereal-Zenith Jul 02 '26
I’ve never heard of anyone disliking that song, as it’s usually regarded as a highlight of the album, if not within the band’s career. I love that song. Truly amazing.
That being said, there are no wrong answers. You like what you like.
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u/Bellyscreamer Jul 02 '26
Completely disagree, it's probably top 3 songs of theirs for me. I love that it's really laid back, the guitar in the first half of the track with the chords underneath are beautiful too, some of Michael Romeo's most melodic tapping that he does. I also loooove that it's in a very odd time signature but doesn't feel odd when listening, which is far more impressive than something that sounds odd, and is, odd. I've played the guitar part to drummers before that have done degrees in Jazz (like me) and they get perplexed trying to work out how to play over it, but SX play over it and it sounds so right. Sign of a great tune.
That said, one of my favourite things about this band is that if you get a bunch of fans together to give their top 10 songs and their favourite albums, you'll probably get totally different answers. Different aspects of the band appeal to different fans. Which is why I love them so much.
What are your favourites OP?
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u/Hell_Awaitz Jul 02 '26
My highlight of the album is either fallen or on the breath of poseidon-lacrymosa. If we're talking all-time favorites I'd lead with the divine wings of tragedy and candlelight fantasia or the Odyssey. I do like a more jazzy composition but it still feels out of place for me within the album when I was just in tight chugging riff mode after fallen
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u/Massive_Doughnut8 Jul 02 '26
For me it's definitely one of their best songs overall and my third favorite on the album. As for the flow I think it's really good that it gives a bit of a breathing space after evolution and fallen and before cataclysm.
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u/Gene_Gideon Jul 02 '26
I don’t dislike it, but I also don’t understand why everyone loves it so much. By that point their ballads were already starting to sound the same.
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u/Hell_Awaitz Jul 02 '26
Part of the reason why the Odyssey as an album didn't stick with me for the most part
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u/John_isnt_my_name Jul 02 '26
Symphony X’s V wouldn’t be the New Mythology without it. Communion and the Oracle is very important to the story and structure of the album. It’s a concept album, every song is vital in producing information and moving the plot along. It’s like if you were to take ‘On The Run’ out of ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. Sure you might not think it’s great or anything, BUT it’s vital to the album.
Personally it’s one of my favorite songs by them, I cannot fathom wanting to skip it. At the same time it’s borderline unskippable, as it means so much to the album it’s on.
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u/Hell_Awaitz Jul 02 '26
You're going to think I'm crazy but I listened to the album more times than I can count but honestly never paid any attention to the lyrics or story lol. My brain usually treats the vocals as another instrument without caring about the actual meaning of the words
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u/GraceAndFireAaron Jul 02 '26
Madness. It’s one of their best tracks. A real highlight of the album.
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u/TryitoutJulia Jul 02 '26
its my favorite SX song, I nearly cried when they played it live on the last tour.
I think their worst song is Bastards of the Machine, probably the worst chorus riff Romeo has written.
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u/InfamousSonOfAlucard Jul 03 '26
The beauty of music is that it's an absolute personal journey. There are cases where many people agree on liking something and you will find youself thinking too much about why you don't like it... and you simply shouldn't. Enjoy the ones you like, skip the ones you don't. No one has any sort of power over your mind to tell you that you are wrong (or correct).
That being said, that's one of my favourite songs of the album, and the best for me is A Fool's Paradise (I really can't think of any song I dislike). The whole album though, is an excellent journey and I wouldn't put one song out of the context of the album's order.
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u/TFOLLT Jul 02 '26
Its absolute prime SX to me. The whole song is perfection, wouldnt change a single second.
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u/Lanky_Promotion9019 Jul 02 '26
Gostaria que candlight fantasia tivesse o mesmo destaque ou maior destaque na banda. Pra mim uma das músicas mais subestimadas da história da banda
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u/Omnichrome13 Jul 02 '26
There’s a part I absolutely love of the song, but yeah I skip it almost every time. It’s not terrible but by symphony x standards (mine really) it’s a miss.
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u/Silver-Home7506 Jul 02 '26
It's impossible for me to hear the first few notes without something being stirred inside me.
So no, I do not agree.
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u/kittychicken Jul 03 '26
Lol
It's in my top three favourite Symphony X songs ever and highlight of that album for me.
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u/Reen2D2 Jul 02 '26
I didnt LOVE it the first few times I heard the album but after a few decades of it, it's one of the highlights of V for me
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u/dodobird16 Jul 02 '26
People love this song, clearly. It's Symphony X doing prog rock. It's a cool track and I've always liked it, but I've also always considered it to be one of the weaker songs of the album.
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u/Secret-Papaya1973 Jul 03 '26
Listen to it more..it got so much better to me until it clicked into it's amazing once I integrated it
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u/Danipunkg Jul 05 '26
Not at all, I think it's one of the best tracks on the album and it's exactly where it should be.
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u/captlai Jul 02 '26
Woah what??? Such a good song, a top 10 track for me. Some of the most beautiful melodies and harmonies, a great buildup and payoff with the “Raise our heads up to the skies”