Symphorce Calls It Quits

I've long since lost interest in this band personally, but I'm sure there are still some fans here...you'll still have Brainstorm

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German melodic metallers SYMPHORCE, who feature in their ranks guitarist Cédric "Cede" Dupont and singer Andy B. Franck (BRAINSTORM), have officially called it quits.

Commented Franck: "Seven albums, 12 years and thousands of enthusiastic fans don't make that decision easy, but after long thoughts and lots of talks we decided together to call it a day and dissolve SYMPHORCE. The heads are dead, the timetables of our main bands packed with dates, so we feel a lack of inspiration and no possibility to record more albums, play more shows with the passion and commintment needed therefore.

"SYMPHORCE will always stand for an absolute independent type of metal, but with our latest (and last) album, 'Unrestricted', we had to recognize that we have said everything we wanted musically. It was an unbelievable, intense and fantastic time!

"We thank you all for your long lasting loyalty and the enthusiasm you have shown to us. We will never forget all this for sure.

"Of course, we will still remain with and in our other bands and will see us for sure somewhere somewhen on this planet. And therefore… lights off… spotlights on!

"All my heart, passion and soul is now one hundred percent BRAINSTORM, the new album, 'On The Spur Of The Moment', and the upcoming tours and festivals.

"But anyhow... thanks for 12 fantastic years, thanks for the fulfillment of a dream! It was AMAZING!"

Lost interest in Symphorce and Brainstorm long time ago.

I gave this band a few tries (their PHORCEFULAHEAD and TWICE SECOND albums) and always found'em rather blah.

Same here. I only have Twice Second and that was enough to tell me I didn't need any more.

This sucks I prefer Symphorce over Brainstorm, Become Death and God speed are excellent albums

I dig these guys but never thought they were great. Very good most of the time, but nothing more.

Its funny how sometimes I don't mind that a band I listen to calls it quits. That just means I won't have to buy their cds anymore lol. Sucks they called it quits though. They weren't great but they were pretty good. I wasn't huge on them and I thought Brainstorm was the better band but now even I lost interest with them a little.

Do you think this is a symptom of power metal's popularity waning down? It seems to me like extreme metal is on the rise again while power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

Doubt it. They were mostly in other bands that were doing better and needed more of their time.

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power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

It certainly is in my case. I burned myself out on it big time. Symphorce was one of those bands.

I think Alex is on to something. Besides, Brainsotrm was more successful, and there weren't that big of a difference between them. I like both bands though.

Ben Grimm wrote:

This sucks I prefer Symphorce over Brainstorm, Become Death and God speed are excellent albums

This is how I feel as well. Godspeed is one heck of an album.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

It certainly is in my case. I burned myself out on it big time. Symphorce was one of those bands.

I am not totally burned out but I am very selective on what I like now.

exact33 wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

It certainly is in my case. I burned myself out on it big time. Symphorce was one of those bands.

I am not totally burned out but I am very selective on what I like now.

Add me to the 99% burned out.

Scary thing is, now I'm starting to burn out on glam/sleaze too. That's why I've been spinning classic stuff like Pink Floyd, Queen and Rush lately.

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

It certainly is in my case. I burned myself out on it big time. Symphorce was one of those bands.

I am not totally burned out but I am very selective on what I like now.

Add me to the 99% burned out.

Scary thing is, now I'm starting to burn out on glam/sleaze too. That's why I've been spinning classic stuff like Pink Floyd, Queen and Rush lately.

i still like some power metal but all these clone bands dont grab my attention. I am not burned out on glam/sleaze, just not a lot out right now. I am digging the hard rock stuff the most.

AC/DC clones will always command my attention.

tohostudios wrote:

AC/DC clones will always command my attention.

and I am in that fan club too. I cannot wait for a new Angels cd

This is why I love listening to so many different kind of bands. I rarely burn myself out on styles.

Eyesore wrote:

This is why I love listening to so many different kind of bands. I rarely burn myself out on styles.

Same here. That's why I'm glad I can fall back on "classic rock" as well as weird stuff like Shriekback and Sonia Dada.

But I do tend to go overboard on the "flavor of the day" for a year or so.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Quote :

power metal is oversaturated with bands sounding alike. Do you think this is a fair assessment?

It certainly is in my case. I burned myself out on it big time. Symphorce was one of those bands.

X3

Helloween is the only power metal I need.

For me it is not so much about burning out on a particular style or band, anyone who has gotten to know my interest in music and metal generally knows that I like something from every subgenre of rock, hard rock and metal. The problem I have is with bands that sound alike, bands that lack originality or at least decent songwriting skills to make them stand out.

This phenomenon is not just affecting power metal but every other subgenre of metal. Every subgenre will have its pioneers, the originators of the subgenre's style, followed by countless of clones that only help to water down the style or send it to mediocricy. What is worse, though I would argue less common nowadays, is when these second rate bands are given any sort of attention from big labels and the media. I am talking primarily about an era long gone, back in the late 80s and early 90s when glam and thrash had reached the peak of mainstream popularity.

Don't get me wrong, I am as guilty as anyone for liking various clone bands and for keeping their name alive. Some bands, irrespective of how uncreative or uniteresting they may be to music critics will always be guilty pleasures for various music fans. I am expressing an ideal more than a practical solution - it would be nice if creative, original bands outweighed the clones but that is just wishful thinking and it is simply not practical, for even the so called creative and original are in some way, more or less apparent, borrowing from their influences.

Ultimately, whether a band is good, creative, original and so forth, is a subjective matter. At any given time there will be a mix of bands doing something fresh and bands that are a mere tribute of other bands' past glories. What gets promoted more is ultimately what the listeners enjoy more (or something along those lines, as that is a separate and more complex argument).

tohostudios wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

This is why I love listening to so many different kind of bands. I rarely burn myself out on styles.

Same here. That's why I'm glad I can fall back on "classic rock" as well as weird stuff like Shriekback and Sonia Dada.

But I do tend to go overboard on the "flavor of the day" for a year or so.

Did I call it or what? I recall saying after you got burned out on symphonic metal.

tohostudios wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

This is why I love listening to so many different kind of bands. I rarely burn myself out on styles.

Same here. That's why I'm glad I can fall back on "classic rock" as well as weird stuff like Shriekback and Sonia Dada.

But I do tend to go overboard on the "flavor of the day" for a year or so.

I think that was my problem. I went overboard. When I started reading Ult and Kmorg's sites, I got turned onto sooooo many bands I never heard of, so I went wild buying up all kinds of music (thrash, doom, power, etc). After awhile, when the dust settled, I discovered more about what I really like and what I only kinda like, if that makes sense. Some I've kept, others I've ditched. Most of the thrash & doom I've purchased in that time period I still have. Most (but not all) of the power metal went bye-bye.

Watching the world die because of nuclear holocaust or just headbanging at a keg party is more akin to my style. Riding a dragon into battle, slaying the wicked with my flaming sword isn't.

Eyesore wrote:

This is why I love listening to so many different kind of bands. I rarely burn myself out on styles.

same here but sometimes just taking a break from music in general recharges the interest level.

I'm sorry to hear this. I really dig their stuff.



As far as burn out, I can't imagine burning out on the B+ and above versions of any style. Good is good. It's also a personality thing where change is bad for me.