Live on the Edge of Forever is the first live album by progressive metal

Progressive metal

Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...

 band Symphony X

Symphony X

Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey.Founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo, their albums The Divine Wings of Tragedy and V: The New Mythology Suite have given the band considerable attention within the progressive metal community...

, which was recorded on their European tour in 2000 and 2001. The album starts like their previous studio effort V: The New Mythology Suite

V-The New Mythology Suite

V: The New Mythology Suite, a concept album, is the fifth studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X. The album deals with the story of Atlantis, ancient Egyptian mythology, and astrology. It is the first Symphony X album to feature bassist Michael Lepond...

, but whereas "The Death of Balance" normally segues into "Lacrymosa," it now segues into "Candlelight Fantasia" from The Divine Wings of Tragedy

The Divine Wings of Tragedy

The Divine Wings of Tragedy is the third studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, released in 1997.-Track listing:-Allusions:...

album. Many classics are eventually played, including the neo-classical

Neo-classical metal

Neo-classical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that is heavily influenced by classical music. It refers to a very technical performanceExact quote from the french text: "L'arrivée du néoclassique remet au goût du jour la virtuosité et le travail de l'instrument", « Les secrets du metal-...

 "Smoke and Mirrors" and the epic "The Divine Wings of Tragedy." No tracks from the first two albums are performed, even though the album's title references a track from The Damnation Game.

Disc one

1. "Prelude" – 1:38
2. "Evolution (The Grand Design)" – 5:18
3. "Fallen / Transcendence (Segue)" – 6:31
4. "Communion and the Oracle" – 7:39
5. "The Bird-Serpent War" – 3:40
6. "On the Breath of Poseidon (Segue)" – 5:10
7. "Egypt" – 7:05
8. "The Death of Balance / Candlelight Fantasia" – 5:53
9. "The Eyes of Medusa" – 4:32

Disc two

1. "Smoke and Mirrors" – 6:35
2. "Church of the Machine" – 7:22
3. "Through the Looking Glass" – 14:09
4. "Of Sins and Shadows" – 7:23
5. "Sea of Lies" – 4:05
6. "The Divine Wings of Tragedy" – 19:55

Trivia

• There are several changes between the studio versions of the songs and the live performances on this album, most notably on disc two. The band cuts the intros from "Church of the Machine" and "The Divine Wings of Tragedy," and performs an extended middle section of "Through the Looking Glass."
• Most notably on the tracks from V: The New Mythology Suite
  V-The New Mythology Suite
  V: The New Mythology Suite, a concept album, is the fifth studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X. The album deals with the story of Atlantis, ancient Egyptian mythology, and astrology. It is the first Symphony X album to feature bassist Michael Lepond...
  
  , the bass and guitar play parts in the songs that were originally played by keyboard in the studio versions.

Personnel

• Russell Allen
  Russell Allen
  Russell Allen is the singer of the American progressive metal band Symphony X.-Biography:Before working with a rock band, he was a jouster at a Medieval Times Dinner Theater. He was introduced to the band Symphony X by former singer Rod Tyler...
  
   - vocals
• Michael Romeo
  Michael Romeo
  Since 2005, Romeo has taken advantage of a new custom model, Caparison Dellinger II - Michael Romeo Custom, which he used to record the Symphony X album Paradise Lost...
  
   - guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Michael Pinnella
  Michael Pinnella
  Michael Pinnella is a keyboard player, most notably for the band Symphony X. He has also released a solo album, a mixture of classical and progressive-styled music titled Enter By the Twelfth Gate on the InsideOut Music label in 2004...
  
   - keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  
• Michael Lepond
  Michael Lepond
  Michael Anthony LePond III is the bass guitar player of the North American progressive metal band Symphony X, and also is the bassist for Dead on Arrival, a heavy metal band from New York. The group issued an album - Alive and Kickin’ - on the independent Polo label in 1996...
  
   - bass
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Jason Rullo
  Jason Rullo
  Jason Rullo is the drummer for the progressive metal band Symphony X. He has been featured in the Modern Drummer readers' polls. He also performed on the 2003 self-titled album by Redemption, a super group including members of Prymary and Fates Warning...
  
   - drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....