Russell Allen
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Russell Allen (born July 19, 1971) is an American singer best known as the vocalist of the
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
band
Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Michael Lep ...
. He has also worked with the supergroups
Star One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. ...
, Allen-Lande, Level 10, and as one of fourteen vocalists in the progressive
symphonic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...
band
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to ...
. Since 2011, he has also served as the frontman of the heavy metal band
Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History The ...
.


Biography

Before his music career began, Allen was a jouster at a
Medieval Times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...
Dinner Theater. He was introduced to the band Symphony X by former singer Rod Tyler. Allen has been the lead singer of Symphony X since 1995, releasing eight studio albums and one live album with the band. His first solo album, Atomic Soul, was released April 25, 2005. As well as singing he also plays the bass when performing songs from ''Atomic Soul'' live. He is referred to in various circles as "Sir Russell Allen", and he is credited as such on Arjen Lucassen's
Star One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. ...
albums, because of a joke that Arjen made regarding Allen's former job as a jouster. In the summer of 2005 he went on tour with Symphony X on
Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...
's
Gigantour Gigantour was a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America (see also Gigantour 2005), and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also t ...
alongside such bands as
Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...
,
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
, and
Nevermore Nevermore was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1991. The band has been inactive since 2011, due to personal issues between the band members. In April 2015, lead singer Warrel Dane confirmed that Nevermore had n ...
. The same year, he also made part of a duo
melodic rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
project with singer
Jørn Lande Jørn Marumsrud Lande (born May 31, 1968) is a Norwegian hard rock and heavy metal singer and songwriter. He is known for his work with the bands Ark, Beyond Twilight, Millenium, Vagabond, The Snakes, and most notably with power metal band Ma ...
(ex- Masterplan) called
Allen/Lande Allen/___ is a set of collaborative metal supergroup projects by Symphony X vocalist Russell Allen. The first collaboration, Allen/Lande was formed in 2005 by Italian record company Frontiers, though none of the members are Italian. It takes ...
, which has four albums, all released by
Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...
. In addition to being Symphony X vocalist, he is also currently working in another band with guitarist
Mike Orlando Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History The ...
called
Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in early 2011 by singer Russell Allen, guitarist Mike Orlando and drummer Mike Portnoy. The band's current lineup consists of Allen, Orlando, and drummer Jordan Cannata. History The ...
. In November 2013, Allen joined
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to ...
for their 2013 Fall/Winter tour and performed with the group at the
Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a rock music, rock music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all styles and su ...
2015. He is also featured in their 2015 studio album ''Letters from the Labyrinth''. In 2014, a new project was announced, featuring Russell Allen with bassist
Mat Sinner Mat Sinner (born Matthias Lasch; 16 October 1964 in Stuttgart, West Germany) is a bassist, vocalist, and record producer from Stuttgart, Germany. Sinner has been involved in numerous bands and projects throughout his musical career. His main ...
and other members of the German band Primal Fear, called Level 10, with an album release slated for January 2015. The release date and the name of the album were revealed in November 2013: it would be titled as '' Chapter One'', to be released on January 23, 2015, in Europe and on January 27, 2014, in North America via Frontiers Music srl. In 2015, Russell Allen recorded vocals for a new project of
Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...
and former
Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco formed in 1979 that gained popularity during the 1980s with a series of albums and singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and drummer Kelly Keagy have been the band's only constant members, ...
guitarist
Joel Hoekstra Joel Hoekstra (born December 13, 1970) is an American guitarist currently in the band Whitesnake. Hoekstra also tours as a guitarist for Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The son of classical musicians, he started out playing cello and piano at a youn ...
called Joel Hoekstra's 13, with an album called Dying to Live, released on October 16. Russell sings lead vocals on half of the songs in the album with background vocals and the other half of lead vocals recorded by
Jeff Scott Soto Jeff Scott Soto (born November 4, 1965) is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and (briefly) the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also sa ...
. In 2020, Russell Allen collaborated with former
Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neva ...
vocalist
Anette Olzon Anette Ingegerd Olsson (born 21 June 1971), known by the stage name Anette Olzon, is a Swedish singer, best known as the former lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish from 2007 to 2012. She is also the vocalist of Swedish class ...
on a new a duo melodic rock project under the name Allen/Olzon. '' Worlds Apart'', their debut album, was released on March 6, 2020.


Musical style

Multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer
Arjen Lucassen Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 3 April 1960) is a Dutch singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist musician and record producer best known for his long-running progressive metal/rock opera project Ayreon. Lucassen started his career in 1980 as the ...
has said the following regarding Russell Allen: Allen has worked with Lucassen on various occasions: originally he sang the song "Dawn of a Million Souls" on
Ayreon Ayreon is a musical project by Dutch songwriter, singer, musician and record producer Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Ayreon's music is described as progressive rock, progressive metal and power metal sometimes combined with genres such as folk, electro ...
's 2000 album Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator (which also featured a guitar solo by
Michael Romeo Michael James Romeo (born March 6, 1968) is an American guitarist and a founding member of the progressive metal group Symphony X. He is one of two members to appear on every Symphony X release (the other being Michael Pinnella). Romeo was ra ...
), and in 2002 he became one of the lead vocalists for Lucassen's project
Star One Star One was an Indian pay television network based in Mumbai. It was launched on 1 November 2004 and was it owned by Star TV and distributed worldwide by Fox International Channels. In November 2006, Star One was launched in the UK on Sky. ...
. Allen has stated in an interview that "
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...
is definitely at the top of my list of influences" and also mentioned
Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...
of
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and former Free and
Bad Company Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell.Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also ...
singer
Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...
as influences.


Discography


Solo

* '' Atomic Soul'' (2005)


With Symphony X

* '' The Damnation Game'' (1995) * ''
The Divine Wings of Tragedy ''The Divine Wings of Tragedy'' is the third studio album by progressive metal band Symphony X, released in November 1996 through Zero Corporation (Japan) and March 1997 through Inside Out Music (Europe).Taylor, Robert"The Divine Wings of Tragedy ...
'' (1997) * '' Twilight in Olympus'' (1998) * '' V: The New Mythology Suite'' (2000) * '' Live on the Edge of Forever'' (2001) * ''
The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', the ...
'' (2002) * ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'' (2007) * ''
Iconoclast Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
'' (2011) * ''
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...
'' (2015)


With Star One

* '' Space Metal'' (2002) * '' Live on Earth'' (2003) * ''
Victims of the Modern Age ''Victims of the Modern Age'' is the second studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive metal project/ supergroup Star One, released on the recording label Inside Out in the US on 25 October 2010 and in Europe on 1 November 2010. The alb ...
'' (2010) * ''
Revel in Time ''Revel in Time'' is the third studio album by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's progressive metal project/ supergroup Star One, released via Inside Out on 18 February 2022. As with previous Star One albums, here Lucassen focuses on the "metal" side of hi ...
'' (2022)


With Allen/Lande

* '' The Battle'' (2005) * '' The Revenge'' (2007) * '' The Showdown'' (2010) * '' The Great Divide'' (2014)


With Adrenaline Mob

* ''Adrenaline Mob (EP)'' (2011) * ''
Omertà Omertà (, ) is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especiall ...
'' (2012) * '' Covertà (EP)'' (2013) * ''
Men of Honor ''Men of Honor'' (released in the UK and Ireland as ''Men of Honour'') is a 2000 American drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. and starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is inspired by the true story of Master Chief Petty O ...
'' (2014) * ''Dearly Departed (EP)'' (2015) * ''
We The People The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...
'' (2017)


With Level 10

* '' Chapter One'' (2015)


With Joel Hoekstra's 13

* '' Dying to Live'' (2015) * ''Running Games'' (2021)


With Allen/Olzon

* '' Worlds Apart'' (2020) * Army of Dreamers ( 2022 )


As a guest


With Ayreon

* '' Universal Migrator Part 2: Flight of the Migrator'' (2000) – guest vocals on "Dawn of a Million Souls" * ''
The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...
'' (2017) – guest vocals as The President


With Genius – A Rock Opera

* ''Episode 2: In Search of the Little Prince'' (2004) – as The Dream League Commander


With Avantasia

* ''
The Wicked Symphony ''The Wicked Symphony'' is the fourth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's German rock opera project Avantasia, released on 3 April 2010, parallel with ''Angel of Babylon''. ''The Wicked Symphony'' was released both as part of a box set, with the t ...
'' (2010) * ''
Angel of Babylon ''Angel of Babylon'' is the fifth full-length album by Tobias Sammet's rock opera German project Avantasia, released on 3 April 2010, along with ''The Wicked Symphony''. ''Angel Of Babylon'' was released both as part of a box set, with the two albu ...
'' (2010)


With ReVamp

* ''
ReVamp Revamp may refer to: Changes *Revamp, informal term for maintenance, repair, and operations *Revamp, informal term for editing of natural-language text * Revamp (gaming), informal term for boost or renovation of a game's UI, system stats, items, ...
'' (2010) – guest vocals on ''Sweet Curse''


With DGM

* ''Momentum'' (2013) – guest vocals on ''Reason''


With Takayoshi Ohmura

* ''Devils in the Dark'' – guest vocals on "Delusional Dream" (2013)


With Timo Tolkki's Avalon

* '' The Land of New Hope'' (2013)


With Magnus Karlsson

* ''
Free Fall In Newtonian physics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. In the context of general relativity, where gravitation is reduced to a space-time curvature, a body in free fall has no force acting on i ...
'' (2013) – guest vocals on ''Free Fall''


With Amadeus Awad's EON

* ''The Book of Gates'' – (2014) – as The Pharaoh


With Noturnall

* ''Noturnall'' (2014) – guest vocals on ''Nocturnal Human Side'', producer


With Iced Earth

* ''
Plagues of Babylon ''Plagues of Babylon'' is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Iced Earth. Released in January 2014, the album is the group's first studio release with bassist Luke Appleton and the only with drummer Raphael Saini, who was a gue ...
'' (2014) – guest vocals on ''Highwayman''


With Trans-Siberian Orchestra

* '' Letters from the Labyrinth'' (2015) – guest vocals on Not Dead Yet


With Magni Animi Viri

* ''Heroes Temporis (World Edition)'' (2016)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Russell 1971 births Living people American rock songwriters American heavy metal singers American male singer-songwriters Musicians from Long Beach, California Symphony X members Singer-songwriters from California Allen-Lande members Star One (band) members Adrenaline Mob members 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers