You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

Saga can never quite manage to call it a day. Having celebrated their 40th anniversary with a 2017 tour called The Final Chapter, the Canadian pomp rockers buckled to fan pressure and now persist with live shows.

Symmetry isn’t the latest electrically fuelled display of their technical prowess but an unplugged set. Thankfully, it’s no acoustic retread of their greatest hits. Instead, the likes of Wind Him Up, Images (Chapter One) and Tired World (Chapter Six) are cleverly reimagined. The addition of a fiddle to Pitchman lends it the air of a hoedown. The same treatment is better suited to The Perfectionist, moulded into a medley renamed The Perfect Time To Feel Better (one of two cross-pollinations of vintage tunes; The Right Side Of The Other Hall pairs Footsteps In The Hall with On The Other Side).

The synth-free format emphasises the full richness and versatility of Michael Sadler’s ever-excellent voice, but at around 50 minutes long, the running time could perhaps have been more generous. Also worth a mention is that of three original offerings two are instrumentals, with La Foret Harmonieuse featuring spoken word interludes from Sadler.

You may like

Buy from Amazon.

Dave Ling was a co-founder of Classic Rock magazine. His words have appeared in a variety of music publications, including RAW, Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Prog, Rock Candy, Fireworks and Sounds. Dave’s life was shaped in 1974 through the purchase of a copy of Sweet’s album ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’, along with early gig experiences from Status Quo, Rush, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Yes and Queen. As a lifelong season ticket holder of Crystal Palace FC, he is completely incapable of uttering the word ‘Br***ton’.

Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks: Live – Perpetual Change album cover

“Has his voice withstood the test of time? The answer is an emphatic yes”: Jon Anderson effortlessly recreates the best of Yes on new album Live – Perpetual Change

“Most is more than familiar… but there’s a sense of excitement in having this chemistry back in place”: Dream Theater’s Parasomnia largely lives up to the hype

“The rustic feel of Songs From The Wood or Heavy Horses… a sense of urgency still surrounds the band”: Jethro Tull’s Curious Ruminant

The cover of Steven Wilson’s The Overview album

“A return to full-fat prog from the man who gave the genre a good name in recent years”: Prog fans rejoice! Steven Wilson has come home with cosmic modern classic The Overview

“Fans can fulminate over the tracklisting – ‘Where the hell is The Fountain Of Lamneth?!’ – but it hits all the right beats”: Rush’s R50 is a luxurious celebration with an emotional punch at the end

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe: An Evening Of Yes Music cover art

"The sound does not do the band justice": The Yes soap opera reruns on Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe's live An Evening Of Yes Music Plus

Latest in

“The concept of cool and uncool is completely gone, which is good and bad… people are unashamedly listening to Rick Astley. You’ve got to draw a line somewhere!” Mogwai and the making of prog-curious album The Bad Fire

Adrian Smith performing with Iron Maiden in 2024

Adrian Smith names his favourite Iron Maiden song, even though it’s “awkward” to play

How your purchase of albums by The Cure, U2, Chvrches and more on Record Store Day can help benefit children living in war zones worldwide

Cradle Of Filth performing in 2021 and Ed Sheeran in 2024

Cradle Of Filth’s singer claims Ed Sheeran tried to turn a Toys R Us into a live music venue

"The quality is unreal. How is this even possible to have?" Record shop owner finds 1962 Beatles' audition tape that a British label famously decided wasn't good enough to earn Lennon and McCartney's band a record deal

“My totalitarian rule might not be cool, but at least we’ve made interesting records. At least we polarise people”: It took The Mars Volta three years and several arguments to make Noctourniquet

Latest in Review

"When the storm clouds clear, the band’s innate pop sensibilities shine as brightly as ever": In a world of bread-and-butter rock bands, The Darkness remain the toast of the town

"Open the dance floor, you’ll never get to do it again." Forget John Lydon's bitter and boring "karaoke" jibes, with Frank Carter up front, the Sex Pistols sound like the world's greatest punk band once more

Arch Enemy promised they'd throw out the rule book for Blood Dynasty. They didn't go quite that far, but this is the boldest album of the Alissa White-Gluz era - and it kicks ass

"Not just one of the best British rock albums of all time, but one of the best debut albums ever made": That time The Darkness added a riot of colour to a grey musical landscape

Roger Waters - The Dark Side of the Moon Redux Deluxe Box Set

“The live recording sees the piece come to life… amid the sepulchral gloom there are moments of real beauty”: Roger Waters' Super Deluxe Box Set of his Dark Side Of The Moon Redux

Twiddly Iron Maiden harmonies, thrash riffs, horror, rapping (kind of) and sexy goth allure: The Screaming Of The Valkyries is peak Cradle Of Filth

More about prog

“We spent seven months on David Gilmour’s boat and almost bankrupted ourselves. But Bob encouraged us to dream big”: How Bob Ezrin brought out the prog in Kula Shaker

See more latest

Saga - Symmetry review

Maple Leaf pomp merchants unplug the amps.