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Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry CD (album) cover

PERFECT SYMMETRY

Fates Warning

 

Progressive Metal

4.13 | 469 ratings

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Cesar Inca
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Delivered in 1989, "Perfect Symmetry" is the album that put Fates Warning in the map of a new kind of heavy metal that this quintet precisely helped to shape: prog-metal. Actually, even though in a physical sense, prog-metal can be described as a specific way of nurturing heavy metal by melting some of its structures with those of standard symphonic rock, the fact is that as a state of mind, prog-metal is more like a hybrid of the most pompous side of heavy rock and the most robust side of progressive rock. It's only that musicians from the heavy rock field came out with this potential area of rock development first. Anyway, this album confirms Ray Alder's position in the band and welcomes master drummer Mark Zonder to the fold. The opener 'Part of the Machine' has to be definitely one of the most accomplished pieces in the entire FW catalogue, a complex rocker full of robustness and dynamics that conveniently serves as the perfect introduction for Mark Zonder's refined drumming. The truth is that underneath the catchy guitar riffs and leads and Alder's impressive singing, the rhythm duo stands out as the real hero through the track's development. The song's structure is patently mechanic, in full accordance with its title, but you can tell that there is an authentic rocking warmth all over the place. The following two tracks are more oriented toward the sort of melodic heavy metal that used to be somewhat common in the late 90s: Queensryche comes a an immediately recognizable reference, and yes, these two bands managed to pull out a whole bunch of rockers that were notably catchy yet not devoid of musical cleverness (that is, loyal to the verse-chorus-verse-chorus framework but going beyond the 4/4 routine and toying with mood variations). 'Through Different Eyes' states a fluid sequence of 7/8 and 4/4 in a very tight kind of way, while 'Static Arts' brings a special mixture of Iron maiden and classic Rush for good effect. 'A World Apart' moves away from the complex art-heavy-rock structure delivered in the previous tracks and goes steadily into the progressive thing - it is more somber and denser, which in turn helps the band to explore its dramatic side. The latter factor is helped in no small degree by the fact that guest Kevin Moore brings some effective keyboard orchestrations. (Funny how this album's year was the same for Dream Theater's debut). While they're at it, the FW guys intend to keep on pursuing this progressive direction and dig it deeper for 'At Fate's Hand', a mini- suite that has almost instantly become an undisputed classic of the 88-95 era. It starts with a sort of Renaissance feel, featuring an intro where the lovely marriage of dual acoustic guitars, violin and keyboard brings a beautiful portrait of evocative vibrations and melancholy. Alder's singing is almost whispering at times, augmenting the introspective ambiance. The song's latter half shifts toward a ceremonious manifestation of genuine prog-metal, based on a clever mixture of Rush's pomposity and Queensryeche's taste for syncope-based jams. 'The Arena' literally brings the band back down to Earth, delivering a straightforward mood, somewhere between Scorpions and your regular Iron Maiden hit- single. Though this is the most "vulgar" song in the album, it is by no means ugly or insipid: it is solidly performed, indeed, although one might as well fail to notice it openly due to the amazing richness exposed in the preceding two tracks. 'Chasing Time' moves to the ballad territory: the featured acoustic guitars find an interesting complement in the slightly ethnic flavors provided by the rhythm duo, as well as a violin solo. This song is really peculiar, bearing a unique appeal (tracks like this makes you ponder how much a strong influence FW must have been to Pain of Salvation, for instance). Had it been developed a bit longer, it might as well have grown an epic side to it. But the last epic overtone of the album is reserved for the album's closer - 'Nothing Left to Say'. Lasting almost 8 minutes, it starts with a dynamic prologue sustained on an odd time signature, with the sung section being transported on a less frantic motif. The track's development states a melodic diversity as well as an increase of the explicitness of rocking power. No other song could end this terrific album as 'Nothing Left to Say' does. "Perfect Symmetry" is the undeniable proof of the pioneering role that FW had in the conception and childhood eras of prog-metal.
Cesar Inca | 4/5 |

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