NO EXIT

Fates Warning is one of those bands that stand tall after the change of orientation in prog during the middle 80's. I felt their music a lot more interesting and creative than Queensryche and they use to be overlooked by many people. Well, this album shows the quality of the musicians, the great concept of the merging in between metal and progressive rock. The result is a great album that deserves a better place here.

Well, the band kicked out the great singer John Arch, but even that was a bad choice, the new singer, Ray Alder, shows quite well why he took the role. More controlled but still aggressive and acrobatic, his vocals brought new life to the already creative and intricate music this band played at the time. It was 1988, the music world was changing, and they survived and evolved into a better band.

Jim Matheos is one of the most underrated guitar players in the history of rock. He is creative and his quality of songwriting is all there. The focus of the album is the epic song The Ivory Gates of Dreams, that last more than 21 minutes and it's an entertaining piece of wonderful music, full with energy, power, melody and time signature changes.

While the quality of sound is not the best, is quite good enough to enjoy. If you like metal or prog metal, you cannot pass this by. Give it a try. And for those who don't know yet this band, at least during this era, they were like a raw version of Dream Theater, a little less bussy in the technique department and more focus on the emotional-dramatic side of things. Music with energy and sense is what we need more often, and this kind of songwriting is not very common to find. Please, don't let this chance to pass you. This is an album to hear and enjoy. 4 stars is fair.

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