SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE

I've been anticipating it for over a year and I must say it does not disappoint. Its fantastic from beginning to end, yet still leaves you craving more when you are done.

If you are either a fan of Old school Arch-era Fates Warning or Contemporary Fates Warning this album is for you. Each track blends a heavy intensity with melodically beautiful sections. John Arch's voice is in excellent shape and he sounds just as good as he did in his prime. Its heavy in places, but then slows down and lets things build up again. All 6 tracks are excellent, blending together heavy parts, progressive parts and slower, more mellow sections. The best way to describe this album is that is sounds like a top-level Fates Warning album, and if you are reading this (you probably are familiar with Fates) so I must say this is a must have for FW fans. There's nothing really more to say then this is really quite an amazing piece of Prog Metal, and describing it in words doesn't really doesn't do it justice. You must hear it for yourself.

All eyes may be on Dream Theater at the moment, but don't overlook this album. This is tied with A Dramatic Turn of Events for my favorite album of the year.

The debut album from a project with Jim Matheos and John Arch. Both with a past from Fates Warning. Both are veterans in the scene.

A tiger does not change stripes over night. This project continues down the Fates Warning alley. In other words; this is progressive metal. Old style progressive metal with guitars, bass, vocals and drums. Cascades of guitars, to be more precise. Both rhythm and solo guitars. The bass also rumbles on like an avalanche. The drums is also very much present. John Arch's vocals is an acquired taste. But I find these slightly high pitched vocals rather OK. The songs are epic and varied too. They are long with an average lenght of almost nine minutes.

The album starts with the very good riffs in Neurotically Wired. A song that is the best of the whole album. It continues with five reasonable good songs. Being a debut album from veterans in the scene, this album sets out their stall for future albums.

This is an album all progressive rock fans should check out. I am not that interested in this genre, but I find this album good. This project/band has potential, it is fair to say.

3 stars

'Sympathetic Resonance' - Arch/Matheos (8/10)

Rewind back a pair of decades, back to the time around the release of US progressive metal act Fate's Warning's third album, 'Awaken The Guardian'. Unable to pay his bills with the band income alone, singer John Arch was working hard with a dayjob to make ends meet. On top of that, he had a band pressuring him to choose one or the other. At that, he was forced to leave the band, and Fate's Warning then found a new vocalist in the form of Ray Alder. After that, Arch stayed out of the music scene for the better part of two decades, until a two song bout of musical inspiration gave in the form of a solo EP, 'A Twist Of Fate'. If that was any indicator, it was true that the man who led Fate's Warning through their early work still had the pipes to hold his own quite brilliantly. With this and better conditions for making music, John Arch and Fate's Warning guitarist Jim Matheos have teamed up together once again to make music. The outcome of this collaboration is the album 'Sympathetic Resonance'.

Despite more or less having the Fate's Warning lineup intact (with the obvious exception of the replaced vocalist), the name Arch/Matheos has been used in order to keep away any assumptions that John Arch is replacing the replacer; Ray Alder is still the vocalist of Fate's Warning, and scheduled to record with the rest of the band on an upcoming 2012 release. These technicalities aside, 'Sympathetic Resonance' may as well be considered a Fate's Warning album, and perhaps the best one to come along in some time. With Matheos' aggressive style of playing and signature sound of Fate's Warning once again paired with the haunting acrobatic vocals of Arch, this sounds quite familiar. Musically, this is virtually everything I might expect from a Fate's Warning album; dark atmosphere, and some of the best musicianship that the genre of progressive metal has to offer. In particular, Bobby Jarzombek's skills at the drums are immense, and there are plenty of flourishes that each band member gives to the performance to make things sound all the more intense. The songwriting contrasts dark acoustics with thrashy technical displays; things sometimes feel chaotic, but it is controlled. Of special note are the melodies employed here, which are pleasantly challenging to decipher at first.

Perhaps of greatest interest is the performance of John Arch himself, the reason why this cannot be considered a Fate's Warning album. Without beating around the semantic bush, his performance is pretty incredible. Despite now creeping into the depths of middle-age, the man's voice has not aged a year, hitting even the high notes with beautiful precision. He is also able to pull off fairly complex passages with relative ease, and dare I say; I really prefer John Arch's performance here to anything Ray Alder has done. That is not to offend the excellent work of Alder, but I do get the impression that this will surely spark up debates around who is the better vocalist. I really get an impression here of a married man leaving for a high school reunion and hooking back up with his high school sweetheart. The wife may be very good for him, but there may also be reason to be jealous.

With the exception of the lyrics- which seem to tug at any cliche they can grab at- Arch/Matheos is a very exciting project that has made an excellent album here with 'Sympathetic Resonance'. It is none too different from Fate's Warning, but perhaps that is a good thing. In any case, while I do hope that Fate's Warning stays the way it already is, I would love to hear more of this partnership. For one, it's helped re-ignite my love of progressive metal.

This is the album i've been anticipating the most in 2011. Hearing that John Arch was back in the saddle again really got me excited, especially since his "Twist Of Fate" album is one of my all time favourites, and also the legendary FATES WARNING are my favourite Metal band of all time. Every member (Arch, Matheos, Aresti, Vera and Jarzombek) in this band were part of FATES WARNING at some point and that's very cool. I should mention too that this isn't supposed to be a one off project but a band that will continue to make records. I really hope that's true. I was surprised at how dense and heavy this album is. Sure it's complex but this reminded me of the "Awaken The Guardian" days and I didn't see that coming. Jim Matheos has for many years now sort of gotten away from this heavy style and turned toward a more atmospheric one as seen in OSI and latter FATES WARNING albums. Well this record kicks some serious ass.

"Neurotically Wired" opens in a dark manner as reserved vocals join in. It kicks in heavily after a minute and vocal melodies follow. Hell yeah they do. The guitar grinds it out then the drums kick in followed by vocals. No I can't stop smiling at this point. I'm moved on the chorus each time by John's vocals. Kicking ass and taking names before 9 1/2 minutes. What a song !

"Midnight Serenade" opens with atmosphere then we get riffs before a minute before it kicks in with vocals. Nice guitar 5 minutes in to end it. Love this track.

"Stained Glass Sky" is the longest at almost 14 minutes. It hits the ground running with a killer instrumental section. Check out the guitar 3 minutes in then the vocals join in. It calms right down with some beautiful guitar 8 1/2 minutes in and the vocals follow. It's heavy duty again before 10 1/2 minutes. It settles briefly before 12 1/2 minutes before kicking back in. "On The Fence" is one of my favourites and it opens with picked guitar as it builds. Vocals before 1 1/2 minutes. This is a dark and heavy ride. It ends as it began with picked guitar. "Any Given Day(Strangers Like Me)" opens heavily as we get an all out assault. Vocals before 2 minutes.The guitar lights it up after 5 minutes then it settles 7 1/2 minutes in. It kicks back in a minute later. Such a great sound with those vocals. "Incense And Myrrh" opens with strummed guitar and laid back vocals. It's heavier after 2 minutes thankfully and the tempo picks up too.

I know a lot of FATES WARNING fans have been waiting for an album like this from the band and I must admit I thought it would never happen. Sure this isn't officially FATES WARNING but unofficially it is. Complex and heavy with Arch on vocals. Am i dreaming ?

An excellent project!

You may kill me but I want to start being completely honest: I have never listened to Fates Warning. So in this review I cannot make a comparison or talk about their FW past, I will only focus in what I found here, and how I experienced this album. 'Sympathetic Resonance' is the name of this child, a six-song album with a total time of 58 minutes approximately. As you can imagine, you will find long and elaborated songs. So have fun!

It opens with 'Neurotically Wired', whose first introductory minute has a kind of soft sound, which later will be heavier, in the vein of progressive metal. The song will be progressing little by little, capturing your attention and opening the gates to an addictive Arch/Matheos sound. I like the changes, the nuances, and the composition in general. The voice has that metal-ish style, so if you like the genre you will surely love it. Pardon for my Fates Warning ignorance, but after listening to this album I have to give them a spin.

'Midnight Serenade' is a much shorter track with a nice atmosphere at the beginning. Then it once again turns heavier and starts building up a structure. The chorus is pretty nice, easy to dig and get addicted to it. However, this has to be my least favorite track of the album.

'Stained Glass Sky' is the longest song, and a truly challenging composition. A powerful track with an awesome musicianship, powerful and electrifying instrumental passages that will surely catch your attention. After four minutes Arch's vocals appear and give that special and unique colour he has, creating a wonderful communion between his tone of voice and the instruments. The bass sound along the whole album is strong, drums constant and with great figures, and guitars always great, with cool riffs and wonderful melodies. After eight minutes, the music slows down for a while, but later the heavier explosion appears once again. Great track!

'On the Fence' is powerful and emotional since the first seconds. This also has a darker sound in some passages; the structure is well crafted and elaborated, the guitar work wonderful all the time, and the diversity of feelings created make this a great track.

'Any Given Day (Strangers like me)' has a cool instrumental introduction, with a nice acoustic guitar hide somewhere, and with a powerful drumming. After four minutes there is a one-second stop that sounds great, because it marks like an instant pause which will lead to the explosion. After seven minutes there is another change like that, I love these kind of cohesive and emotional mixtures, which talk positively about the compositional skills of the musicians.

Finally 'Incense and Myrrh' closes this great album. This is the shortest composition, which softly starts with nice clam guitars and vocals, it gradually progresses and adds those heavier elements that are featured on the whole album. This is a nice last track.

Well, I will surely listen to Fates Warning to know at least this project's background, but 'Sympathetic Resonance' as a unit, is a strong and recommendable album. My grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!

Sympathetic Resonance from Arch / Matheos is an album that will undoubtedly be every Fates Warning fan's wet dream. The lineup consists of all current or former Fates Warning band members, the vocals are performed by none other than the legendary John Arch (this is his first performance behind the mic since 2003), and the songwriting is just as technical, progressive, and memorable - if not even more so - than what we'd expect from a classic Fates Warning album. The musicianship is some of the best you're bound to hear in your lifetime, and John Arch delivers an absolutely stunning performance on Sympathetic Resonance. Even though this album may be overshadowed by some of the bigger prog metal releases in latter 2011, please do not let this masterpiece slip under your radar. This is one of the genre's most impressive albums over the past decade, and an absolutely essential purchase for those who enjoy their prog metal on the heavier and more technical side.

Even though the obvious stylistic comparison to make here would be Fates Warning, there are some noticeable differences that assure that Jon Arch and Jim Matheos are not focused on creating a clone of their other band (or, in Arch's case, his former band). The music here is extremely heavy (not in an extreme sense, but more in terms of the sheer heaviness of the riffs), complex, and technical progressive metal, somewhat in the same vein of Perfect Symmetry-era Fates Warning. The power metal-influenced sound of Jon Arch-era Fates Warning is seldom found here, and the lengthy and complex compositions also don't bear a whole lot of resemblance to the Ray Alder period of the band either. The complete lack of keyboards also shows that Arch / Matheos are entirely dedicated to creating progressive metal as it was originally intended in the late eighties - complex and technical indeed, but first and foremost, metal!

As far as I'm concerned, Sympathetic Resonance's biggest similarity to Fates Warning is in terms of quality. The sheer standard of the compositions and musicianship here is impeccable, and in that sense, I'm frequently reminded of Fates Warning's multiple top-notch masterpieces. Make no mistakes - Sympathetic Resonance is some of the finest progressive metal music in existence played by some of the most impressive musicians in the scene. I don't think it gets much better than that! Songs like "Neurotically Wired" (this one is especially excellent), "Stained Glass Sky", and "On the Fence" are all bound to be regarded as prog metal classics in ten or twenty years, but I'd hope that the entire album is recognized as one of the most impressive efforts from this decade.

The songwriting is excellent across the board, but it's the convincing execution, powerful delivery, and outstanding production that ultimately make Sympathetic Resonance an utter masterpiece. John Arch delivers one of the most impressive vocal performances of his career here (which is saying quite a lot), and his ability to hit high falsettos and still sound pitch-perfect and melodic is admirable. For a man in his fifties, the performance on Sympathetic Resonance is almost unheard of - surely the perfect testament to his abilities as one of prog metal's finest vocalists. Of course, the guitar playing from Jim Matheos is always polished and distinct; he's one of the most unique (yet somehow underrated) guitarists in all of metal. Bobby Jarbozmek's jazzy and technically insane drum patterns always keep the listener on their toes, and the expressive bass playing from Joey Vera sets a strong foundation for all of the compositions. Frank Aresti (of Fates Warning) also contributes a few additional lead guitar parts. A lineup to be remembered for ages to come? You bet!

It's also worth noting (at least briefly) what an excellent production that Sympathetic Resonance has. The sound is extremely sleek and clean, and entirely void of modern gimmicks and trivial effects. Everything sounds very authentic and "real", and the mix is absolutely spot-on. There are times where it feels like you are sitting in the rehearsal room when listening to this album with a nice pair of headphones.

It may seem like I have endless praises for Sympathetic Resonance, and I guess that really is the case. The lengthy and technical compositions may demand a few initial spins to "sink in", but they eventually reveal themselves as some of the best progressive heavy metal in recent memory. Arch / Matheos have crafted a legendary soon-to-be classic with Sympathetic Resonance, and I can only hope for even more masterpieces from this project in the approaching years. There may be tons of other prog metal albums out there this year, but this one is mandatory listening for any fan of the genre. 5 stars and the "essential masterpiece" stamp are very well earned. Mark up yet another masterpiece with John Arch and Jim Matheos in the lineup!

As tempting as it is to just copy-paste the word 'fap' a hundred times, I guess I'd better write a proper review. "Sympathetic Resonance" is the debut album from Arch / Matheos, which according to both Arch and Matheos is a band and not just a project (so, who knows, maybe there will be more albums under this moniker).

Given that all members of Arch / Matheos are, or have been, involved in Fates Warning, this release bears some similarities with Fates Warning, but it stands alone in its own right. Musically, we are dealing with listener-friendly progressive metal in the sense that there are a lot of things going on, particularly a lot of Jim Matheos' signature odd meters, and the tunes are complex, but things never get too technical for the listener to follow. While complex and with many twists and turns, the music on this release is mainly riff-based - and the riffs have the same sort of solidity to them as on John Arch's "A Twist of Fate" as well as on Fates Warning efforts like "Disconnected" and "FWX" (but the Arch / Matheos tunes strike me as more complex and with a tad more quirky elements).

The musicianship is top notch across the board with rocking riffage and tasty guitar solos, rock solid bass, and tasty progressive drumming with lots of nice little details to enrich the overall experience. The main attraction, to me at least, is John Arch's soaring vocals. His voice is so unique and the vocal melodies so complex and busy. His voice sounds better than before - better than on his EP and better than the classic Fates Warning albums (and he was already phenomenal back then) - and I would argue that it is his vocals which, although the entire package is awesome, is what characterizes "Sympathetic Resonance" and gives it its unique nature.

"Sympathetic Resonance" is an instant progressive metal classic featuring some of the best musicians within the genre. Obviously, it will appeal to Fates Warning fans, but I would recommend it to fans of all types of progressive metal.

(review originally posted at metalmusicarchives.com)

It resonates sympathetically!

John Arch and Jim Matheos are familiar from Fates Warning in which Matheos has been a constant member (present on all of the band's ten studio releases from 1984's Night On Bröcken to 2004's FWX). Arch, on the other hand, left the band (and the music business altogether for a very long time, as far as I understand) after the first three Fates Warning albums and was replaced by Ray Alder. While Fates Warning is better known for the Alder-era albums, many fans apparently have fond memories of the Arch-era albums (?). Personally, I discovered Fates Warning in recent years and I must say that I much prefer the Alder-era albums (particularly Perfect Symmetry, Parallels and A Pleasant Shade Of Gray). But even if I was not too impressed by the Arch-era Fates Warning albums I still decided to check out John Arch's highly regarded solo EP A Twist Of Fate (on which Matheos also played along with Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy) and was very impressed by it. This was Arch's return to music after many years doing other things. The music found on that excellent EP was quite different from the early Fates Warning albums and the present collaborative album is different yet again from both of those. In some ways Sympathetic Resonance is perhaps more similar to some of the Alder-era Fates Warning albums but also different from those in other ways.

Arch's voice is similar to that of Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden and the sound of this album indeed often comes across as Iron Maiden with some piano and acoustic guitars added to the mix. None of this is intended as criticism, Arch is an excellent Metal singer and Matheos provides strong riffs. At first I was a bit disappointed after hearing the excellent Twist Of Fate tracks, but Sympathetic Resonance grew on me with further listens. This is a good album of its kind, but it is not very original or too special for me. The first three or four tracks are great but it does tend to get rather samey toward the end. Fans of Fates Warning should enjoy it, but for newcomers I would certainly recommend to get the much better Twist Of Fate EP and some Alder-era Fates Warning albums before investing in Sympathetic Resonance.

8/10

"Sympathetic Resonance" is an orgasmic fix for Prog Metal enthusiasts.

John Arch, Prog Metal veteran, formal singer of Fates Warning, gave to the world early in the millennium a precious EP called "A Twist Of Fate", and until now nothing was heard of him. But in 2011, with guitarist Jim Matheos, another Fates Warning member came out under the name Arch/Matheos "Sympathetic Resonance", one of the great Prog Metal albums of recent years. This project, in the near future, could very easily be the Fates Warning of the new decade, not only because they share half of the members, but because they play the same role, in different eras, in the progressive metal realm.

Like the former band, Arch/Matheos is a prog metal that does not feature keyboards. They are used very rarely, maybe to give a bit of atmosphere. I love keyboards, so when I knew about this feature I wasn't so sure I was going to love it as I do actually. The musicianship of this project is amazing, the musicians are extremely well educated, obviously influenced by Jazz, Prog Rock , and Metal, everyone gets the job done so well: John Arch gives us his unique beautiful voice that I wish more Progressive Metal singers had, Jim Matheos is a great guitarist and proves it once again with beastly riffs and solos, Bobby Jarzombek has been a genuine inspiration to me(being myself a drummer), his technicality is outstanding, his fills mind-blowing. Joey Vera, finally, proves that he can play bass, playing his instrument so that we can actually hear it, for once. Together, they have fun putting all in one song constant time changes, dozen riffs, solos, acoustic moments and what not. Arch/Matheos at this point come from the more complex side of metal.

"Sympathetic Resonance" is maybe a perfect summary of what Fates Warning is, but it sounds to me a much more modern effort. The album is extremely solid, produced extremely well, the sounds are crystal clear and no instrument is overlapping all the others, something I find very rare and something I always enjoy hearing. "Neurotically Wired" and "Stained Glass Sky" are basically perfect songs, that sound so complete, like nothing was missing: you got nice acoustic moments, you got insane bridges with crazier drumming and guitar performances, and tons of beauty, surprisingly. Every riff in these two songs is spectacular and memorable, especially the heavier ones. The softer songs are good too, like "Midnight Serenade" and "Incense And Myrrh", but there's just no comparison in my opinion. "Any Given Day" has a similar song structure to the first two songs I mentioned, and it is possibly just as good, but I sense a little more straightforwardness, however in the end, that's exactly what the album needs, after a while, to make it sound like something that has moments for every kind of metal fan.

A great album I loved listening to and enjoyed a whole lot. I'm not a big Fates Warning expert, but this album just might do it for me, to start listening to them. "Sympathetic Resonance" no doubt has become one of the great releases of this year, possibly one of the very prog metal albums of the last few years. An orgasmic fix for Prog Metal enthusiasts.

Sympathetic Resonance is an album that was rumored to be the next Fates Warning album. I'm actually quite pleased it was not, though I do happen to be a Fates Warning fan. Featuring the vocals of former Fates Warning vocalist John Arch and Fates Warning's guitarist Jim Matheos, there were of course many high expectations for this album. What I find unique about this album is the complete absence of keyboards, a common piece of a Progressive Metal band. Despite this absence, the band has a HUGE sound. And while it is most definitely a Progressive Metal album, it would be very accessible to fans of other Metal sub-genres. Sounding like a cross between Queensryche and Rush at times, with bombastic heavy guitar riffs and Led Zeppelin-esque vocals, this album will rock your socks off!

"Sympathetic Resonance" is the debut full-length studio album by US progressive metal act Arch / Matheos. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2011. Arch / Matheos is a project formed by former Fates Warning frontman John Arch and Fates Warning guitarist and main composer Jim Matheos. Since John Arch left Fates Warning in 1987, little has been heard from the singer. The 2003 "A Twist of Fate" EP, which was released under his own name, and which was also created in collaboration with Jim Matheos, didn´t result in a comeback to the scene. It did however signal that John Arch wasn´t completely through with music and when he was approached by Jim Matheos, who had written material for a new project, his interest was aroused and the two of them started sending music files to each other. Matheos would send his compositions to Arch, and Arch would write melody lines and lyrics to go along with the compositions. When it came to recording the album they enlisted a couple of prolific and greatly skilled musicians to record the bass, drum and lead guitar parts in bassist Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Engine, Armored Saint), drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Fates Warning, Halford, Iced Earth) and lead guitarist Frank Aresti (Fates Warning).

The music on the album is guitar driven progressive metal rooted in the eighties progressive metal movement (before keyboards became an integrated part of most progressive metal music). With all musicians involved being related to Fates Warning, it´s impossible not to think of this album in relation to that band and especially the early John Arch-led Fates Warning releases, but ultimately "Sympathetic Resonance" doesn´t sound like neither that era nor later Fates Warning eras. Arch / Matheos have succeeded in striking a good balance between recognisable elements from their Fates Warning past (and for some present) and an original progressive metal sound.

The riffs are dark and heavy, the rythm section provide complex and powerful playing and John Arch signature high pitched and nasal vocal delivery is the icing on the cake. The latter´s vocal melody lines are amazing to say the least. Not only is he one of the most powerful and distinct sounding vocalist in metal, his way of writing melody lines is brilliant too. Lots of twists and turns delivered with great passion and conviction.

The 6 tracks on the album are for the most part structurally complex. Especially the three longest tracks on the album, "Neurotically Wired", "Stained Glass Sky" and "Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)", are really complex, going through multible sections and atmospheres. That´s why it´s also great for the dynamics of the album that the band include more direct and relatively more "simple" tracks like "Midnight Serenade" and "Incense and Myrrh". While the former is a powerful progressive metal track the latter is a beautiful ballad, that closes the album in great style. The dark and heavy "On the Fence" is probably the least remarkable track on the album, but it says a lot about the quality of the rest of the material, when a fantastic track like "On the Fence" is pulled out as an example of a slight decline in quality. And mind you I say a SLIGHT decline in quality.

"Sympathetic Resonance" is simply through and through a fantastic progressive metal release to fans of guitar and vocal driven progressive metal. We´re talking top notch musicianship, a warm and powerful sound production and outstanding songwriting. To my ears progressive metal doesn´t come better than this. "Sympathetic Resonance" is a born classic in the genre and fully deserves a 5 star (100%) rating.

Now to review the latest Fates Warning.....err I mean the newly formed band Arch/Matheos' album Sympathetic Resonance. It would be easy to call this a Fates Warning album since all the current members are part of this project with the exception of vocalist Ray Alder. Instead of Alder its original Fates Warning vocalist (and in my opinion the better of the two) John Arch. While his vocal style may not appeal to all, there is no doubt that this man can sing. Between the EP he released in 2003 and now this full length he hasn't lost any of his vocal prowess he displayed 25 years ago on the last Fates Warning album he did. There's complex vocal passages, soaring harmonies and an impressive vocal range on display here. Also making a return is the Fantasy themed lyrics that fit his voice so well. John Arch without a doubt steals the show on this album, but the rest of the band is no slouch. Jim Matheos is one of the best song-writers out there, and between him and Frank Aresti the guitars are quite pleasing. Acoustic passages, heavy riffs, and blazing solo's are all testament to the talent these guys have. Just listen to the first few minutes of Stained Glass Sky. Or any of the other songs for that matter. Then you have Bobby Jarzombek on drums, who can pretty much play anything and keep it interesting. In the end this is what I would imagine Fates Warning would sound like today had John Arch never left. Then again this pretty much is Fates Warning....

92/100

Arch/ Matheos is the project that was to be the next Fates Warning album but never came to be. Instead Fates Warning's vocalist John Arch and guitarist Jim Matheos came together to create something as special that would please Fates Warning fans and beyond.

The album "Sympathetic Resonance" opens with 'Neurotically Wired', and immediately the high powered high register vocals of Arch resonates beautifully. The vocals are as clear and exceptional as in the Fates Warning days. The guitars hammer on with pounding riffs as one would expect from the legendary guitarist Matheos. There are some stunning time sig changes and overall a strong prog metal vibe.

The melodic chorus on 'Midnight Serenade' is infectious, and this is followed by the longest song,'Stained Glass Sky'. This features amazing dextrous lead guitar work and a killer riff. 'On the Fence' is more emotional, a power ballad of sorts, and particularly shines with Matheos' lead breaks and guitar tones. 'Any Given Day (Strangers like me)' begins with wonderful instrumentation, and acoustic vibrations. It builds with a great percussion meter from Bobby Jarzombek, and switches tempo at will with some pummeling riffs and the omnipresent bassline of Joey Vera.

The closer is 'Incense and Myrrh', a short track with enough power to make it worthwhile. The distorted riffs resound nicely in the ears, and has an outstanding melody. Overall this album is a real crowd pleaser, a definitive prog metal album, and hopefully not the last time Arch and Matheos will collaborate, as they are obviously capable of greatness even without the Fates Warning moniker.

This is basically Fates Warning reunited with their old vocalist. John Arch has a distinctive voice, very high-pitched wailing style even by 80s metal standards, Sympathetic Resonance sports a sound similar to recent Fates Warning releases - technical (with wild drumming) and dense, but with one crucial difference - songs are longer and unconventionally structured, but, thankfully, not sacrificing listenability. If there one thing I'd like to note, though, its that the epic songs (there are also two quasi-ballads here), for their sheer size, could have been more varied. Its like a 90-percent pounding with only a brief respite or an instrumental surprise here and there.

Progressive metal had its origins in the early 80s when heavy metal was a fairly homogenous genre that featured operatic, high pitched vocals with aggressive guitar driven riffs accompanied by a solid bass and drum rhythm section, However certain bands were a bit more adventurous than the status quo and coupled these attributes with the more complex and layered arrangements that were established in the progressive rock that came before. Early on bands like Watchtower and Aslan soon to be Psychotic Waltz were crafting some amazingly brilliant mixes of the best of what the 70s prog and 80s metal scenes had to offer. Amongst these early pioneers included Fates Warning whose earliest albums didn't quite muster up the technical workouts styles that the prog metal of Watchtower was conjuring up, yet it was still a few steps ahead of the rest of the pack.

Existing on the melodic side of the progressive metal nascency, Fates Warning was considered one of the big three of the genre along with Queensryche and Dream Theater in terms of popularity. The band was formed in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase and drummer Steve Zimmerman in Hartford, Connecticut. While the debut " Night on Brücken" displayed blatant unbridled Iron Maiden worship, the band quickly jumped into gear and evolved exponentially on the following "The Spectre Within" where the band developed not only its own distinct sound but found more progressive elements that culminated on the epic length "Epitaph." Followed by "Awaken The Guardian" Fates Warning only continued to ratchet up the intensity and was poised to break into the mainstream much as Dream Theater would in the early 90s however just as the band was reaching a new apex of the progressive metal paradigm, John Arch left the band.

While Fates Warning would continue, the band jumped into ever greater complexities and as the metal universe splintered into the thrash, death, black and power metal worlds, some of the most adventurous bands incorporated the progressive metal elements that had emerged in the 80s. By the 90s however progressively infused metal albums were all over the placed with bands like Tool existing in the alternative side of the genre whereas bands like Atheist, Gorguts and Ved Buens Ende taking things in the more extreme depths of darkness laid out by Bathory and Morbid Angel. The traditional sounds laid out by Fates Warning and Dream Theater were giving way to more experimental approaches and the more extreme reaches of the metal universe. Fast forward nearly 30 years after Fates Warning was founded, JIM MATHEOS successfully convinced JOHN ARCH out of his musical hibernation and the two began work on a new project together mostly due to the fact that a new Fates Warning album had been put on hold.

The new project simply called ARCH / MATHEOS actually began on ARCH's 2003 EP "A Twist of Fate" where the chemistry was reignited and the duo knew that a full-length album just had to happen. The result was the 2011 release SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE which inserted itself into the 21st century and brought and with it brought the classic progressive metal styles of the past back into the limelight. The duo accompanied by drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Riot, Halford), Joey Vera (Armoured Saint, Fates Warning) and guitar soloist Frank Aresti crafted an excellent display of retro prog metal delivered with all the fiery passion that accompanied some of the early examples of the genre. Despite three tracks which included "Neurotically Wired", "Midnight Serenade" and "Stained Glass Sky" initially intended to appear on the next Fates Warning album, they were redesigned to fit in with this new project and all the better for it since they fit the style presented here perfectly.

SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE consists of six well-constructed tracks that display the classic operatic vocal style of ARCH who hadn't missed a beat in his multi-decade absence from the music scene. His lyrical delivery resonates in divine splendor while the music artfully mixes the expected technical workouts with a well balanced emotional performance. The classic prog metal melodic approach infuses the ambitious compositional workouts with all the softer and heavier dynamics falling into place. While the album consists of fairly standard length tracks, the mid-section that consists of "Stained Glass Sky," "On The Fence" and "Any Given Day (Strangers Like Me)," all exceeding eight minutes in length, takes things full force into the prog-o-sphere with not only extremely heavy guitar riffage but highly demanding compositional approaches that wend and wind through many movements.

No one was expecting this one but when it emerged it took the metal world by storm and reminded a much more diverse metal universe what the classics sounded like and with SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE both ARCH and MATHEOS simply nailed the perfect flow of progressive metal excellence on par with the parent band Fates Warning who had long moved on from this stylistic approach as well as putting some of the young whippersnappers to shame. While rooted in the past, ARCH / MATHEOS were paying attention to the new reality of metal music in the 21st century and in the process eschewed a tinny high pitched production job that plagued many 80s releases. Instead the music sounds dark and downtuned and exists in a murkier world than that of the earliest Fates Warning albums. The music is just perfect as it delivers the perfect mix of excellent musicianship that serves the greater good of a strong emotional connection. Sometimes it takes the masters of the past to remind the world how to make a consistently brilliant flow of music that doesn't believe in filler tracks and with SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE they did just that.

Sympathetic Resonance is the debut full-length studio album by the progressive metal project of Jim Matheos and John Arch. The album artwork is not really that beautiful, it is better than the somewhat similar artwork of Reinventing the Steel by Pantera that's true, but the main thing is that the music here does not dissappoint. Jim Matheos is the guitar player and mastermind of the US band Fates Warning, who can be safely be considered as one of the founders of progressive metal. John Arch was the singer on the first three albums of Fates Warning. After the third album Awaken the Guardian John Arch disappeared altogether from the music scene, he made a comeback with an EP called A Twist of Fate. The debut album of this project is the first full-length studio album featuring John Arch in 25 years. The line-up of this album with Frank Aresti playing the 2nd guitar, bassist Joey Vera and drummer Bobby Jarzombek. So apart from the singer the lineup is identical with the line up of Fates Warning. John Arch in the liner notes even thanks Ray Alder for alowwing him to lend his band. There are 6 tracks in 54 minutes, two relatively short and simple songs around 5 minutes, one song abou 8 minutes and three songs clock over 10 minutes, the longest is over 13 minutes long. It is great for the dynamics of the album that the band alternates more direct and relatively more simple tracks and the longer, even more elaborated pieces. The music is very heavy (not in an extreme black/death metal sense, but more in terms of the sheer heaviness of the riffs), complex, and technical progressive metal, which does not bear a whole lot of resemblance to the Ray Alder period of the band, maybe somewhat similar of the No Exit and Perfect Symmety era, but not that much. Especially the longest tracks go through multible sections and atmospheres. Although the musicians seem to be dedicated to creating progressive metal as it was originally intended in the late eighties, at the same time they do not sound nostalgical, or out of date. This is an album which rooted in the keyboardless past of progressive metal, but offers a quite an original and fresh approach of progressive metal. Especially considering the 21st century. The guitar playing is outstanding, especially the riffs, the rythm section provides complex and powerful playing. John Arch's signature high pitched and nasal vocal delivery may be an acquired taste for many, but in my opinion he is one of the most powerful and distinct sounding vocalist in metal, plus his way of writing melody lines is brilliant as well. However, the biggest achievement of Sympathetic Resonance is, that all 6 tracks are brilliant, there is no filler here, the album is a constantly great flow.