FATES WARNING

This early attempt at making progressive metal is actually more to my liking than I might admit.

THE SPECTRE WITHIN sounds far more metal than it does prog. The thing reeks of Iron Maiden making me want to apologize to Queensryche for accusing them of the same thing. Yet I can also hear snippets of Judas Priest (mainly in the more metallic sound of the rhythm guitars) and Anthrax (of all bands) in terms of structuring. However, Matheos and guitarist Victor Arduini are constantly shifting their riffs into odd time signatures long before Soundgarden got that idea, and I feel this was done to avoid sounding too much like any other metal band. Essentially, we have American NWOBHM with Rush in the time signatures.

It's been a rough process trying to understand THE SPECTRE WITHIN, although I have come to terms with the album as being very good. The review on the back of the reissue claims ''The Apparition'' might be the best metal song ever; I won't go THAT far, but it is the best song on the album with the meatiest riffs, the best segues and a structure that reminds me of Anthrax (I know I have them on the brain lately). The real prog influence comes to the fore on ''Epitaph'', and it's a good denouement in structure and the acoustic beginning helps ease the thrashing previous, particularly the Priest-ish ''Kyrie Eleison''.

The production can feel thin at times, but I can forego it considering that this is Metal Blade in their embryonic years with a band that hasn't had much of a track record at this point. The real rot with me is the vocals. John Arch has the range, but he hits those high notes at the expense of power; he sounds as if I tried singing metal (metal high notes have never been my forte). The power in his high notes is horrifyingly flimsy, and it nearly ruins the experience.

As a prog-metal precursor, THE SPECTRE WITHIN is worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of Fates Warning. Be prepare for extremely subpar vocals.

Ray Alder's 3rd album with Fates Warning, Parallels, feels like a powerful return to form to me. As well as adapting to Alder's vocal range more effectively, the band are also able to properly integrate Mark Zonder's technical wizardry on the drums and seem to have clawed back the tendency to get technical for technical's sake that turned me off of Perfect Symmetry. Instead, by clawing back some of the melodicism they had previously set aside the band are able to strike a brilliant balance between progressive ambition, emotional resonance and widespread accessibility, making the album not just another success for the band but also a great starting point for exploring their music.

3.5 stars really

Inside out issued in 1994 is one of the lesser known albums from Fates Warning catalogue who hasn't recive the praise it desearves across the years. Wonder why, because to me is a great album, maybe litle less intresting in parts then Parallels but for sure fans of the band needs to know this album. The musicianship is all solid as always, nice smooth complicated parts, very good druming , the guitars are all awesome, the voice, so no need to not like this one. Some excellent pieces here like opening title track Inside out, Island In The Stream and for sure the best track of the album and among the best FW pieces ever Moniment, super inventive with all ingredients of high class prog. Also this album is the last featuring long runners bassist oe DiBiase and guitarist Frank Aresti. So, to me a good towards great release, as I like all Fates Warning albums with Ray Alder on mic, those with John Arch I had hard times digesting them. 3.5 stars for sure.

Now this is a killer album from ther masters Fates Warning, issued in 2000 and named Disconnected. I'm af an and have a soft spot for them since 1994, I like their consistency on each album, they don't have weak albums, each one brings something to offer and offer big time in prog metal zone. This is amazing music, I can describe it as intelligent prog metal, each note is where it belongs, inventive musical sections and a very solid vocal passages coming from one of the most under rated vocalists ever Ray Alder. I have this album since it came out april 2000, listning couple of times back then, few more after that and few more not long ago, I said I must listen this time very carefully to see what is going one, and man this is a freacking awesome abum, is a near masterpieces of the genre not else. The voice, the perfect druming of this teacher drumer Mark Zonder, impecabil song writting from Jim Matheos and very inteligent and inventive guitar passages, and very beautiful and full of sens keyboards arrangements from Kevin Moore, make from this album atreasure of the genre, really solid. All pieces stands as captivating with a lot to offer, opening with Disconnected part 1 with a guitar sounding like a siren showing that something gonna to happen on this album, excellent. The highlights for me are So and Still Remains, the best piece of the album and probably one of the best pieces Fates Warning ever created. This track is brilliant , no words to discrabe it, you must have to listen, 16 min of beauty and intelligent song wrtting. So, all in all a very recommended release for any serious prog metal or rock listner. One of a kind band that needs a far more recognition, they are among the best this scene ever had and probably will have. 4 stars easy, great and inventive.

3.5 really

With No exit released in 1988 Fates Warning beggins a new era, here appear for the first time the excellent vocalist Ray Alder who gives a new dimention to Fates Warning pieces from now on. I can say that I'm a fan of this band , collected almost everything they have across the years and love them for 20 years now. This album to me is a mixed between Queensryce and Watchtower, both bands appear in the liner notes on tanks section. The music is powerful with lots of guitar breaks, Jim Matheos must be one of the most overlooked guitar player in the history. A legendary album for sure with many great moments, but I can't say is on par with their next one Perfect symmetry to me their best album from first era. Very good songs here with a plus on ending track The Ivory Gate of Dreams - a 22 min sheer beauty. This song is among the best Fates Warning ever done, has it all, great guitars, piano, fabulos vocal parts, top notch druming from Steve Zimmerman , the last FW album where apper. Lost of tempo changes, time signature all meted ina heavy progressive way. This album is solid but I can't say is in my top 3 from them, still great to be discovered by younger genration , Fates Warning were considered and are considered the fathers of prog metal since late '80's. So to me only 3.5 stars.

The Pale Fire EP is a nice little Fates Warning gem that is sure to put a smile on the face of any fan. Here's a quick rundown of the songs featured on this release:

Pale Fire (Album Version): This is "Pale Fire" as you will hear it on "Inside Out". Plain and simple.

Monument (Edit): This version of "Monument" is two minutes shorter than the regular version that appears on "Inside Out". They removed the strange electronic passage from the end, and shortened up Jim's guitar solos (which are sorely missed in my opinion).

We Only Say Goodbye (Remix): My favorite part of this release! This is an excellent remix, and I believe it ads another layer to the song that is genuinely intoxicating! This version has more bass, more reverb on Ray's voice, and more of a focus on the atmospheric sounds present in the beginning.

Now this is more of what I was hoping to hear. When I made my first Fates Warning album purchase, I wanted to get "Perfect Symmetry" but "Parallels" was cheaper. I also sampled "Disconnected" and I liked what I heard. But as "Parallels" was the follow up album to their highest rated album, I bought that one. And I was not impressed. Recalling my feelings about "Disconnected" I ordered it and breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded good!

This album is a far cry from the "watered down Queensryche" (my impression of "Parallels") I heard on my previous purchase. This album is heavy. It rocks. And it sounds progressive in a way that is different from both Queensryche and Dream Theater. The guitar sound kicks posterior, the drums have some wicked odd time signatures, the bass shows up nice and heavy, the keyboards add atmosphere, and Ray Alder has really come into his own here, offering a great example of the kind of metal voice I like with the ability to sing smoothly and subtly or gruffly and powerfully.

The opening track "Disconnected (Part 1)" isn't much to talk about. It's one of those puzzling pieces that some bands will use to open their albums. It's a short instrumental that is basically a strained guitar effect and that goes nowhere. It pops up again later on Part 2 as an intro to the song. I find it annoying actually, though in the context of a song intro it is tolerable and perhaps even a bit interesting. On its own it brings to mind the image of a statue repeating the same slow swipe across its face with a straight-edged razor.

But forget that. The good stuff begins on track two with a heavy metal tune played to a beat that will make you trip if you try to dance. One thing I didn't like was that, as I mentioned about many songs on "Parallels", "One" starts out heavy but immediately goes light for the first verse. Fates Warning repeat this so often it sounds formulaic for the band. But if I forget about that other album, then it works fine on this song. The song has guts and energy and ends up on my playlists fairly often.

"So" follows in the same rock-out heavy vein but there's more room time-wise to be a little more experimental. Though Ray Alder no longer sounds like a cousin of Geoff Tate, I kind of think he sounds a bit like Gary Cherone of Extreme when he sings the chorus.

"Pieces of Me" is another metal rocker and sounds awesome, but I really like "Something from Nothing". It's eerie, haunting, making use of keyboard atmospherics and spoken voices from speakers (voices isolated from the listener as they come from a speaker and not directly from a human mouth to the ear). The song uses mood to build atmosphere and releases heavy energetic moments and lighter more positive-feeling moments. It's likely my favourite Fates Warning song so far, though "One" sure makes a good impression on me, too.

"Still Remains" should be the stand out track from this album, clocking in at over 16 minutes. However, I find it wanders about looking to establish some kind of mood and ends up doing too much wandering before it gets going anywhere. The lyrics aren't interesting as it seems this song is about a guy who has only photos in an album left after the end of a relationship with a woman he can't let go off. Pretty mundane. There are interesting moments but I don't find the song as cohesive as "Pieces of Me".

The razor scratch begins again for "Disconnected (Part 2)" and then the music calms down with some piano as a recorded voice of an old man speaks with sadness and lament about something in the past. The rest of the song is pretty good but that annoying guitar (not so bad at the end) finishes the track before a voice on a telephone says, "I guess we got disconnected".

Overall an impressive album for me. I like the heaviness and the more progressive aspects that are appreciatively different from Dream Theater and Threshold. It's nice to hear variety within a genre. I have no hesitation to recommend this to anyone with an interest in metal that's not too abrasive and harsh but more melodic and still heavy, and also those who like progressive metal as a whole. Four stars!

Good ol' times.

The younger generation needs to discover this album, and therefore the band. They need to know that there was life on earth before Dream Theater, Nightwish and Muse. It was a blessed time: Mtv still showed music videos (and good ones at that), Saturday Morning Cartoons never been so good (Thundercats, Transformers, G.I. Joe and Voltron) and the Nintendo Entertaining System was erupting in America with killer games.

It also was the time when you could buy this album in vinyl and prove to your school that Metallica, Guns N' Roses or Skid Row were not that good musicians after all. Thanks to Matheos and crew, we could taste fine and intelligent music: super drums a la Peart topped with Adler's Geddy Lee impersonation, good rolling bass guitar, Roland chorus effects are plenty and Kevin Moore is even giving us a taste of his talent. Yes, it's metal progressive, but metal of the 80's...a softer version of today's madness. There's even a more symphonic piece with at Fate's Hands, starting gently (but very melodically) and then curving into more known waters. By far the best track and a solid proof that Dream Theater were not THAT innovative after all.

A sound from another era, a formula from another time but a big 'I Told Ya!' from me.

Fates Warning's first record is a mediocre mixture of heavy metal, power metal and a few smooth progressive metal passages that is actually easy to listen to but not outstanding enough to survive amongst many groundbreaking releases of the same period. Basically, we have a young band that worships the sounds of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal by sounding like their most recognized heroes Iron Maiden and we can also hear some influences from Judas Priest, Rainbow, Triumph, Black Sabbath, Dio and even Queensrÿche in here. I would say that this album overall sounds rather European than American. This album has probably influenced the early years of European power metal around bands such as Helloween and later on Stratovarius.

The problem with "Night On Bröcken" is that I would not only prefer the original influences to this record but also the bands that were influenced them and kicked off their very own style with these basics afterwards. Let's say that too many songs sound too similar and are mid paced heavy metal tracks with some high pitched power metal vocals. Let's say that John Arch's vocals are the most outstanding and memorable thing about the band but I would still always prefer a Geoff Tate. The two instrumental tracks only have a filler status and are quite bearable.

This is still easy listening party metal with a pretty high standard and fans of early Iron Maiden, Queensrÿche or Helloween won't do anything wrong with the purchase of this album. But it's far from being essential or original and hasn't anything special to offer a part of its entertaining factor. The highlight is surely the epic and rather diversified album closer "Soldier Boy" that justifies the existence of the band and gives us a little glimpse at what would come from this group in the near future.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on October 5th of the year 2011.

This site has been keeping my iPhone screen glowing during many of my daily commutes on the train. It's a feverish pastime of mine now to look up bands I know and see how they fair among the reviewers and also to seek out artists that are new to me. Fates Warning should have been in my collection from long ago because I sought out every metal band I read about back in the mid-eighties. That I didn't know of them is even more surprising considering that I loved both Iron Maiden and Queensryche, two of the other progenitors of progressive metal in the 80s.

Not sure where to start, I usually read the reviews of a band's top-rated albums on this site before visiting Amazon and giving the short song samples a run through. I also sometimes look up an album on YouTube for full-length songs. The album recommended for Fates Warning was Perfect Symmetry but Parallels was several bucks worth cheaper on Amazon (no re-mastered version with a bonus DVD), and so without any prior listen I ordered the CD, expecting to hear something along the lines of Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Dream Theater.

What I got was rather disappointing. The first song, Leave the Past Behind starts out with a prog metal flair but soon transforms into something very much like a slower number by Queensryche, or perhaps rather by a Queensryche cover band. On I went to the next song and the next, neither of them particularly standing out. Eye to Eye sounds like The Warning era Queensryche meets No One Like You by Scorpions. The Eleventh Hour is praised as being a signature song of Fates Warning but it wasn't until my fifth listen that I began to find guitar parts I like and my foot started tapping. Ray Alder just sounds too much like Geoff Tate and the guitar sound is very much like Queensryche, too.

On the first listen, by the time the last track The Road Goes on Forever ended I realized that I hadn't even noticed when the last few songs had started and ended. The real test for me is to throw a bunch of albums (or randomly selected songs from albums) onto a playlist and hit shuffle as I spend the hour it takes to commute to and from work. If a song comes on that pricks up my ears, I take more interest in the album. I did this with Parallels but whenever a song from this album came on all I could think of was a watered down Queensryche.

What is it about this album that's just not working for me? One is the sound quality. I have a 1991 version and the instruments and vocals just lack sonic depth. Another is that whenever I try to listen carefully to the music, I hear mostly standard 4/4 beat drumming with few fills, bar chords just keeping up with the chord of the melody without any awesome metal riffs, and a bass guitar that... just does nothing to stand out. It's people like Terry Butler of Black Sabbath, Geddy Lee of Rush and Chris Squire of Yes who got me turned on to the sound of the bass guitar. It's very much a background instrument here. Oh, there are some parts where the drum beat goes off the usual 4/4 time and the guitars do play some cool distorted riffs but it all sounds very lackluster to me. As I mentioned above, I was a rabid metal fan in the 80's and by 1989 I had over 300 cassettes in my collection. This album by Fates Warning... I feel like I have heard it all before. Perhaps if I had heard this album in 1985 I would have been blown away.

What I feel about this album is that Fates Warning managed to come up with easy-listening metal because there is not much edge or bite here. A lot of songs actually begin with a metal riff but the excitement drops off as every song gears down for the first verse. It's a tiresome formula: start with a cool metal sound then turn it down and go all mellow until the chorus. I think about 5 songs follow this formula on this album. And if progressive metal includes quick tricky passages, abrupt changes to melody and even key mid-song, and odd time signatures with staccato blast lead breaks then there's none of that here. It makes for a good melodic metal album but I can't say I can recommend this as a real prog rock or prog metal album. Many reviewers praise this album but I am not hearing it as a master piece. Perhaps I really need to focus on the music. As it is, my mind keeps wandering whenever I play a track from this album.

I wouldn't say that Fates Warning are not a good prog metal band. Perhaps buying Parallels first instead of Perfect Symmetry would be like buying Hold Your Fire by Rush instead of Power Windows or Going for the One by Yes instead of Relayer or Close to the Edge. I might have just missed hearing their best work and thus just missed being blown away. I feel a bit bad giving this a low rating but as a melodic metal album I think it's just good and nothing more and as prog metal metal I find it lacking. But I will be checking out some of their other albums. Hopefully I'll be more impressed with my next purchase.