THEORIES OF FLIGHT

All those of us who love Prog Metal owe so much to this pioneering band, and to see them (a) playing with such power after so many years, and (b) topping the Prog Archives charts is just great. 'Theories of Flight' continues in the same relatively conservative style as the previous 'Darkness in a Different Light'. Both albums are straightforward guitar burns, ToF I think having an even faster average tempo. These are superb musicians and it is hard to see how any metal fan would not enjoy ToF. For myself, Fates Warning peaked artistically in the millennium-period albums with the extra dimension of Kevin Moore's keyboard contributions (i.e. 'Gray' and 'Disconnected'). There isn't quite enough flair in ToF for the fifth star, but this is an album that is going to get a lot of time in my audio systems.

Verdict: a superb band and a superb album.