AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN LIVE

Seems like a long time since I've done so much fist pumping and head-banging while driving my car, talk about distracted driving! FATES WARNING is my favourite Prog-Metal band and John Arch is right at the top as one of my all-time favourite vocalists. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of one of the greatest Prog-Metal albums ever created in "Awaken the Guardian" the band decided to bring back the original lineup and do a couple of shows. One in Germany at the "Keep It True XIX 2016" festival and one in Atlanta at the ProgPower XVII festival. You can get the deluxe version which features both concerts but with pretty much the same set list except for one song switched out, or the double disc that I have of the German show which has the complete "Awaken The Guardian" album played live on disc one and the encores on disc two which feature two tracks from the debut "Night On Brocken" and two from the followup "The Spectre Within".

They stay fairly true to the original songs and if you know the album "Awaken The Guardian" then you will experience that same dirty, muddy and heavy sound that fans heard back in 1986. John would leave after this album and eventually audition for DREAM THEATER who had just lost their original singer. John would later appear on stage with FATES WARNING in 1994 then disappear from sight. That is until a call from FATES WARNING lead guitarist Jim Matheos asking John if he'd be interested in singing for a new project he was putting together called OSI. Hard to imagine Arch singing with that band but anyway he declined but his interest in singing became renewed and he contacted Jim about doing some recording. Mike Portnoy wanted in and add Joey Vera(FATES WARNING) on bass and we were blessed in 2003 with a John Arch solo album called "A Twist Of Fate". And it's a 5 star monster in my opinion. By the way Arch and Portnoy were friends before DREAM THEATER was even a band.

Arch would later join Jim again for that ARCH/ MATHEOS album that kicked some serious ass. I have to say that Arch simply blows me away with his vocal melodies or wordless melodies whatever you want to call them. He's part Cheyenne and I don't know if that's part of it but I love when he does that. It's a big reason why THE PINEAPPLE THEIF's "Your Wilderness" was so amazingly good because Bruce decided to add a lot of vocal melodies. I won't bore everyone with a track by track review since I've reviewed all of these songs at some point in the past. The two that stand head and shoulders above the rest off of "Awaken The Guardian" are "Guardian" and "Prelude To Ruin" and yes that's where all my carrying on took place usually while driving my car(haha). I love that they included four songs from the first two albums for the encore even though both of those recordings are only 3 star works in my opinion. "Damnation" is absolutely stunning and one of my favourites from them. It's all good though as Arch, Matheos, Aresti, DiBiasi and Zimmerman put on one heck of a show. Congrats guys! What a performance! The album cover is gorgeous as well as they change it up a little from the original.