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Originally Fates Warning, with the lead singer John Arch,
was influenced by Iron Maiden. Then,
with the lead singer Ray Alder, they've become influenced by Dream
Theater. Currently the band is considered to
be one of the leaders of prog, along with Dream Theater, but I don't
particularly care for either of them. People say it's very good, but
I'm yet to hear a decent thing from them. The word is that "No Exit"
is the best album of the prog period. I have never heard it, so I'm
just going to review what I have heard. Also the word is that their
1997 album, consisting of just one song, 73 minutes long, "Pleasant
Shade Of Gray" is also very good, but the whole concept scares me to
death. I love epic songs up until ~7-8 minutes in length. Up from
there, I get tired. Songs like "Keeper Of The Seven Keys" by
Helloween and "Achilles,
Agony And Ecstasy" by Manowar give me headache.
I might enjoy parts of them, but never the whole thing, and, as a
result, I rarely finish listening to them in their entirety.
Nonetheless, the superb technical skills of band members cannot be
denied. Along with Alder, the band now consists of Jim Matheos
(guitars, keys) and Mark Zonder (drums). Band's members are involved
in numerous other projects as well (most noteable being Ray Alder's solo
band, Engine).
NIGHT ON BROKEN (1985)
RATING: **1/2
BEST SONGS: "Buried Alive," "Damnation"
Fates Warning's debut is 70 minutes of rather boring music and
lyrics. Riffs seem to be OK, but when it comes to actual catchiness,
they fade. Not a single song to which I would remember the chorus.
Arch has a weak voice too. "Damnation" is a bright spot. Its first
half is acoustic, and gives a very depressive, though strong,
feeling (similar to "Years Of Decay" by Overkill). The song is about the
conflict between environment and urban culture. Everything else is
of poor quality. A perfect Metal Blade record.
AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN (1986)
RATING: ***1/2
BEST SONGS: "Fata Morgana," "Guardian," "Prelude To
Ruin"
The best of what I've heard from Fates Warning: a very solid
metal album. Too bad it sounds almost exactly like slower Iron
Maiden, scratch the vocals. John Arch is no
Bruce Dickinson, even though at times he sounds like his younger 15
y.o. brother (no relations, of course, to the Catherine Wheel lead
singer). It also resembles "The Warning" by Queensryche,
only a bit weaker.
Lyricswise, it's all very traditional -- fantasy, dungeons and
dragons. It was hardly love from first sight, but now I owe Fates
Warning an apology: this is definitely quality metal. "Guardian" is
an excellent mood song, and so are "Valley Of The Dolls," "Fata
Morgana" and "Prelude To Ruin" -- all strong rockers. The problems
are: thin production and very little staying power. I
hardly ever feel the urge to re-listen to this album. But then
again I NEVER get this urge with any other FW discs.
INSIDE OUT (1994)
RATING: *
BEST SONGS: none
What a sea of boredom! Ray Alder's got good voice, but that's
about it. No music to talk about, same for lyrics, same for
everything else. Right now, I can't even remember any of the album's
tracks (except, maybe, "Shelter Me," it's got some sort of a
micro-groove, so to speak). I can't imagine anyone liking this
album. I offered it for free to my roommate from a couple of years
back, who was into wussy stuff, like REM and Sarah McLaughlin. I
figured it was his cup of tea, but he said that although the sound
was good, but the whole thing is too polished and uninteresting. So
I guess there's no audience for this release whatsoever. I managed
to sell it, though. A good deal.
DISCONNECTED (2000)
RATING: ***
BEST SONGS: "So," "Still Remains"
To be fair, I should just say that this is not my cup of tea.
Very cold and mechanical music and sound leave me, well, cold. I
understand that the this is exactly what the boys were shooting for
in their strive for creating a freezing urban atmosphere (the album
begins and ends with chilling siren sounds), but that's not exactly
what I love in music. The music is, as the song "So" states "so
tired." "Pieces Of Me" is alright. 16+ epic "Still Remains" is
pretty good, though, probably the best song there. Multi-layer
sounds, buzzing guitar, and ice-cold sound of keys, combined with
Ray's vocals (sounds like he's singing while in coma), reach
the desired effect, but I just don't feel associated. Sorry, prog
fans. Guest musicians on this albums are Kevin Moore from DT and
Joey Vera from Armored Saint.
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