Progressive Metal Reviews

Disconnected

Fates Warning

 

 

I sit here and go over the band bio-not that I really needed to anyway-and still I'm amazed after all this time this is only the band's ninth album!

Maybe due to the extensive body of work contained within each album it just seems like they've done somewhere around twenty-two!

Right off I'll say this much, it's not just another ho-hum record with the atypical arrangements and overused tom-tom drum patterns that I grew tired of on stuff like "Parallels" and "Inside Out," this is a welcome return to their heavier days right around the time Alder took over the vocal reigns from the dearly departed John Arch.

Matheos' rediscovered those trademark riffs… the ones that twisted and turned uneasily within the structure of the song, unsettling in any one place in particular but on those occasions they did, you knew they left a mark!

Along with this doubling back, the newer elements found on their last studio concept "A Pleasant Shade of Grey," which as magnificent as it was, didn't bear repeating, but in this light, the myriad of keyboard effects, compliments again of Dream Theater's Kevin Moore, just add to this newly discovered influx of energy.

Outside projects served the surviving members well apparently and truly, I didn't think they had this in them. Joey Vera contributes his own well intended licks to the formula and when putting it all together, this could well be the next logical progression, if you will, from where "No Exit" left off somewhere around '88.

Opening first with the minute long introduction that is "Disconnected Part I," lead track "One" is without question everything a true Fates' fan could hope for-power, melody, and a subtle blend of harmony thrown within a dangerous mix-a definite lead single.

"So" proceeds to grind it out like they haven't done in years as they prod onward on a perilous course led by Moore's dazzling brilliance creating just enough of a haunting effect that you'll realize this is in fact the same band responsible for stellar work on "The Spectre Within" or later on "The Ivory Gate of Dreams" masterpiece-an album unto itself in one multi-faceted song!

In fact that's where "Still Remains" comes in near the end here-a full sixteen minutes worth in their finest epic tradition.

A resounding return to form from the veteran metallers still bent on a progressive intent, they're no longer searching for that long elusive commercial viability but tap instead back into the strength of their past while creating something new and inspired that should be very inviting for long time listeners!

Released by Metal Blade Records GmbH, P.O. Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen, Germany.
Metal Blade Records Inc, 2828 Cochran St. Suite 302, Simi Valley,
CA 93065-2793, USA
Website : http://metalblade.iuma.com/
Email : mtlbldrcds@aol.com


Review by Vinnie Apicella.

Buy The CD

 

 

Still Life
FATES WARNING



Since their inception during the early eighties, Fates Warning have never done things by the book. Always pushing the boundaries of what heavy rock music was thought to depend on for its success, they've continually evolved as a band and redefined what many of their followers now appreciate as progressive metal.

Though they've grown significantly as true professionals in their field over the years and endured numerous lineup changes, they've remained committed to their loyal followers and refused the temptation to alter their approach to meet the demands for commercial appeal.

With their newest CD and first live recording, "Still Life," they've yet again stretched the limits with nearly two hours of timeless music culminated from the best of eight consecutive shows from their latest European tour in support of last year's jaw-dropping masterpiece, "A Pleasant Shade of Grey." For most bands, an album such as that, featuring only one title with the whole of the song broken into twelve intricate parts, might be a bit too risky in spite of their progressive nature, and too much for the fans too swallow.

But not for Fates Warning. So for the encore, they've decided to include the entire endeavor on disc-one of "Still Life." All accomplished musicians, the band performed the entire 'song' with their usual technical proficiency and confidence. The enlistment of Jason Keazer from Divine Regale on keyboards really added another atmospheric dimension that brought out the best in parts VI and XII in particular.

For disc two, another unlikely trick was turned. As if the hour-plus epic from before wasn't enough, this one started out with "The Ivory Gate of Dreams," a full twenty-minute marathon from their most defining record, "No Exit." Recorded in 1987, this was the album that solidified their musical direction, blending both the raw aggressiveness that first characterized their origin as a metal band, with a maturation that saw them expand their already diverse craftsmanship as talented progressive-rock artists.

So now, after carefully opening, "The Ivory Gate…," the band segues cleanly into "The Eleventh Hour" and "Point of View" from 1991's "Parallels" album, perhaps their most commercial to date.

A couple of classic surprises are thrown in with "At Fates Hands" and "Prelude to Ruin," both going back toward their "Awaken the Guardian" days and beyond. For this listener, it was good to again hear those tarnished guitar-riffs of old which have all but been replaced with the polished brass of that which symbolizes their new.

"Still Life" successfully highlights the ongoing tradition of Fates Warning, encapsulating modern ideas with a continuous cycle of new methods to create superior music that remains as effective and challenging to the listener as it did when they first produced the ripple some fifteen years ago.

Released by Metal Blade Records GmbH, P.O. Box 1332, 73054 Eislingen, Germany.
Metal Blade Records Inc, 2828 Cochran St. Suite 302, Simi Valley,
CA 93065-2793, USA
Website : http://metalblade.iuma.com/
Email : mtlbldrcds@aol.com


Review by Vinnie Apicella.

Buy The CD