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Offline abydos

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1540 on: January 19, 2018, 03:13:00 AM »
Oh, this is a nice surprise. I'll be seeing them in Greece next week so I hope we get Still Remains and The Light And Shade Of Things.

Offline pg1067

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1541 on: January 19, 2018, 12:47:20 PM »
A FB post from last week (the tour started last night): https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1518887058194232&id=180848601998091
Quote
We are having a great time finally touring the West Coast with Theories Of Flight! Next week we begin touring/recording in Europe for our upcoming live album. The band took two days off in Los Angeles to rehearse new material which we have divided into two sets that we will be alternating every night. We are very excited to be playing some songs we haven’t played in a while as well as some we have never played live. We hope to see you all there!!
Bobby's comment on the post:
Quote
Yeah, total (West Coast and Europe) = 26 songs in all! Two of them are 14 minutes long, and a few of ‘em are at least half that length.
This is the most drumming that I’ve ever had crammed in my brain!
Two 14-minute songs = Still Remains and the premiere of And Yet It Moves, perhaps? :caffeine: It sucks that they're not coming nearby, but I'm stoked for the live album.

I'm bummed I missed this show in Los Angeles.  Based on the set list from the first European show last night, the only song that's 14+ minutes on the album is Still Remains.  Would LOVE a live version of And Yet It Moves.  That song is FAN-flipping-TASTIC!
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Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1542 on: January 19, 2018, 02:18:36 PM »
That setlist has me drooling like Homer. The Light and Shade of Things, Wish, and Still Remains, almost back to back would have me on my knees crying.
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Offline Chris Hinton

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1543 on: January 19, 2018, 02:29:38 PM »
Saw them opening night in Seattle.  The whole set list was "FAN-flippin-TASTIC".  The only thing I wish they played was, well, Wish.  Everything else was incredible.  Getting the closing movements of IGOD was an expected surprise.

Ray sounded better than he did in years.  The whole band sounded incredible.

Where were you, Ben?  I looked for you there but didn't see you.  I was camped out front and center in the loft.

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1544 on: January 19, 2018, 11:04:25 PM »
Saw them opening night in Seattle.  The whole set list was "FAN-flippin-TASTIC".  The only thing I wish they played was, well, Wish.  Everything else was incredible.  Getting the closing movements of IGOD was an expected surprise.

Ray sounded better than he did in years.  The whole band sounded incredible.

Where were you, Ben?  I looked for you there but didn't see you.  I was camped out front and center in the loft.

I hadn't heard from you!!  I would have totally dug seeing you!  I was front left on Jim's side.   Awesome show. 
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Offline Dreammajesty

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1545 on: January 21, 2018, 03:09:54 AM »
For me it's the same with Arch i kinda like his voice but it's his way of singing it !! Can't stand it. Back in the day i got Night on brocken through tapetrading and i liked that album but never became a fan.This all changed when Ray Alder became the singer fantastic voice !And ofcourse the albums are great as well,Lately i'm more appreciating Disconnected,i always thought of it as a dark album but there are some fantastic songs on it my favorite is Still Remains and One.

And indeed Mark Zonder what a drummer right?? I've seen a live few drumvideo's of him playing Fates songs like Monument or APSOG and i can't seem to find one for Still Remains but i did find this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nbfmKio7E4   I'm loving it !!

I also went to Essen this thursday  and what a show indeed great setlist,band in real good shape.The venue was close to sold out i guess it was rather packed and the crowd went a long very well with reacting and singing,i think sometimes over Ray's singing.And the band enjoyed it as you could tell from the smiles on their faces.Especially if Jim laughs.
Now i understand they didn't pick Holland for a show,the last show i saw in Leiden there was a very small audience,a real shame for such a great band!!

Offline pg1067

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1546 on: January 22, 2018, 04:23:31 PM »
Ray sounded better than he did in years.  The whole band sounded incredible.

I saw them on the DIADL tour at a little hole in the wall club outside Phoenix.  Ray was lights out.  Ray's live performance was about the only negative for me when I first saw FW back in the late 80s.  He had real trouble with the high notes.  When we met the band in the parking lot outside the club after the show and he was smoking, I knew what the problem was.  Kicking that habit and altering some of the vocal melodies really help him and he sounds stronger than ever.  It's one thing for guys like Lemmy or even Axl Rose, but I have never understood why singers who really want to SING would smoke.
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Offline PowerSlave

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1547 on: January 22, 2018, 09:50:14 PM »
I can't tell you how jealous I am of you folks in Europe. They didn't come to my area for this leg of the tour, and I'd love to see them doing the new setlist.
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Offline Ben_Jamin

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1548 on: January 22, 2018, 09:55:06 PM »
Me too...me too...
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Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1549 on: February 01, 2018, 05:46:42 PM »
I don't post much any more, but I wanted to jump in on this thread. I saw the gigs in San Diego and LA. Was fortunate enough to catch soundcheck at both shows, and what a treat. In San Diego, they played "And Yet it Moves," which until Europe, had never been played live before. The show in San Diego had a GREAT crowd, who knew all the songs, and Ray acknowledged how surprised the band was and how much they appreciated it.

One of the many highlights was Ray hitting a great note at the end of Ivory Gate of Dreams VII. Acquiescence. He went really high, and the band also added in Eye to Eye as a final encore, after saying in soundcheck they weren't going to do it that night.

I am a huge fan of Fates (my #2 band of all-time after the original lineup of Queensryche), and I love Theories of Flight, so it was great to hear them support that album well. Such a great record.

In LA, Joey Vera couldn't make soundcheck. He was spending the day (rightfully so) at home celebrating his daughter's birthday. So the band asked any of the folks watching if they could play bass. A couple of people were timid, and one guy said he didn't know their stuff, but was a bass player (he was really shy). So instead, Mike Abdow put his guitar down, took one of Joey's basses, and they did a one guitar soundcheck of "One" with Mike on bass. He was really good! Mike is an outstanding musician. Folks that enjoy some good prog/jazz/rock instrumentals should check out his solo album titled ESO.

Anyway, once the show started, the Whisky was completely packed. The crowd was a lot more rude and obnoxious, but they were into it, and also knew the more modern material.  :metal Same setlist as San Diego. Ray sounded good, although not quite as good as San Diego. But he talked about it during the show...I was at the Rainbow for dinner with a friend, and in walked Ray. He grabbed some pizza and headed upstairs. When FW got on stage, he jokingly (sorta) asked the crowd if they had any Rolaids and said he should have known not to eat Rainbow pizza before singing.  :rollin :rollin

It was a recurring joke throughout the night. He also went for the same high note in Ivory Gate VII. Acquiescence, and didn't quite get where he got the previous night, but he hit it pretty good. After the tune and the loud applause, Ray said something to the effect of: "thanks. That...doesn't always work. And when it doesn't, it can be really embarrassing!" and laughed.

For those folks eager for the live record they were recording in Europe. A few people asked in soundcheck at both San Diego and LA, and they had been rehearsing 26 or 27 songs. And looking at the setlists, they got through most of them. A friend asked if the plan was to include all the songs on the 2 CD set, and they said they were going to try to. I think it'll all depend on how they felt the quality came out.

In Europe, one of the bigger surprises was "Silent Cries," which was performed just once. So either they nailed a good one, or it wasn't so good and they didn't bother to do it again. That chorus is a bitch, even when dropped.  :lol

Anyway, stoked for the new live record. Fingers crossed it ends up being not just a 2 CD, but a 4 LP set too. They probably don't have the same budget they had for the Awaken the Guardian live set, but I really hope this new live record comes out on vinyl.
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Offline abydos

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1550 on: February 02, 2018, 02:19:18 AM »
They sounded great when I saw them in Greece (first time I left my country too, good occasion I'd say) but it could have been a bit better - apparently they were held on the border for 3 hours and they were late with the soundcheck which was still going on at the time the show was supposed to have started. Bummed out that we didn't get Still Remains. Those fuckers in Athens got both SR and Yet It Moves!

Online SoundscapeMN

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1551 on: February 02, 2018, 10:40:29 AM »
found a copy of of the new remastered-for-vinyl Parallels at my local record store in St.Paul last night.

Offline Lethean

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1552 on: February 02, 2018, 10:50:54 AM »
I saw them a couple times last year and they were incredible.  Definitely a little jealous of those getting to see them now, and the setlists look amazing. 

Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1553 on: March 31, 2018, 03:48:15 AM »
So, for A pleasant shade of grey, could someone explain the concept and story of that album. What's it about? I couldn't find anything on wikipedia and am super curious.

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1554 on: March 31, 2018, 10:09:13 AM »
So, for A pleasant shade of grey, could someone explain the concept and story of that album. What's it about? I couldn't find anything on wikipedia and am super curious.

My personal interpretation is that it’s a guy who is tossing and turning all night with all these thoughts and regrets about where his life is, where it’s going, mistakes made, regrets, the meaningless of life...all this stuff going through your head that sometimes won’t let you sleep...

But then, there’s that little ray of hope at the end. That each new day brings a new opportunity. A reason to wake up tomorrow and embrace life...this pleasant shade of gray.









And then when you finally fall asleep, the alarm goes off one minute later.
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Offline LudwigVan

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1555 on: March 31, 2018, 11:34:48 AM »
 :'(
So, for A pleasant shade of grey, could someone explain the concept and story of that album. What's it about? I couldn't find anything on wikipedia and am super curious.

Written 8 years ago  :omg: but it's in the old DTF Reviews sub forum.

https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=10098.0

And jammindude had it right about the theme.
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Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1556 on: March 31, 2018, 12:52:30 PM »
That is perfect. Thank you guys

Offline Phoenix87x

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1557 on: April 04, 2018, 05:41:01 PM »





I just want to say that I really, really love FWX.  I have been listening to it non stop the past two days.

Online jjrock88

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1558 on: April 04, 2018, 05:50:55 PM »
I definitely don't play FWX a lot, but I do enjoy it when I bring it out.  It's a very moody atmospheric album. 

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1559 on: April 04, 2018, 09:16:08 PM »





I just want to say that I really, really love FWX.  I have been listening to it non stop the past two days.

It is very good.  It gets overshadowed by the albums surrounding it.  The two before and the two after tend to get a lot more attention.  But I would actually say that DIADL didn’t age that well for me, and I would probably put FWX just above it.   But wow, all of their last 5 albums have been pretty great.  And Theories continues to age VERY well.   
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Offline Lethean

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1560 on: April 04, 2018, 09:38:07 PM »
I'm never sure which albums the general Fates Warning fan bases likes/doesn't like.  I think it's because people's opinions are all over the place.  But I've gotten the impression that both Disconnected and FWX aren't as high on fans rankings as they are on mine.  FWX is a really good album.

Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1561 on: April 04, 2018, 09:41:19 PM »
Personally, I grew into Disconnected...but once it stuck....wow.   I think Disconnected and APSOG are in a perpetual dog fight for #1.  I just can’t choose.   One day it’s Shade, the next its DC....
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Offline Lethean

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1562 on: April 04, 2018, 09:45:05 PM »
Those are my favorite 2 as well. :)

Offline The Walrus

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1563 on: April 04, 2018, 09:54:59 PM »
Of all of their songs, for some reason, Pieces of Me has stuck with me the most. I freaking love that song - may not be my favorite but it's the one that has never left my head. Disconnected is fantastic.
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Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1564 on: April 04, 2018, 10:11:14 PM »
The “slow grower” for me was Something From Nothing.   I can’t even describe the feeling when it finally hit me.   It’s like I was waiting for something to happen, and then when I got the broad scope of the piece, it gave me goosebumps.

Sort of like when you see a film for the first time, and you don’t see at first how an earlier scene ties into the payoff later.   But then when you rewatch the film, you see the foreshadowing in a different light, and it just gives you chills.    Ya....it’s like that.
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Online SoundscapeMN

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1565 on: April 05, 2018, 05:32:04 AM »
I would put FWX much higher than Darkness..

FWX is excellent and I fail to follow why many people don't care for it, per when it came out, there was a ton of discussion about it. Many fans saying it was a return to form (those who weren't into APSOG and Disconnected).

Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1566 on: April 05, 2018, 08:08:08 AM »

I just want to say that I really, really love FWX.  I have been listening to it non stop the past two days.

It is very good.  It gets overshadowed by the albums surrounding it.  The two before and the two after tend to get a lot more attention.  But I would actually say that DIADL didn’t age that well for me, and I would probably put FWX just above it.   But wow, all of their last 5 albums have been pretty great.  And Theories continues to age VERY well.

Agreed. FWX is when I really became a big fan. I discovered Fates late, with APSOG, and initially didn't like it. I didn't listen to Fates again until...2002 or so. I picked up Parallels because my wife said I would love it, and she was right. But after the QR/DT/FW shows in 2003, I picked up the rest of the catalog and FWX in 2004 sealed the deal.

I am glad they've broken out some of the songs from it on the last two album cycle tours (Wish and A Handful of Doubt). Given they've played both live extensively, I expect them to be on the new live record, which is cool.

I would put FWX much higher than Darkness..

FWX is excellent and I fail to follow why many people don't care for it, per when it came out, there was a ton of discussion about it. Many fans saying it was a return to form (those who weren't into APSOG and Disconnected).

I have FWX ahead of Darkness. For me, Darkness is pushed by three great tracks - One Thousand Fires, Firefly, And Yet it Moves. I think FWX, aside from River Wide Ocean Deep, is superior to the rest of Darkness, except for those three songs. It's (FWX) is a better whole listening experience.

Theories of Flight, however. Damn. That record not only has aged well for me, it is probably #3 all time for me of the Alder era (Parallels, No Exit, Theories).
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 12:47:32 PM by Samsara »
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Offline pg1067

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1567 on: April 05, 2018, 10:54:50 AM »
I'm never sure which albums the general Fates Warning fan bases likes/doesn't like.  I think it's because people's opinions are all over the place.  But I've gotten the impression that both Disconnected and FWX aren't as high on fans rankings as they are on mine.  FWX is a really good album.

For whatever reason, both Disconnected and FWX fell flat for me.  There are only a small handful of songs on the two that ever resonated for me.

Since you mentioned rankings:

APSOG:  Not just FW's best album, but a top 5 all time album

Perfect Symmetry:  The first "new" FW album for me.  I was absolutely blown away by the opening track, Part of the Machine.  As a whole, it's prog metal masterpiece, with the only instrumental I would put on the same level as La Villa Strangiato.  The only weaknesses are, surprisingly, two of the Frank Aresti songs (A World Apart and The Arena).

Parallels:  An almost perfect blend of prog and accessible metal.  It's what Queensryche tried to do with Empire, which is, for me, an ultimately disappointing album.  But FW nailed it.

DIADL:  Given my disappointment with Disconnected and FWX, I was cautiously optimistic when this album was announced.  Songs like I Am and Into the Black kick serious ass.  They're better than the two "lead" tracks, One Thousand Fires and Firefly.  But the hidden gem is And Yet It Moves.  It's a song that fits its title to a T.  From the intro to the end, it never fails to impress.  Quite possible FW's best single song ever.  An honorable mention to Falling Further on the limited edition bonus disc.  It's a song that would have fit proudly on Parallels or Inside Out.

No Exit:  A little while after Operation: Mindcrime came out, I saw something on MTV saying, "if you like Mindcrime, check out these bands."  They mentioned Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Crimson Glory.  I went hunting and couldn't find anything by Dream Theater, but I found No Exit.  I was a fan immediately.  Side 1 sounded like a slightly heavier and less polished Queensryche, but The Ivory Gate of Dreams on side 2 was on a completely different level, from the acoustic intro to the harmony guitars on Quietus to the gentle Whispers on the Wind, to blistering conclusion in Acquiescence and its epic ending.

Inside Out:  If there had been no Parallels, this album would have gotten a lot more run, and I honestly can't figure out why it didn't keep up the momentum FW had gained with Parallels.  There are a couple clunkers, but it's strong from start to finish, and Monument is a great song.

The Spectre Within:  It's a bit unfair to compare the Arch albums to the Alder albums.  For me, Arch's voice is ok, but I don't like a lot of his phrasings.  Awaken the Guardian tends to get more run than Spectre, but I like Spectre a little better.  The opening track, Traveler in Time, is probably my favorite Arch era song, and The Apparition and Epitaph are also great.

Awaken the Guardian:  The line between Guardian and Spectre is slim, and you could really tell here that good things were coming.  Fata Morgana, Guardian, Giant's Lore and Exodus are the standout tracks.

Theories of Flight:  This album hasn't quite connected with me yet.  It's much more moody and atmospheric, like Disconnected and FWX.

Disconnected:  As mentioned above, only a few songs on this album and FWX have connected with me.  I like Pieces of Me and Still Remains.

FWX:  Another Perfect Day is a bit of an outlier on this album, but it's the only song that ever really connected for me.  Some of it has to do with what was going on in my life when this album was released.

Night on Brocken:  This album is very much analogous to Rush's debut.  Very derivative, raw and immature, but still showing signs of brilliance to come.  Damnation is the standout track.
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Offline Dublagent66

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1568 on: April 05, 2018, 11:24:28 AM »
APSOG:  Not just FW's best album, but a top 5 all time album

I've been a FW fan for nearly 30 years.  Not very difficult at all to agree with this.  :tup
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Offline Samsara

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1569 on: April 05, 2018, 12:46:46 PM »
Ranking FW is hard for me. Because while I appreciate the uniqueness of John Arch, I have to be in the mood to hear him sing, whereas I can put on Ray Alder at any time. John's distinct pitch takes some getting used to. So, I am only going to rank the Alder-era FW records.

1. Parallels - to this day, to my ear, the band's artistic pinnacle, molding their technical sound with a more mainstream, accessible vibe. Great songs, great performance, great production.

2. No Exit - I love how Ray goes for broke on his debut. There is so much passion, great technicality and just killer metal right here.

3. Theories of Flight - It is beyond me how a band, so many years down the road, can release an album so high in quality that encapsulates everything from their past, but still pushes forward. Ray sounds great, and very inspired, and the performances  are top notch. Love the production on this one too.

4. FWX - The songs here, with the exception of "River Wide, Ocean Deep," and the segue, Track #7, are really strong. The OSI influence on this record is present, but it is crossed with a more modern hard rock sound, and some of Parallels. Really dig it. A Handful of Doubt is such a powerful tune. Love the emotion.

After these four, it is a bit murky for me. For example, on Disconnected, One and Still Remains remain in my top-5 from FW, all time. But while I like the rest of the record, to my ears, none of the rest rise to the level of these two. APSOG is brilliant, but it isn't as accessible, and requires me to work at it a bit. I can't just put it on, and let it go. And that makes it tough to bring up in the rankings. Inside Out is good, but seems like a slightly darker, but not quite as good version of Parallels. A few really great songs though. Darkness in a Different Light has three of my favorite FW tracks in 1k Fires, Firefly (extended), and And Yet it Moves, but I think the album was hurt my decisions to not use Falling Further in the main track listing, along with the extended version of Firefly. Not a huge fan of Lighthouse or Kneel and Obey either.

Don't get me wrong, those albums in the paragraph I love - I enjoy them all, just nitpicking. But it varies where I would put them in a best-of list after the top-four in the Alder era.

For Arch, pretty simple: Guardian, Spectre, Night. They got better with each record, as expected...
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Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1570 on: April 06, 2018, 07:52:28 PM »
Did someone say rankings????


1. A Pleasant Shade of Gray - Just an amazing achievement.   And it was an even bigger shocker because I figured they were essentially done after Inside Out.  They just seemed like a broken band on that album.  The (relative) commercial failure of Parallels, the disappointment that followed, the record label issues, the delays in getting a new label and recording IO, the lack of promotion from said new label, and then Frank and Bones both leaving.   I was surprised Jim didn't hang it up right there and then.   But to come back with his magnum opus was amazing.    One of the greatest progressive rock albums in history.

2. Disconnected - Sometimes this fights for the #1 spot depending on my mood.   So much perfection here.  Oddly enough, the "fan favorites" are my "also rans".    Songs like One and Pieces of Me are cool and all, but seem like filler when they are put along side Still Remains and the criminally overlooked and underrated Something From Nothing.

3. Perfect Symmetry - I wish Jim would have continued to give Frank more writing time.   Frank's stuff is my favorite stuff from this album.  Static Acts and A World Apart are stand outs.    Again....to me...."singles" are not FW's strong suit.  Through Different Eyes is probably my least favorite from the album.   

4. Awaken the Guardian - I had bought Spectre when it was brand new. I loved the cover and I had heard The Apparition on a Metal Blade compilation.  But the album was a tough pill to swallow for a 16 yr old who wasn't used to quite that many time changes.  So I didn't make ATG a high priority when it first came out.  But then I started dating a girl a few months later who had a copy, and after I heard it....I practically stole it from her.    I can honestly say that THIS was the album that turned me from a passive fan to an OMG THESE GUYS ARE AMAZING fan.

5. Theories of Flight - This has climbed the chart pretty darn fast.  The Light and Shade of Things puts this album in the top 5 all by itself. 

6. No Exit - I was extremely skeptical when I found out John was gone.  I really loved him.  But I took a chance, and I wasn't sorry.   Silent Cries is better than most of their singles, and In a Word is a BLATANT "Sanitarium" rip off.   But all the rest of it is amazing.   Still never heard why Zimmerman left....hmmmm....but they definitely traded up.

7. The Spectre Within - Once I "got it" after hearing and absorbing ATG, I really appreciated this album a lot more.  Songs I liked at first haven't aged well (I'm looking at you Without a Trace) but songs I didn't care for at first are now my favorites (Pirates of the Underground and Epitaph)


8.  Parallels - Tough call between this and Spectre.  I'm just not as thrilled with this album as most people are.  Considering I had been a fan from all way back to Spectre....and the fact that all my heroes were selling out at the same time (this came out at roughly the same time as The Black Album and Empire) and my tastes were just getting heavier and heavier at the time.  (the early 90's is when I became so fed up with all my thrash metal bands wussing out that I turned to the newly evolving Tampa death metal scene)    This was just too commercial for my tastes.   Life in Still Water and The Eleventh Hour are amazing.  Eye to Eye, Point of View, and We Only Say Goodbye are a bit too radio friendly for me.   But it's a pretty good album.

9. FWX - Again....what is it with Jim's singles?   I just don't like it when I feel like he's trying to write "a single".   Simple Human, Another Perfect Day, and Stranger really bring this album down quite a bit.   I like it when Jim writes more "moody" stuff and gives the music time to breathe.   Left Here, River Wide Ocean Deep, and Crawl are my favorites.

10. Darkness in a Different Light - I'm actually very surprised that this ended up this low.  I guess it just speaks to the strength of their catalog.   In fact, as I'm sitting here typing this, I'm tempted to take back what I said earlier about putting it lower than FWX.   But I guess that, as much as I liked it when it came out, there just wasn't much there that kept me coming back.   Even the really good And Yet It Moves sounds like two different songs instead of one.   It sounds really good, but it just didn't hold up on repeated listens.

11. Inside Out - Parallels-lite....and Parallels was only ok to begin with.   Monument is excellent, but after hearing the live version a couple of times, the studio version feels like its balls have been chopped off.  The band photo says it all.   The band looks tired...and they sound tired.  Pale Fire and Island in the Stream are also worthy of mention.

12.  Night on Brocken - No contest here.  Though that's not saying it's bad.   For a young Iron Maiden wannabe, it's not too bad.  I still love Kiss of Death, Misfit, Damnation, and I was really happy they pulled out the title track for the reunion show.  I like that song...but there a really REALLY bad "sour note" that John hits at the end that just ruins it.  It's terribly off key and I can't believe they left it in.   He hits it properly in the new live version. 


EDIT - I had forgotten Inside Out. 
« Last Edit: April 06, 2018, 08:21:25 PM by jammindude »
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Offline jammindude

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1571 on: April 19, 2018, 02:22:06 PM »
OMG SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/InsideOutMusic/posts/10156381362435439

Progressive Metal pioneers Fates Warning are proud to announce the upcoming release of their new live album “Live Over Europe” on June 29th, 2018 via InsideOutMusic.

Gathered during the group’s most recent European headlining run for FATES WARNING’s much acclaimed latest studio album “Theories Of Flight” in January 2018, “Live Over Europe” includes recordings from 8 different cities (Aschaffenburg / Germany, Belgrade / Serbia, Thessaloniki and Athens / Greece, Rome and Milan / Italy, Budapest / Hungary as well as Ljubljana / Slovenia) and a total of 23 songs in over 138 minutes of playing time, spanning 30 years of the group’s seminal career.

“Live Over Europe” was mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Kreator, Symphony X) and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden and will be available as limited 2CD Mediabook, Gatefold 3LP + Bonus-2CD or as Digital Album.
Here is the complete track-listing for the release:
FATES WARNING – “Live Over Europe“

CD 1:
1. From the Rooftops
2. Life in Still Water
3. One
4. Pale Fire
5. Seven Stars
6. SOS
7. Pieces of Me
8. Firefly
9. The Light and Shade of Things
10. Wish
11. Another Perfect Day
12. Silent Cries
13. And Yet it Moves

CD 2:
1. Still Remains
2. Nothing Left to Say
3. Acquiescence
4. The Eleventh Hour
5. Point of View
6. Falling
7. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Pt. IX
8. Through Different Eyes
9. Monument
10. Eye to Eye
"Better the pride that resides in a citizen of the world.
Than the pride that divides when a colorful rag is unfurled." - Neil Peart

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Offline bosk1

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1572 on: April 19, 2018, 02:23:32 PM »
Automatic buy.
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Offline The Walrus

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Theories of Flight
« Reply #1573 on: April 19, 2018, 02:23:59 PM »
Color me interested  :hat
From a Mega Man Legends island jamming power metal to a Walrus listening to black metal, I like your story arc.
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would have thought the same thing but seeing the OP was TAC i immediately thought Maiden or DT related
Winger Theater Forums........or WTF.  ;D
TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now? :lol