Bump...
I first got into Fates Warning after hearing something on MTV about "other bands you might like if you like Queensryche." I bought No Exit and was completely blown away -- especially by the Ivory Gate of Dreams, which reminded me so much of 2112 and Hemispheres (conceptually at least) if they had been performed by Iron Maiden. I learned only recently that it's based on a literary device from Homer's Odyssey (gates of horn and ivory).
I can't remember if I bought Brocken, Spectre and Guardian before or after Perfect Symmetry came out. I think I only bought Brocken after hearing "Damnation" live. The studio track paled in comparison, and I never got into the album, feeling like it was a poor excuse for an Iron Maiden copycat. Spectre and Guardian are HUGE improvements over Brocken, with some truly great songs: Traveler in Time, The Apparition, Epitaph, Fata Morgana, Guardian, Giant's Lore and Exodus. However, I will never enjoy the Arch material as much as the Alder material. Arch's singing style is just strange. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with strange, but he seems too often to try and cram twice as many words into a space as he reasonably should. I've also never heard any live material in which he wasn't horribly out of tune.
Perfect Symmetry is one of the ultimate prog metal masterpieces. Parallels and Inside Out are obviously more commercial, but they're both so well done (I know Inside Out doesn't get nearly as much love as Parallels, and it's a step down, but it has so very many strong moments). APSOG was so unexpected, but it's such an amazing record. When I decide to listen to it, I tend to listen to it a half dozen or more times in a row before moving onto something else. Disconnected and FWX have never clicked with me, but each has one or two really strong songs. Darkness in a Different Light was another unexpected gem -- especially I Am, Into the Black and And Yet It Moves. Theories of Flight still hasn't clicked with me, but I haven't given it enough listens yet, so I'm reserving judgment.
One of the highlights of my concert-going life was seeing the Parallels version of the band in 2010 for the Parallels anniversary mini-tour. Such an amazing and underrated band.
By the way, my interpretation of the quote about Aresti only playing solos since Perfect Symmetry is that, on the songs Jim wrote, he played all the guitars (except for Frank's solos) and, on the songs that Frank wrote, Frank played all the guitars (except for Jim's solos). So...on Static Acts, A World Apart and The Arena, that's all Frank (unless Jim has solos on those songs). Frank didn't have any writing credits on Parallels and Inside Out, so I assume his only playing on those records is is solos (with a special nod to both solos on Monument).