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Offline bosk1

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #875 on: June 09, 2016, 09:18:43 AM »
Great review!  (although the first sentence made me cringe; if people don't know what the term "progressive" means in the context of music, they really should not use it)  I am excited about this one too.
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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #876 on: June 09, 2016, 09:36:05 AM »
Great review!  (although the first sentence made me cringe; if people don't know what the term "progressive" means in the context of music, they really should not use it)  I am excited about this one too.

What did you think of the released song, "From the Rooftops?" :metal
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Offline bosk1

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #877 on: June 09, 2016, 09:42:00 AM »
Liked it a lot.  That is why I am excited (reviews don't really do it for me, since pre-release reviews tend to be overwhelmingly positive in their attempt to promote the album).
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #878 on: June 09, 2016, 01:47:17 PM »
Just listening to From The Rooftops. Not for the first time but it usually take me some time to like something. It is absolutely stunning :hefdaddy
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Offline Cyclopssss

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #879 on: June 10, 2016, 01:52:28 AM »
Ordered this bad boy.  2 disc edition.  :metal
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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #880 on: June 10, 2016, 08:45:54 AM »
Ordered this bad boy.  2 disc edition.  :metal

Did the same a couple days ago on Amazon. :metal

Just hoping that Amazon's AutoRip will end up applying for the album. :lol It did for DiaDL when I got that in 2013, but the US territory Amazon site sadly doesn't let you know if AutoRips will apply for pre-ordered albums. :\

Liked it a lot.  That is why I am excited (reviews don't really do it for me, since pre-release reviews tend to be overwhelmingly positive in their attempt to promote the album).

A fair point.

Just listening to From The Rooftops. Not for the first time but it usually take me some time to like something. It is absolutely stunning :hefdaddy

Indeed, it is! I especially love Ray's performance on the track! :metal :hefdaddy
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Offline Evermind

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #881 on: June 10, 2016, 09:19:26 AM »
I would be surprised if "White Flag" is not used in some promotional capacity. There is so much to love about this album, but as far as non-epic Fates Warning tracks are concerned, this could frankly be one of the best in several albums, and it's very catchy. All that said, there are probably 2 other tracks I could pretty much say the same thing about.

I'm betting "Seven Stars" will be the first official single off the album, since that's the track they decided to do an acoustic version of on the second disk of the album. Not to mention that its chorus sounded really catchy in the album samples video from before. But "White Flag" could also make sense, based on your comments. Maybe it'll be the "I Am" of this album and be the second single they release?

I've heard elsewhere that either "White Flag" or "Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen" gets kinda Symphony X-ish at times. Is that true? I'm guessing whichever track that is is the one with Mike Abdow's solo. :biggrin:

Yeah, Mike Abdow did a solo on White Flag.
This first band is Soen very cool swingy jazz fusion kinda stuff.

Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #882 on: June 10, 2016, 09:02:57 PM »
Yeah, Mike Abdow did a solo on White Flag.

Called it! :biggrin: So you've heard the album then? Any short impressions of it that you can give us? :D
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Offline Evermind

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #883 on: June 11, 2016, 04:40:49 AM »
Yeah, Mike Abdow did a solo on White Flag.

Called it! :biggrin: So you've heard the album then? Any short impressions of it that you can give us? :D

Listened to it two times as of now, and I think this could be my album of the year so far (I haven't heard Haken's Affinity yet). Best album FW has done in a while, and incredibly strong overall. This is one of those albums I instantly wanted to spin again after my first listen. Darkness in a Different Light was quite good IMO, but this album is on another level.

Ray Alder is one of my favourite voices in metal right now - I'm discovering Redemption these days thanks to Tomislav who sent them in my roulette, so I may be a bit biased - but damn he shines on this album. The record has a nice balance between quite parts and aggressive ones, and even when it's really aggressive and heavy and relentless, it manages to stay catchy and exciting (White Flag). My favourite song is the first album's epic, The Light and Shade of Things, it's just fantastic. Other highlights are aforementioned White Flag - as Nick said, this is probably the best choice for their next single - and of course, From the Rooftops which you guys have already heard. Great opener for the album. My least favourite actual song from the album (not counting the instrumental title track serving as an outro) is the second epic, The Ghosts of Home. I wouldn't even call it an epic, it takes a whole minute for the actual music to start (think the news broadcasts in Sacrificed Sons), then it spends another music on sugary intro I really dislike, and while the song itself isn't bad or anything, when I have The Light and Shade of Things on the same album, which has approximately the same length, I can't help but compare those two, and well, The Light wins big time.

I don't remember all of the details right now after only two listens, but I expect this album will stay in my rotation for a while. My first impression is that I like it better than other metal releases I've heard in 2016, like Headspace, Primal Fear, DT and Avantasia.
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Offline jjrock88

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #884 on: June 11, 2016, 06:27:14 AM »
I'm liking the sounds of all of this positive feedback.

Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #885 on: June 11, 2016, 06:51:18 AM »
Listened to it two times as of now, and I think this could be my album of the year so far (I haven't heard Haken's Affinity yet). Best album FW has done in a while, and incredibly strong overall. This is one of those albums I instantly wanted to spin again after my first listen. Darkness in a Different Light was quite good IMO, but this album is on another level.

Ray Alder is one of my favourite voices in metal right now - I'm discovering Redemption these days thanks to Tomislav who sent them in my roulette, so I may be a bit biased - but damn he shines on this album. The record has a nice balance between quite parts and aggressive ones, and even when it's really aggressive and heavy and relentless, it manages to stay catchy and exciting (White Flag). My favourite song is the first album's epic, The Light and Shade of Things, it's just fantastic. Other highlights are aforementioned White Flag - as Nick said, this is probably the best choice for their next single - and of course, From the Rooftops which you guys have already heard. Great opener for the album. My least favourite actual song from the album (not counting the instrumental title track serving as an outro) is the second epic, The Ghosts of Home. I wouldn't even call it an epic, it takes a whole minute for the actual music to start (think the news broadcasts in Sacrificed Sons), then it spends another music on sugary intro I really dislike, and while the song itself isn't bad or anything, when I have The Light and Shade of Things on the same album, which has approximately the same length, I can't help but compare those two, and well, The Light wins big time.

I don't remember all of the details right now after only two listens, but I expect this album will stay in my rotation for a while. My first impression is that I like it better than other metal releases I've heard in 2016, like Headspace, Primal Fear, DT and Avantasia.

Sounds like Ray really delivered on this album! :metal I'm assuming he doesn't throw in any high notes, right? I know he said in the press release that he and Jim deliberately chose to mix things up a bit with their approach to the vocals for the album. More aggressive sounding?

Also, I'm eager as hell to hear White Flag now (I really hope Mike Abdow gets to contribute more to Fates in future albums from here on out) and am also curious to see how my opinions on The Light and Shade of Things versus The Ghosts of Home compare and contrast to yours.
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Offline ?

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #886 on: June 12, 2016, 01:41:38 PM »
I've heard the album once and absolutely loved it! To me it sounds like a mix of pretty much all the Ray-era stuff without feeling like a rehash. It's a logical follow-up to DIADL, but the songs are a lot catchier - I think this album captures that Parallels spirit that Ray was talking about in interviews before DIADL. Obviously it needs more listens, but I can already see TOF becoming part of my "big 4" of Fates albums alongside Parallels, APSOG and Disconnected.

Offline Dr. DTVT

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #887 on: June 12, 2016, 06:29:13 PM »
The Light and Shade of Things is awesome, and is going to be on most people's short list for best Fates song.  It's that good.
     

Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #888 on: June 13, 2016, 01:48:27 PM »
The Light and Shade of Things is awesome, and is going to be on most people's short list for best Fates song.  It's that good.

Yeah, some German review for the album called the song "the best thing the band's done since The Eleventh Hour." High praise indeed. I'm very curious to hear the full thing, since what little I heard of the chorus in the album samples video didn't impress me all that much. Hoping there's more to it than that and it sounds like there definitely is.
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Offline Evermind

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #889 on: June 13, 2016, 01:54:31 PM »
I haven't heard the samples but the second half of the chorus starting with "You're nowhere no-o-o-ow" is my favourite part of the album hands down. And the quiet parts are bloody amazing on this song too.
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Offline Tomislav95

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #890 on: June 13, 2016, 01:58:23 PM »
I think I'm officially hyped for this new album :corn
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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #891 on: June 13, 2016, 02:21:53 PM »
I haven't heard the samples but the second half of the chorus starting with "You're nowhere no-o-o-ow" is my favourite part of the album hands down. And the quiet parts are bloody amazing on this song too.

That sounds great! Definitely looking forward to it then. :metal

The part of the chorus that's in the sample is that Ozzy-era Black Sabbath sounding bit with "The Light and Shade of Things, The Light You Held Is Gone!"

I'm also guessing that the bit linked below is one of the verses for TLaSoT too.
https://youtu.be/q1O7W9PKMEE?t=91
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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #892 on: June 13, 2016, 04:57:43 PM »
What a tease...they cut that song before the awesome parts.
     

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #893 on: June 17, 2016, 09:39:04 AM »
JRundquist aka That Drummer Guy interviewed Bobby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA-RA7gku4c

Offline Mebert78

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #894 on: June 17, 2016, 10:18:19 AM »
JRundquist aka That Drummer Guy interviewed Bobby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA-RA7gku4c

Nice interview!  Bobby is so chill.
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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #895 on: June 17, 2016, 07:59:08 PM »
A bunch of reviews for the album have been coming out lately and they're all pretty great! :metal Here's some samples of the big ones I've found so far! :metal :hefdaddy

Quote
... By contrast, ‘The Light And Shade Of Things’ is one of two compositions that top the 10-minute mark. It begins quietly, taking its time to deliberately build the tension and increase the atmospherics. The lead guitar embellishments are sparingly used but have a vaguely bluesy feel to them when they appear. And then the gentle opening is forgotten as, like a tsunami, heavy riffs, blistering drumming and almost confrontational vocals threaten to knock you off your feet. It might not be as fast-paced as other songs, but what it lacks in speed, it makes up for in intensity and a more pronounced exploration of light and shade. A gorgeous lead guitar solo follows on from a short acoustic-led interlude and the whole thing is rounded out by an addictive, sprawling chorus that shows Alder at his absolute best, deploying his excellent range to dispel any concerns that the high notes can no longer be reached...

The Score Of Much Metal: 9.25
https://manofmuchmetal.wordpress.com/2016/06/16/fates-warning-theories-of-flight-album-review/

Quote
... ‘Theories of Flight’ is undoubtedly going to be on the Top 10 lists of many listeners and reviewers at the year’s end. Fates Warning has delivered a nearly flawless piece of high art, and if you’re a serious listener and fan of artistically made metal this album needs to be heard...

Score: 9.0
https://www.metalwani.com/2016/06/review-fates-warning-theories-of-flight.html

Quote
... Speaking of great lyrics, the album is not a concept album, but contains themes centered on imminent changes in life.  Ray wrote most of the lyrics for the album, and they concern changes that he has chosen for the future.  The title “Theories of Flight”, then, is equal parts anxious and searching, uplifting and hopeful; unlike the straight sorrow of past albums.  One of my favorite things about “Theories of Flight” is the return of the “drone” sound from “Disconnected”.  The new album has many spacey portions that feature a warm drone that feels hopeful and cultivates your spirit.  I love it.  In fact, the whole final track is one instrumental song of warm pulses and waning drones.  So, rather than the grey anxiety of past albums, “Theories of Flight” is all about looking to the skies for your life destination...

... So, I really like “Theories of Flight”.  The songs have a proggier feeling than last time, as the structures are especially eschewed.  “From the Rooftops” features this style, but pretty much all of them do, too.  Many of the songs on “Darkness in a Different Light” were rather straightforward.  My favorite tracks, however, are the longer, more atmospheric ones, like “Seven Stars” (killer chorus) and “Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen” (great guitar licks).  My absolute favorite, and one of my favorite tracks this year, is “The Light and Shade of Things”.  This track really represents the whole album, as it features everything from amazing drumming and guitar work to Ray’s awesome voice to a longer, differentiated song structure that it is wreathed in grey and hope.

“Theories of Flight” might not be the best Fates Warning album yet, but it reminds me of my favorite from them, “Disconnected”.  It is an album that reflects our life journey; the ups and downs, the unknowns and triumphs, the light and the darkness.  Mostly, however, it conveys warm feelings of hope, all while giving us that signature Fates Warning sound in a proggier package.

Score: 8.5
https://theprogmind.com/2016/06/16/fates-warning-theories-of-flight/

And here's one last review I found from a Greek reviewer and translated via Google Translator... :rollin

Quote
In theory the new album of Fates Warning could be treated with a certain distrust. The "Darkness In A Different Light" was the first moderate album of the band (always speaking based on its own data and modern history), finding the Ray Alder sound more tired than ever. If, indeed, telling someone that Matheos and his friends chose to "build" upon their more metallic sound, perhaps enough to driven in preterm wrong conclusions. Theories to throw away so ...

Because in practice the "Theories Of Flight" is excellent and probably the best album of Fates for fifteen years. It seems to continue from where it left off the "Disconnected" and to my ears exceeds as a whole beautiful "FWX", although this probably is the acoustic angle at which approximates each album the individual listener, because it is a different job.

Initially, it is obvious that we live «Jarzombeck era" of the complex. As once the jazz playing of Mark Zonder has characterized the sound of the band and gave a special color to the music, so the metal (and outrageously good) playing Bobby seems to be what leads to harder trails, parasernontas the Jim Matheos to enlist some of the most metal of riffs. As a result, we have more heavy album of contemporary history of Fates Warning, which would not be an exaggeration to say that at times reminiscent of the (epic) "Sympathetic Resonance" of Arch / Matheos.

Starting with the introduction of calm "From The Rooftops" gives a misleading impression as to the sound of the disc direction, but possible riff comes after two minutes putting things in their true dimension. But aggressive yet melodic, with a Ray Alder shining from the first notes of the opening song of the album is staggering and is like an early restoration of faith across the band.

Then comes the potential chitaki "Seven Stars", one of the best and most catchy compositions written by band for years, especially because of the vocal lines of Alder, while in the same vein - although clearly less impressive - is the equally short and heavy "SOS", to come first lengthy composition of the album with the 10 minute "the Light and Shade of Things", which looks like a natural extension of the "Disconnected" sound, with calm introduction, variations in intensity and another excellent vocal line in the chorus.

The completely metal "White Flag", the dual guitar attack is one of the compositions stand out, both for music force that sees, but mainly for their inspiring lyrics Alder, while "Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen" not stand but is still a nice addition to the album.

Just before closing, is the second 10-minute composition, "The Ghosts Of Home", which is the only song that fully edited by Jim Matheos and is the most adventurous composition of the album, with metallized Rushoeides, basic riff and many changes before the eponymous composition ideally completed both the "Ghosts of Home" and the album as a whole. It is an amazing instrumental composition overflowing with lyricism and prog mentality, recalling the always restless synthetic spirit of this band and the level of musicians who compose it.

There are three elements that I think make the "Theories Of Flight" so special. The first is consistency, as the band built on the sound of the previous album, managing to sound much more convincing and effective. The second is that all compositions without exception (except the homonymous obviously) were extremely inspiring vocal lines and the third performance of anagenimmenou Ray Alder, who is the great protagonist of the album.

Sure, there are some asterisks to be highlighted. Specifically, lyricism always an important component of the music of Fates is clearly limited by the more heavy direction have been taken, the - unique introspective - lyrics Matheos conspicuous by their absence, while the absence of Frank Aresti is noticeable, as only appears to play two solos. In reality, however important they may seem the above factors for friends band, the "Theories Of Flight" is so well made and so inspired that eventually no one reduces its value.

Any theories go strolling and Fates Warning returning to high flights.
https://www.rocking.gr/reviews/album/Fates-Warning-Theories-Of-Flight/6727
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Offline jjrock88

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #896 on: June 18, 2016, 12:03:35 AM »
This is sounding like a major album of the year contender!

Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #897 on: June 18, 2016, 08:34:14 PM »
This is sounding like a major album of the year contender!

Mhmm! :tup It also got a review from LadyObscure's website!

Quote
Upon receiving the promo copy of the 12th studio album from progressive metal pioneers Fates Warning, I was faced with a dilemma. What does one write about when trying to describe a legendary band that blazed a trail for every band that followed them? Do I start from the very beginning when the band hailing from Hartford, Connecticut burst upon an unsuspecting metal world with Night on Bröcken, performing their unique brand of Iron Maiden/Black Sabbath inspired technical heavy metal with original vocalist John Arch or how the band reinvented themselves on 1988’s thrashier and heavier No Exit with new singer Ray Alder? Since that time and numerous line up changes, the band continues to defy trends, re-invent and re-invigorate their sound with incredibly inspired masterpieces such as Perfect Symmetry, Parallels, A Pleasant Shade of Grey, and now their latest opus, Theories of Flight.

Admittedly, I was not a huge fan of their last studio offering Darkness In A Different Light. Not that it was a band album by any means, the songs simply didn’t resonate with me and stick with me over repeated listens. This is not the case with Thories In Flight. From the first listen I was drawn in by the atmospheric melancholy intro to From The Rooftops which at the two minute mark transforms into a maelstrom of heavy riffs, a technical barrage of drum work by longtime drummer Bobby Jarzombek, a blistering guest guitar solo from sometimes Fates member Frank Aresti, and a huge catchy chorus that ranks up their with Fates Warning’s best work.

Speaking of catchy choruses and memorable hooks, the next track, Seven Stars is simply a stunning piece that rivals anything on the Parallels album, which is arguably the benchmark for the bands most melodic and most commercially successful period. From start to finish, Seven Stars is a perfect Fates Warning song; a blend of melody, hooks, heaviness, and a soaring, memorable chorus that will stick with you long after the song is over, just begging for another spin.

The next track titled SOS is another intense and immediate heavy yet hook-laden song with an amazing vocal from Ray Alder, whose voice sounds better than it has in years, using his powerful mid-range and talent for finding the perfect vocal melody to capture the vibe of the song and make it his own. When Alder sings the line Sink or Swim during the chorus you feel every word deep in the recesses of your heart and soul.

The Light And Shade of Things is classic Alder-era atmospheric, melancholy, brilliantly performed progressive metal with an intensity and ferocity and passion in Alder’s vocal delivery. Every word that is being sung feels as if its being ripped from the depths of Alder’s very soul. The chorus is huge, emotional, and soaring into the stratosphere. The breakdown mid-song harkens back to the Parallels album, reminiscent of The Road Goes On Forever.

White Flag is a heavier prog metal burner with a great riff and driving rhythm and Aresti once again lends a brilliant shredding guest solo to the proceedings, which fits the songs intensity and power perfectly. Newest touring member Mike Abdow also adds a creative and impressive solo as well.

Alder once again shines on Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen, singing with passion and intense emotion to convey the songs message as well as the overall theme of the album, which deals with upcoming change — deliberate choices to take a different direction in life, a large part of the album’s overarching themes of transience, disconnection and the search for solid ground. Alder’s lyrics and emotive vocals are beautiful, self-reflection, asking the listener to trust their memories, to hold onto them even as we forge into future unknowns. This songs subject matter as well as the overall lyrical concept hit me especially hard due to current things going on in my personal life and made me really take a deep look at my own inner self, my emotions, and my own sense of being.

Matheos’ lone lyric wrting credit is on the albums magnum opus, the ten minute-plus Ghosts of Home, deals with, as Matheos describes in the albums promotional sheet, “The Ghosts Of Home is me reflecting on how moving frequently as a child — eight times in the first nine years of school — affected and shaped my personality, something I’ve only recently been digging in to. It also references me revisiting a lot of those places as an adult.” The lyrics convey a cathartic release of very personal emotions for the usually reserved Matheos, the quiet yet masterful songwriter. The amazing thing is that no matter how many years go by and how many albums/songs that Matheos writes and records, he still never fails to impress and provide awestruck amazement at his ability to draw emotional responses from the Fates Warning faithful, which as an artist, that would be incredibly rewarding to make the lister feel like they are part of your journey.

The albums final song, the instrumental title track brings the album full circle with an atmospheric textural feel, summing up the albums overall message, talking about various uprootings, escapes…flights, how life is always changing, giving us new experiences, good and bad, and how we deal with these changes, how they affect us, change us, and how we evolve with change. With Theories of Flight, Fates Warning has once again outdone themselves, creating an album that stands tall alongside their best work, as well as proviing to their peers and newer bands who have taken inspiration in their work that this band has much more to say and has plenty left in the tank! If you have ever been a fan of Fates Warning, I urge you to pick up Theories of Flight. You can thank me later!

Rating: 5 stars
https://ladyobscure.com/albums/fates-warning-theories-of-flight/
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Offline jjrock88

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #898 on: June 20, 2016, 03:13:27 AM »
I would have been content with a decent Fates Warning album.

But I will gladly take a five star album of the year contender instead!

Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #899 on: June 22, 2016, 03:34:39 AM »
I would have been content with a decent Fates Warning album.

But I will gladly take a five star album of the year contender instead!

After having listened to this album several times now... We may have just gotten the Fates Warning album. No joking here. It's a top contender imo. Very catchy like Parallels, but it's also a lot heavier and proggier too- Even more so than the Arch/Matheos album was. Any of the "weaker" songs on this album would have been considered a top highlight on DiaDL, I think. This album is really freaking consistent.

Also the hype for The Light and Shade of Things is real; it's definitely going to be on most people's shortlist for Best Fates Song Ever. I'm very tempted to give it that title already myself. Been listening to that one over and over for the past several hours. It reminds me a lot of A Pleasant Shade of Gray, especially the quieter parts.

And yeah, the band and label will be shooting themselves in the foot if they don't put out White Flag as the next single. I love Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen just as much, but WF is more suited to be a single and make a music video out of, I think.

I'll need to listen to Ghosts of Home a few more times to really wrap around my thoughts on that one- it isn't as good as The Light, but like I said earlier, it would have been a huge highlight on DiaDL, I think. Moreover the subject matter for that song resonates really deeply with me, having been someone who grew up in a military family and moved all around all throughout my childhood, adolescence and young adult life. Both Ghosts and the instrumental title track reminds me a lot of Disconnected. Very Floydian and I think Kevin Moore rubbed off on Jim for that ditty; plenty of soundscapes that weave alongside Jim's guitar work.

Actually, I'll say this much more on Ghosts of Home: It's like if Still Remains and Stained Glass Sky conceived a baby while listening to Porcupine Tree. The only reason I think it might be seen as a letdown by some folks is because it's got the misfortune of being the "other" epic on the same Fates Warning album that has The Light and Shade of Things.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2016, 03:40:21 AM by Mister Gold »
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Offline Prog Snob

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #900 on: June 22, 2016, 05:27:45 AM »
This is so good so far. I'm reminded mostly of APSOG, but also Parallels and Inside Out.

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #901 on: June 22, 2016, 05:36:25 AM »
My initial impression (need more listens as half the album is not as "immediate" as the other and requires time to grow) is that the album is top tier but won't be touching Parallels in my ratings.  Aside from that I will reserve judgement.   Certainly the most interested I have been in a FW album since the 90's  :metal
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Offline Mister Gold

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #902 on: June 22, 2016, 05:43:23 AM »
This is so good so far. I'm reminded mostly of APSOG, but also Parallels and Inside Out.

Yup, but it also reminds me a lot of Arch/Matheos too.

Also Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen has to be the heaviest song in Fates Warning history. Reminds me a lot of Nevermore! :hefdaddy :metal

My initial impression (need more listens as half the album is not as "immediate" as the other and requires time to grow) is that the album is top tier but won't be touching Parallels in my ratings.  Aside from that I will reserve judgement.   Certainly the most interested I have been in a FW album since the 90's  :metal

It's definitely a tough call between Fates' best albums imo. I've really come to appreciate Parallels a lot more lately than I used to, but Theories definitely appeals more to my personal tastes.
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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #903 on: June 22, 2016, 07:36:34 AM »
Yeah this is a really strong album - leagues ahead of the last one. Hard to say how it'll rank eventually, but from a first listen it's definitely up there among their best.

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #904 on: June 22, 2016, 09:02:37 AM »
Agreed. It'll probably wind up after Parallels and APSOG for me. After the first listen, I feel it has potential to surpass Inside Out in my list and become a Top 3 album.

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #905 on: June 22, 2016, 09:07:47 AM »
Yeah this is a really strong album - leagues ahead of the last one. Hard to say how it'll rank eventually, but from a first listen it's definitely up there among their best.
Wow.  The last one is my favorite Fates album, so that is high praise indeed.  Can't wait to check it out.
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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #906 on: June 22, 2016, 09:10:58 AM »
Yeah this is a really strong album - leagues ahead of the last one. Hard to say how it'll rank eventually, but from a first listen it's definitely up there among their best.
Wow.  The last one is my favorite Fates album, so that is high praise indeed.  Can't wait to check it out.
Ok, well I was only going by my own opinions, but I found the last album solid enough but weaker. For reference, may favourites of their albums are (in chronological order) APSOG, Disconnected and FWX.

Although I'm finding the new album in some ways less experimental than those ones were (which is part of why I like them so much), it's very strong melodically, and superbly produced. I can sort of see why some are comparing it to the Arch/Matheos album, though I think this could be even better.

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #907 on: June 22, 2016, 09:20:58 AM »
Yeah this is a really strong album - leagues ahead of the last one. Hard to say how it'll rank eventually, but from a first listen it's definitely up there among their best.
Wow.  The last one is my favorite Fates album, so that is high praise indeed.  Can't wait to check it out.
Ok, well I was only going by my own opinions, but I found the last album solid enough but weaker. For reference, may favourites of their albums are (in chronological order) APSOG, Disconnected and FWX.

Although I'm finding the new album in some ways less experimental than those ones were (which is part of why I like them so much), it's very strong melodically, and superbly produced. I can sort of see why some are comparing it to the Arch/Matheos album, though I think this could be even better.

No, no.  Fair enough.  I'm not really much of a Fates Warning guy.  As I have said in the past, they are one of those bands where, "on paper," I should love them.  But they have never really done anything for me for some reason.  I like the last album a lot, liked X a lot, but didn't really like any of their prior albums much at all, with the possible exception of Parallels, which I would say is "okay."  So my ranking would be:
1.  Darkness In a Different Light
2.  X
3.  Parallels
...everything else

But I loved Arch/Matheos.  It was a contender for album of the year, and I still love to spin it. 
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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #908 on: June 22, 2016, 09:28:12 AM »
Yeah I'm really similar with FW. Like you, they're the kind of band I should like on paper, but I only really dig about half their albums (at most), and the rest, while usually solid, I'm pretty lukewarm towards (which includes Darkness).

Based on what you just said (including your love of Arch/Matheos), I expect you to like this one. It really is very strong. I now feel silly for not rushing to download the promo when it came through - someone else was writing the review for this one, and I was lukewarm on Darkness, so didn't feel there was any urgency.

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Re: The Official Fates Warning thread v. Darkness in a Different Light
« Reply #909 on: June 22, 2016, 10:52:11 AM »
Sounds like FW was really close to doing a few shows playing APSOG in its entirety with Kevin Moore to celebrate its reissue last year.  Totally sucks that it didn't happen.  Argh!!

Link: https://staticagemag.com/post/ray-alder-from-fates-warning

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