To Parallels' credit, I think it's a better Empire than Empire is.
I don't really understand what this means.
That's me being me. I'm not much of a fan of Empire, save for Anybody Listening? (which is probably the band's best song). As far as a more "commercialized effort" from a band that sounds like a cross between Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd goes, I'd say Parallels is the one that catches my ear more.
But
that is purely my opinion. Feel free to disagree with me on that one, as I'd wager most folks out there do.
The only reason it isn't as frequently considered to be in the same tier of albums as Empire is because of the unfortunate luck Fates Warning had with timing (it came out like a month after Nevermind did, I think).
No, the reason it isn't as frequently considered to be in the same tier of albums is because most don't consider it to be as strong an album as Empire. Timing has nothing to do with it.
Not to mention the fact that, by your logic, Images & Words should not be highly regarded either, since it came out after Facelift, Apple, Nevermind, Ten, Badmotorfinger, Temple of the Dog, etc. But that clearly is not the case. It is highly regarded despite coming out in the middle of the "grunge craze" because it is a strong, dare I say "genre defining," album.
I think someone described I&W's success timing-wise over Parallels pretty well over at the Breakdown Room: By the time I&W came out, the grunge movement had already established itself and people knew whether they liked it or not. Parallels came out just as the movement was getting its first kicks and was "the hot new thing."
Moreover, I've also heard something to the effect that Metal Blade Records dropped pretty much all financial backing for Fates Warning while they were in the middle of supporting of Parallels to instead support some other band that ended up exploding in popularity briefly instead. So I'd argue that there's also a business factor that comes into play here too.
Now, to be perfectly fair and upfront, I wasn't even
born yet when either albums were released (1993, yo). So this is all coming from someone who wasn't there to witness the whole thing firsthand... but from as far as
I can tell, there
are other factors going on with the success stories for Queensryche and Dream Theater over Fates Warning than merely their "genre defining" albums and that comes down to the business end of the spectrum.
And, as TAC already pointed out earlier, the band made the big mistake of being slower with their album releases from 2000 onward. It took them four years to follow up on Disconnected with FWX and then another nine years to put out Darkness in a Different Light. While I doubt the band would have ever gotten the sort of success that QR or DT did back in the late 80's/early 90's from that timeframe, I think the band could have jumped up a bit in the name recognition.
Hell, an argument could be made that the band was too slow to follow up on Parallels. It took them three years to get back on the saddle and make Inside Out and then another three years for A Pleasant Shade of Grey and the same for Disconnected.
Bosk, I would think that Parallels would be right up your alley.
I've actually never cared for X. I remember creating a thread where I forced myself to do a review of it. Not sure if it was here or on Samsara's site. I think it was there. I gained an appreciation for it, but it's still my least favorite.
While Perfect Symmetry maybe their most technical album pre APSOG, I&W really took off as it appealed to musicians. Dream Theater became a "musician's" band and really gave them a strong foothold within that community. And I think that was really what propelled Dream Theater in those early days. The thing about it was even if it was technical, it was still accessible.
Perfect Symmetry, while technical, isn't as accessible. Parallels, while accessible, isn't as technical. As Images & Words, that is.
While I rank Perfect Symmetry over pretty much every DT album, save for maybe Awake, I'd agree that it's not as accessible as I&W. You bring up a good point on the balance I&W has over both PS and Parallels in that it's both catchy
and technical.
Still, I maintain that Fates Warning probably had a business problem that factored into their lack of commercial success when compared to QR and DT.