Official top 50 Fates Warning countdown thread!! - #1 Song Revealed!

[jammindude]

Haven’t even started my list yet, but I’m thinking my top 50 would have to include

Damnation
Traveler in Time
Pirates of the Underground
Apparition
Epitaph
Valley of the Dolls
Guardian
Prelude to Ruin
Giant’s Lore

….at the very least. If these aren’t anywhere on my first try, I’d probably have a do over.

But no Buried Alive?🤔

I’d put Kiss of Death over Buried Alive.

[Samsara]

Yeah, there really isn't one Arch thing I like that would surpass a top-50 Alder Fates list. So it won't matter.

Not even Guardian?   That song took on a whole new meaning for me after reading the book.  Heavy yet beautiful at the same time.

Guardian might, yeah.

[Awaken]

Like at least a few others here, this thread has got me digging back into Fate's old stuff and I really need to make a point to listen to this stuff more often.  Awaken the Guardian takes me back to high school, to the point of remembering the autumn air and people I haven't thought about in some time.  Just a great weekend ahead working through the entire catalog!

[wolfking]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

[TAC]

I'm actually the most unfamiliar with their last three albums.

[nick_z]

I'm actually the most unfamiliar with their last three albums.

You should revisit Theories of Flight ASAP!  It's fantastic - the very definition of late-career highlight, for me.

[TAC]

Of the three, that's the one I listened to the most when it came out. I actually played it at work today, but I didn't really get a good listen in.

I already hit LDGN tonight and I actually have DIADL on right now.

[Zoom E]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

[jammindude]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

If the preparation for this countdown accomplishes a lot more of this, I will be extremely pleased.

[TAC]

I think we'll be lucky to get an Arch song into the Top 20.

[WardySI]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

Same. While appreciate the love for Awaken The Guardian, revisiting The Spectre Within again recently reminded me why it's my favourite of the Arch era🤘

[wolfking]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

[WardySI]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

Yep and you're not alone, Alder era is my Fates absolutely.

Let me say though if you work with it and a melody or two do catch on, they're VERY hard to let go of 😂

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Aresti's solo at the beginning of Guardian is world class.

That whole album is a masterpiece! Spectre Within isn't far behind either.

All the hate in this thread for the Arch era is a little saddening. It's quite Astonishing one might say.....       OK, I'll see myself out now.

I listened to the Spectre Within today for the first time in 30 years, as I only own it on cassette and I haven't owned a cassette player in decades.

It was like listening to it for the first time, as I had no memory of any of the songs. I may actually now include some Arch-era songs on my list. Some good stuff there.

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

For me, I don't think Awkward is the right word. I'd say unconventional. I also love his voice, so I'm biased.

[pg1067]

Haven’t even started my list yet, but I’m thinking my top 50 would have to include

Damnation
Traveler in Time
Pirates of the Underground
Apparition
Epitaph
Valley of the Dolls
Guardian
Prelude to Ruin
Giant’s Lore

….at the very least. If these aren’t anywhere on my first try, I’d probably have a do over.

Nothing's final for me yet either, but I'm thinking 5 of those will for sure make my top 50.  My guess is that I'll have (at least) 3 from ATG, 2 from Spectre and one from NOB.

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

I don't disagree with this.  He seemed to have written about 50% more words than the space called for, and it certainly prevents a lot of his songs from being among my favorites.  That said, there are some real gems in there.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Long Day Good Night is sounding way better than I remember. This is the first time I've listened to it in over a year. Huh....

[wolfking]

Long Day Good Night is sounding way better than I remember. This is the first time I've listened to it in over a year. Huh....

It's fabulous.  Stuck with me right away.

[TAC]

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

For me, I don't think Awkward is the right word. I'd say unconventional. I also love his voice, so I'm biased.

What's the difference between awkward and unconventional?

[wolfking]

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

For me, I don't think Awkward is the right word. I'd say unconventional. I also love his voice, so I'm biased.

What's the difference between awkward and unconventional?

Let's just say both! 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

For me, I don't think Awkward is the right word. I'd say unconventional. I also love his voice, so I'm biased.

What's the difference between awkward and unconventional?

Unconventional would be more like outside the norm. Or different than expected. Awkward is more like forced or uncomfortable

[TAC]

I've always found Arch songs hard to latch onto.  His voice produces awkward melodies that aren't very memorable.

For me, I don't think Awkward is the right word. I'd say unconventional. I also love his voice, so I'm biased.

What's the difference between awkward and unconventional?

Unconventional would be more like outside the norm. Or different than expected. Awkward is more like forced or uncomfortable

So....it's both, like Wolfking said.

[TAC]

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

But uncomfortable and unconventional are not the same thing. I already said awkward and uncomfortable are similar.


Edit - nevermind, you removed the picture 

[wolfking]

This conversation is making me awkward because it feels unconventional.

[TAC]

But uncomfortable and unconventional are not the same thing. I already said awkward and uncomfortable are similar.


Edit - nevermind, you removed the picture 

I reposted it because the website I used updated it with a new synonym.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

But uncomfortable and unconventional are not the same thing. I already said awkward and uncomfortable are similar.


Edit - nevermind, you removed the picture 

I reposted it because the website I used updated it with a new synonym.

In that case, my point still stands 

[TAC]

But uncomfortable and unconventional are not the same thing. I already said awkward and uncomfortable are similar.


Edit - nevermind, you removed the picture 

I reposted it because the website I used updated it with a new synonym.

In that case, my point still stands 

When the hell did we get married? 

[sfam2112]

Submitted my list. That was tough.

[SoundscapeMN]

submitted my list.

I really didn't want to spend hours or days trying to (over) think this, especially since I listened to all 13 albums
(or 16 incl the other Arch-related records) over the last 2 months for my YouTube channel.

I also plan to make 2 other lists, 1 including APSOG as 1 song, and the other that includes those other Arch tracks, just per those seem to be  more proper, personal lists for me.

[TAC]

I'm dedicating a few days to this, and I'm right in the middle of it. I'm actually not using the ranker for this.

Fates Warning is a band that I like, not love. They only have two albums that are essential to me, Parallels and Inside Out. I mean, I own everything but they have just never elevated for me.

[pg1067]

Two lists received, and already some interesting choices.   Great start.

[TAC]

I think every list is going to be interesting.


My method right now is ranking the Arch songs and the Alder songs separately and then merging the lists.


EDIT:
I have my 50 songs:
16 Arch
34 Alder


I'll merge them in the next couple of tomorrow hopefully.

[sfam2112]

My original list was 70 songs long.  It was tough to trim it down. Let alone rank. I guess I wanted to include everything. But most of the Arch-era songs were the first to get cut. I originally had eight songs from that era across the three albums and whittled it down to, I think, three songs from Awaken The Guardian. I also wound up using the ranking engine for a start and did some major tweaking to the results. I hope I spelled that right...

[wolfking]

I think every list is going to be interesting.


My method right now is ranking the Arch songs and the Alder songs separately and then merging the lists.


EDIT:
I have my 50 songs:
16 Arch
34 Alder


I'll merge them in the next couple of tomorrow hopefully.

i really have no idea how say the top 10 or even top 20 will play out.  So many different styles, eras and favourites.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how this plays out.