Fates Warning -
FWXAlbum
Award
| Fates Warning -
FWX | 2004 Album Award |
After a four year wait, Fates Warning follow up 2000's Disconnected with FWX, which according to record company Metal Blade, “...is 10 of the most mind-blowing songs the band have written to date.” Don’t you just love hype?
Fates Warning started out back in 1984, so it’s now been twenty years that they’ve been together. 2003 saw them embark on an epic tour with fellow Progressive Metallers Queensryche and Dream Theater. The band was apparently rejuvenated by this tour, and it is true one can hear at times a renewed sense of purpose on FWX. Matheos never sounded better on guitar (though the same could probably not be said of Zonder's performance on drums). The album has top-notch production by guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist Ray Alder, and is definitely a solid album from start to finish. I can’t honestly imagine what it must be like to record one’s tenth studio album. How do you keep it fresh and new and exciting? In one word, I think the answer for Fates is: work. They put a lot of effort into each release. Whenever you listen to one of their albums, you get a sense that every sound, every track, has been meticulously thought through and molded into its final form.
FWX is heavier than recent Fates releases and you will hear some similarities between it and Ray Alder’s solo project, Engine. The album has an industrial feel to it with lots of sound effects thrown into the mix. At times, Fates even returns to their thrash roots (though you’re not going to mistake them for The Haunted). There is a fair amount of variety, from the middle-eastern tinged "River Wide Ocean Deep" to the aggressive “Simple Human” to the atmospheric “Sequence #7.” Track number five, “Heal Me,” is without a doubt one of the better songs Fates has ever recorded. It’s slow and eerie and moody in the beginning, and then explodes with some thunderous riffs that remind you why Fates Warning is one of the more fabled bands in Metal.
So is FWX “...10 of the most mind-blowing songs the band have written to date”? I don’t think so, only because I think so highly of some of their previous albums, in particular, Perfect Symmetry and A Pleasant Shade of Gray. I have no doubt long-time Fates fans will love this album, and it might bring a few new fans to the flock as well.
(Note: By mutual agreement, drummer Mark Zonder has left the band after this recording.)
Reviewed by: John Love
| Track #: | Song: | Band Member: | Instrument: | |
| 1 | Left Here | Jim Matheos | Guitars | 2 | Simple Human | Ray Alder | Vocals | 3 | River Wide Ocean Deep | Mark Zonder | Drums | 4 | Another Perfect Day | Joey Vera | Bass | 5 | Heal Me | 6 | Sequence #7 | 7 | Crawl | 8 | A Handful Of Doubt | 9 | Stranger (With A Familiar Face) | 10 | Wish |
| - Sounds strikingly like Engine. Odd (sad?) that both Fates Warning and Dream Theater had to simplify in order to get heavier. - Cool album, but with Zonder gone, I hesitate when thinking of the band's future. - I think it is a good thing that Zonder is leaving. Now it is Ray's turn to go. Zonder's unique style and Ray's now limited range constricted Jim's creative songwriting ability. - Yeah, I think you're right. It IS Ray's time to go do something better like Engine. Although I DO like FWX, it's simply time for this band to "pack it up." I like Ray's voice now more than ever and hope he continues with his new band. - I've loved FW since No Exit, but their last two CDs are a bore. I think Zonder is great (better than Portnoy), but they need an aggressive player! "River Wide Ocean Deep" could have been really cool, but it just fizzles because of the drums. - I liked it at first, but this album turned out to be a real snoozer. Matheos should call it a day. - Time to hang it up, Jim. |
| TTM reviews of other albums by Fates Warning: | |
 | 2000 - 'Disconnected' |
 | 1997 - 'A Pleasant Shade of Gray' |
| TTM interviews with Fates Warning: | |
| TTM editorials involving Fates Warning: | |
