I know I'll be fighting a losing battle in here on this but every Fates Warning record up to Disconnected is brilliant and has very different things to offer.
After Awaken, they took US power to its conclusion, there was so point to keep making the same record. So they did different things that achieved a variety of goals. To other band has been so remarkably consistent on their output like Fates.
Helm wrote:I know I'll be fighting a losing battle in here on this but every Fates Warning record up to Disconnected is brilliant and has very different things to offer.
A small correction on your otherwise correct words: replace Disconnected with A pleasant shade of gray. I like almost all FW albums, including the less-metal-but-more-emotional period of Parallels, Inside Out and APSOG. However everything after those albums is a horrid trend follower. The band has closed its circle since very long time...
Good against Evil, Evil sure to win
"It really didn't matter if they liked it or not, i was going to give it to them straight down their throats" -John Stewart
Disconnected for me is probably a bit better than APSoG. It has Still Life which is probably the best longrunner song they ever did (as much as I like Ivory Gate, we all know it's a collection of riffs). FWX is not a bad record but it's definitely not top-material.
So ONE mediocre record shouldn't put them in this category of bands that ruled and now suck.
Helm wrote:
So ONE mediocre record shouldn't put them in this category of bands that ruled and now suck.
I personally didn't like Disconnected at all. The whole problem is just a matter of years. Having released only two and very average albums from 1998 and then is not a good sign for me. Yes, two mediocre albums may be not enough but 9 years without inspiration are way too much. Therefore, they fit quite well in this thread.
Good against Evil, Evil sure to win
"It really didn't matter if they liked it or not, i was going to give it to them straight down their throats" -John Stewart
I'm starting to think that maybe SIGH should be in this thread.
I got their newest album 'Hangman's Hymn' the other day & it's god-awful!
'Gallows Gallery' showed glimpses of awfulness, but this one takes the cake.
I've always loved SIGH for their oddness & originality, but they now sound like a second-rate Cradle Of Filth & COF are third-rate at the best of times.
Interested to hear what some of you Jap metal lovers think??
Korgüll wrote:I'm starting to think that maybe SIGH should be in this thread.
I got their newest album 'Hangman's Hymn' the other day & it's god-awful!
'Gallows Gallery' showed glimpses of awfulness, but this one takes the cake.
I've always loved SIGH for their oddness & originality, but they now sound like a second-rate Cradle Of Filth & COF are third-rate at the best of times.
Interested to hear what some of you Jap metal lovers think??
I didn't think so at all. I do admit that the symphonic elements are a bit tired and overused, but I'd say the overall Metal in the album did remind me of a sort of morbid off-shot of Thrash, and I liked it. Surely, it wasn't really up to their normal standards, but it's not enough for me to say the band sucks... Yet.
As for FATES WARNING - After 1991 I really stopped giving a damn about them. Horrendously overrated Prog-Wanky nonsense that evokes a sense of shame rather than enjoyment.
FuneralCircle wrote:
As for FATES WARNING - After 1991 I really stopped giving a damn about them. Horrendously overrated Prog-Wanky nonsense that evokes a sense of shame rather than enjoyment.
That's a description for DREAM THEATER, not FATES. Good old FW always avoided doing pointless tech-skills demonstrations and none of their songs/albums was made intentionally complicated (until Inside Out- 1994). It's a matter of taste if you don't like their material, no problem with that, but in no case i can agree with that Prog-Wanky term.
Good against Evil, Evil sure to win
"It really didn't matter if they liked it or not, i was going to give it to them straight down their throats" -John Stewart
I never liked Fates Warning 80's era because of the horrible John Arch's vocals(anyway there were tons better,more underground bands in US at 80's).The 90's stuff by FW is not my liking since that slow,semi-prog,atmospheric stuff is getting me on my nerves.
Anyway FW(Jim Matheos) said in an old interview(ninetees) that he thinks he doesn't play metal.Who am i to disagree?!?
Fucking Åmål wrote:I never liked Fates Warning 80's era because of the horrible John Arch's vocals
I guess, it's a love or hate it affair, personally I think he has the best voice I've ever heard in metal (and music in general). His vocals and Jim's songwriting makes "The Spectre Within" and "Awaken The Guardian" the best musical outputs EVER released by humans. It even beats the shit out of classical music. The overal feeling of utter dedication to the music is undeniable. These two giant masterpieces have only been topped by Brocas Helm, Cirith Ungol and Holy Terror IMO!!!!!! And I'm 100% sure that they will NEVER BE TOPPED OR SURPASSED BY ANYTHING FOR MILLENNIUMS TO COME!!!
The Sentinel wrote:
I guess, it's a love or hate it affair, personally I think he has the best voice I've ever heard in metal (and music in general). His vocals and Jim's songwriting makes "The Spectre Within" and "Awaken The Guardian" the best musical outputs EVER released by humans. It even beats the shit out of classical music. The overal feeling of utter dedication to the music is undeniable. These two giant masterpieces have only been topped by Brocas Helm, Cirith Ungol and Holy Terror IMO!!!!!! And I'm 100% sure that they will NEVER BE TOPPED OR SURPASSED BY ANYTHING FOR MILLENNIUMS TO COME!!!
A true FATES-CORE fan!
Good against Evil, Evil sure to win
"It really didn't matter if they liked it or not, i was going to give it to them straight down their throats" -John Stewart
The Sentinel wrote: I guess, it's a love or hate it affair, personally I think he has the best voice I've ever heard in metal (and music in general). His vocals and Jim's songwriting makes "The Spectre Within" and "Awaken The Guardian" the best musical outputs EVER released by humans.
He certainly is one of the most original singers(and I really like that), but his voice does lack some punch if you ask me.
I enjoy John Arch not only for his distinctive voice, but for his wonderful lyrical output which has had a big effect on my life throughout the years. There's stronger voices that him (Midnight, Jeoff Tate), and there's more technically adept voices than him (Benito, Halford), but there's not a lot of HM singers that are more human than him.
I don't think even Inside Out is too techy. It's like Parallels-junior, a bit more brown, a bit more morose. Only Monument is a drum-wizardry showoff.
I am not shocked people don't like the 80's FW or the 90's FW as both periods are difficult for their own set of reasons. I hope the 80's FW to be the most amazing HM band I've ever heard, having given me courage and strength to live life better, and I hold the 90'-00's FW to be some of the best introspective emotional music I've ever heard, be it metal or otherwise. Zero 'pretention', honest, humble work based on great melodic material, genius instrumental interplay without overplaying and someone's deepest fears and desires expressed in a lyrical fashion. If you go for that sort of thing, what more can you ask?
Of course FW are rarely metal after Perfect Symmetry. One should have different expectations there and on.
Helm wrote:I enjoy John Arch not only for his distinctive voice, but for his wonderful lyrical output which has had a big effect on my life throughout the years. There's stronger voices that him (Midnight, Jeoff Tate), and there's more technically adept voices than him (Benito, Halford), but there's not a lot of HM singers that are more human than him.
No? Not even TIM BAKER? Or GLEN MAY (TYRANT US)? Naaaah, the one you're talking about must be ROB MILLER aka THE BARON of AMEBIX.
Good against Evil, Evil sure to win
"It really didn't matter if they liked it or not, i was going to give it to them straight down their throats" -John Stewart
