I really can’t make up my mind whether I’m a (big) fan of this band or not. I have little love for the first three John Arch fronted records and the first one with Ray Alder at the mike was an uneven effort. The band’s best effort by far is 1991’s Parallels, an album I genuinely love and I’m really into its predecessor Perfect Symmetry (1989) and its follow-up Inside Out (1994). I lost interest after that record and even though I own the three albums that followed, I hardly listen to them at all. After 2005, Fates Warning existed sporadically until they finally reunited back in 2013 with the album Darkness In A Different Light but the album was, unfortunately, an uneven affair that left me mostly cold.
I have seen the band live – at Sweden Rock Festival – but I left after half their gig. I just found them a bit dull which in turn made me skip them completely when they played again back in 2017, despite a really good album recently released. That album was their last record, Theories Of Flight (2016), an album I found their best since Parallels. And speaking of last album, the band has announced that this record will most probably be just – their last. With that in mind and the fact that the last record really impressed me I had high hopes for the new record. I mean, surely a band like this, one of the biggest progressive Hard Rock/Metal bands, would want to go out with a bang?
A bang is exactly what the album opens with. “The Destination Onward” is a classic Fates Warning monster of a track, all of its 8 minutes. It opens on a slow, dark and a bit quiet note – a pretty long intro actually – only to move into heavier territories on a faster pace and an upbeat rhythm. The main-riff is driving, the rhythm-section is both chunky and punchy and holds a very memorable main melody with all of the elements that you’ll ever need from a prog-metal stomper. A really good opener that bodes well for the rest of the album. On an upbeat rhythm and some intense drumming, “Shuttered World” follows – heavy, straight-forward and in-your-face. It’s crunchy and battering tune that also holds a spot-on main melody and a catchy as hell chorus that easily could have been sitting safe on the Parallels album. Very, very good.
“Alone We Walk” starts out low and mellow but soon goes rhythmic with a progressive groove. A little Queensrÿche here, some Dream Theater there and on top lies a classic, very catchy Fates Warning vocal-melody and a refrain that hits home. Good one. Second single “Now Comes The Rain” is as a single a no-brainer. It’s slower in tempo, on the verge of balladry but it also holds an upbeat, straight ahead rhythm. It comes off as a bit sombre with clean guitars blended with distorted ones. Melody-wise, it bears some resemblance to the more melodic parts of Queensrÿche’s Empire album which makes the vocal-melodies very memorable. The meaty riffing sends a Metal touch our way which builds a fine contrast to the catchy chorus. Very good.
Balladry comes our way when “The Way Home” shows up. With a slow, down-to-earth and taciturn intro, this eight minute piece moves more towards progressive Hard Rock with jazzy rhythms and groovy beats one after another, still pretty much stripped down. Edgier and more crunchy guitars comes around and gives the tune some spice but the tune circles around balladry the whole time where some melodies – especially the refrain – is very close to late 80’s power balladry. An ok prog-power ballad, no more no less. With an intro based on strings, “Under The Sun” brings in the acoustic guitars and starts the tune calm and collected as a stripped ballad. A mellow drum-rhythm comes in and gives the tune a groove still in a slow pace. The tune then takes a turn into an uptempo half-ballad, still quite melodramatic and even sombre with a killer vocal performance by Alder and a real string-section. A nice breather and a decent tune.
Leading single, “Scars” is an uptempo and rough hard-rocker, pretty straight forward and distinct carried by a beefy rhythm. It’s punchy and fat, quite simplistic prog-metal with a big live-feel and crowd-pleasing rhythms where the chorus isn’t catchy as such but quite striking and in-your face. It’s not bad but it doesn’t really stand out either. Latest single “Begin Again” is also more on the simplistic side with verses that even goes into Classic Rock territory with a crunchy and rowdy guitar-sound and rock-groovy rhythms. That said, both pre-chorus and chorus gets heavier and more prog-laden. It’s a pretty rough, rootsy and raw sounding song with a striking beat, ok melodies and a chorus that contains some hooks but it never really takes off.
Mellow and darkening, “When Snow Falls” brings on a soulful atmosphere which makes this stripped and laid-back number almost tranquil in its ethereal and dreamy soundscape. It’s a quiet and taciturn number with smooth melodies and a cozy feel, pretty far from what I’m used to when it comes to this band. And yes – I do enjoy this one quite the bit. Very good indeed. “Liar” is more bang-on-target and in-your-face. A classic Hard Rock sound, some crunchy riffing and a solid beat take the tune on a straight ahead ride and the progressive passages only brings out some stellar contrasts. A direct rocker with effective vocal melodies and chunky refrain that sticks makes the tune a winner. Very good.
Shorter and more concise, “Glass House” is punchy, uptempo and heavy yet prog-laden, melodic and straight forward hard-rocking with menacing riffing and a direct approach. The big melodies are all full of hooks and the chorus hits home right away. Another tune that wouldn’t be out of place on an album like Parellels. Great stuff. Clocking in on 11 minutes plus, “The Longest Shadow Of The Day” is the album’s longest track. It starts out with with a funky rhythm with some jazzy guitars jamming away before more progressive rhythms comes in and paves way for some stark, muscular and heavy guitars which in turn brings the song towards some aggressive and hard prog-metal turns. It takes six minutes before Alder starts to sing and when he does it slows down into a dark and sullen but soon picks up and becomes heavy and even Sabbath-like.
The laid-back touches still comes in here and there but towards the end, the song’s tempo speeds up some and takes on a more groovy approach, still with heavy, progressive Metal vibes. It’s an 11 minute prog-beast and a dream for prog-lovers. Me, I think it’s a good song albeit not really lingering. As the band has pointed out that this is most likely their last album, it’s only natural that the closing track is called “The Last Song”. But instead of going out with a knock-out we get a two-minute ballad consisting of only acoustic guitars and vocals. Not that it’s anything wrong with that. It’s a quiet, sombre and soft tune, very fine-tuned and earthy that gets under my skin. A beautiful, soulful and brittle goodbye.
Style-wise, this sounds like Fates Warning all the way through – progressive but also quite easy-listened with prominent melodies and chorus-hooks. That the band consists of killer musicians and a magnificent singer goes without saying but since the album is supposed to be their farewell album, I’m a bit disappointed when it comes to the strength of the songs. Sure, they have released far worse albums but on the other hand, they have also released much better ones – this one lands somewhere in between, I’m afraid. That being said, hardcore Fates Warning fans might beg to differ and this just might be the album they had hoped for but for me, it’s an uneven goodbye.
6/10
More Fates Warning reviews:
Darkness In A Different Light
Theories Of Flight
Tracklist:
1. The Destination Onward
2. Shuttered World
3. Alone We Walk
4. Now Comes The Rain
5. They Way Home
6. Under The Sun
7. Scars
8. Begin Again
9. When Snow Falls
10. Liar
11. Glass Houses
12. The Longest Shadow Of The Day
13. The Last Song
CD & Festival reviews 