Fates Warning's new album... and Frank Aresti is in! (Hamer content)

[zorrow]

Fates Warning is about to release a new album, titled "Darkness In A Different Light":

http://www.fateswarning.com/

I discovered Fates Warning when they released their "No Exit" album in 1988, but it was with "Perfect Symmetry" in 1989 that I really got into them.

I started by purchasing their back catalog and then continued getting every new release of theirs ever since.

Mark Zonder (drummer) had a lot to do with my taste for the band, as well as the Jim Matheos/Frank Aresti guitar tandem, which had a jazzy edge with a weird-and-sober side I always loved.

Sadly, Frank Aresti took a break from the band that lasted several years. But after playing lead guitar on John Arch's new album with Jim Matheos, I knew this was going to happen and that it was just a matter of time.

So, in few days the new Fates Warning album will be out... and yes, Frank Aresti is back!

BTW, Frank Aresti used to play a goldtop Monaco which was the first non-shredder Hamer whose existence I noticed:

I'm purchasing the album, that's for sure!

[zorrow]

Forgot to mention that two songs from the new album are already out -and I like them A LOT:

[BlueRedWhite]

That was a long hiatus...glad to see them together again.

Thanks for posting!

[zorrow]

That was a long hiatus...glad to see them together again.

Thanks for posting!

Yeah, it's a shame Mark Zonder is no longer there, even if Bobby Jarzombek is a monster drummer too.

By the way, just added "Hamer Content" in the title. Fates Warning is so underrated nobody gets attracted to this thread!

[zorrow]

This is a picture of Frank Aresti in 2003, playing his goldtop Monaco with Fates Warning, during the tour they opened for Dream Theater and Queensryche:

I was there.

BTW, that guitar was stolen in Suffield, CT later in 2011. Its serial number was 352582. I don't know if he ever got it back, but I did have a text note with this information around.

[BlueRedWhite]

I was there.

Yeah, i think i was there too and i still have the shitty t-shirt to prove it.

Do you still have yours?

It was a great concert, just that 100F degrees inside the concert hall and sound was shittier for Dream Theater.

I didn't recall that Aresti was there...oh well, once i saw Tate, the show was almost over for me (I had a huge crush on that douche)

[Steve Haynie]

Fates Warning comes through my area in late November.

[Turdus]

I was very late in discovering this band. have only heard Disconnected, and FWX. I did not make the connection to either. Then discovered Redemption, with Ray Adler. Seemed much more interesting to me. What am I missing about Fates Warning?

[zorrow]

I was there.

Yeah, i think i was there too and i still have the shitty t-shirt to prove it.

Do you still have yours?

It was a great concert, just that 100F degrees inside the concert hall and sound was shittier for Dream Theater.

I didn't recall that Aresti was there...oh well, once i saw Tate, the show was almost over for me (I had a huge crush on that douche)

You were there too, yes. I no longer have the crappy T-shirt though.

And yes, Frank Aresti was there playing his Hamer. I think you were too much focused on Geoff, who looked like a non-circumcised dick, but well... I guess it's normal. Women and men care about different things.

[zorrow]

I was very late in discovering this band. have only heard Disconnected, and FWX. I did not make the connection to either. Then discovered Redemption, with Ray Adler. Seemed much more interesting to me. What am I missing about Fates Warning?

Disconnected and FWX didn't have Frank Aresti in them, so the band became almost an extension of Jim Matheos. While Matheos is a great guitarist in his own right, and no doubt a great songwriter too, his musical mood is pretty depressive and calm. He's not dark, he's not bright... He's just... grey. This means Fates Warning gets too introspective and too reflexive under Matheos' influence. I do like his melancholic mood and his jazzy, nerdy style, as he always uses music as a canvas to paint on with several layers of minimalistic phrases. He cares a lot about silence and he never overplays. His virtuosity consists in his taste for almost radio-friendly tunes written with a proggy-but-retained approach. This is just great when you do "get" it, but I do understand this can also turn very easily into a quite boring trip.

That's where Frank Aresti's help is needed then. He does "click" with Matheos' intellectual side, but he brings in a wilder element to the band, with his never-neoclassic-but-jazzy shredding style and his more active riffing.

IMHO, when Aresti is absent Matheos' more subtle arrangements are not able to create enough contrast to keep casual listeners interested.

I'm not a casual listener of Fates Warning though. I like them A LOT. It should be because they activate a special zone of my brain which is not emotional nor intellectual. I don't find the same kind of feeling or state of mind with any other band. That's why I love them, I guess, but yes, mainstream they are not, neither what it is sold today as "progressive".

[BlueRedWhite]

I was there.

Yeah, i think i was there too and i still have the shitty t-shirt to prove it.

Do you still have yours?

It was a great concert, just that 100F degrees inside the concert hall and sound was shittier for Dream Theater.

I didn't recall that Aresti was there...oh well, once i saw Tate, the show was almost over for me (I had a huge crush on that douche)

You were there too, yes. I no longer have the crappy T-shirt though.

And yes, Frank Aresti was there playing his Hamer. I think you were too much focused on Geoff, who looked like a non-circumcised dick, but well... I guess it's normal. Women and men care about different things.

Well, i did like seeing FW with Alder. Contrary to your opinion, i believe FW is too emotional borderline depressive, but with an ever brilliant music and lyrics. That's why i don't listen to them too often, but with the years is nice to go back to those first progressive albums and listen to them.

[BlueRedWhite]

I was there.

Yeah, i think i was there too and i still have the shitty t-shirt to prove it.

Do you still have yours?

It was a great concert, just that 100F degrees inside the concert hall and sound was shittier for Dream Theater.

I didn't recall that Aresti was there...oh well, once i saw Tate, the show was almost over for me (I had a huge crush on that douche)

You were there too, yes. I no longer have the crappy T-shirt though.

And yes, Frank Aresti was there playing his Hamer. I think you were too much focused on Geoff, who looked like a non-circumcised dick, but well... I guess it's normal. Women and men care about different things.

Oh he's still a dick..i thought he had long hair at that concert...The other thing that dissapointed me was that he was playing safe on the singing and singing...like a dick. I was attracted to the suave long hair dude on the videos, i got a a bald dickhead instead.

I hope the new Queensryche comes to Quebec and that DeGarmo gets on..that would be just amazing!

[Jeff R]

Bought "Perfect Symmetry" and "Parallels" the day they came out. Still among the favorites in my music stash.

[Studio Custom]

Those new tracks sound very raw compared to their usual polished output.

[Turdus]

allmusic had this to say about Disconnected: "This is a significant effort by perhaps the most important progressive metal band of all time. Highly recommended." They also rated it 4 stars.

Maybe I should give it another listen.... I was a little turned off by the long intro on that one. I almost prefer to be shocked out of the gate, lol.

What's the one to get that would blow me away? I'm always looking for something cool and different.

[zorrow]

allmusic had this to say about Disconnected: "This is a significant effort by perhaps the most important progressive metal band of all time. Highly recommended." They also rated it 4 stars.

Maybe I should give it another listen.... I was a little turned off by the long intro on that one. I almost prefer to be shocked out of the gate, lol.

What's the one to get that would blow me away? I'm always looking for something cool and different.

Hard to recommend you something. What was impressive back in the late eighties is perhaps no longer that interesting. I'm also biased, as it's one of my preferred bands ever, but let's try anyway:

1- "Perfect Symmetry" (1989) - To me this one is still their masterpiece. I was blown away by it back in 1989. It's the first with Mark Zonder on drums and the third with Frank Aresti on the second guitar. It remains a reference in my books.

2- "Inside Out" (1994) - This one is the last one with Frank Aresti. The song "Monument" is one of their highlights, as well as "Outside Looking In" and "Pale Fire". Overlooked by many, but to me it's one of their bests.

3- "Parallels" (1991) - I love this one too. It's considered by a lot of people the band's peak. I like the two above a bit more, but this one is a must. You might even want to go with this one after "Perfect Symmetry", if you want to play it safe.

4- "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray" (1996) - Once Frank Aresti's gone, Jim Matheos takes the whole place. This is a deliciously boring album. I dig it, personnally, but you need to become a true fan first. Please, at least get into the three above before trying this one. It's a hard pill to swallow for the non-initiated.

5- "Awaken The Guardian" (1986) - This is a quite straightforward NWOBHM-influenced record with a slight prog twist, but I don't find it representative of the band's sound. However, it's the best from the John Arch's era. It's also the first album featuring Frank Aresti.

I guess you can start by all those. There's also a compilation from 1995 titled "Chasing Time" which contains a lot of great songs, but lacks of a couple of important tunes, such as "Part Of The Machine" and "The Arena".

Also, you might want to check out John Arch's "Twist Of Fate" EP (2003), with Jim Matheos on guitars and Mike Portnoy on drums, as well as Arch / Matheos "Sympathetic Resonance" (2011). The later is exactly with the current Fates Warning line-up, but with John Arch on vocals instead of Ray Alder.

[BlueRedWhite]

Too bad i don't have the albums here, i think my faves were Perfect Symmetry and Parallels...and Arch's project Twist of Fate..

I'll unearth those albums tonight, really want to listen to them again

[zorrow]

Too bad i don't have the albums here, i think my faves were Perfect Symmetry and Parallels...and Arch's project Twist of Fate..

I'll unearth those albums tonight, really want to listen to them again

Check your email!

[BlueRedWhite]

Too bad i don't have the albums here, i think my faves were Perfect Symmetry and Parallels...and Arch's project Twist of Fate..

I'll unearth those albums tonight, really want to listen to them again

Check your email!

You're da man, baby!