FATES WARNING - Darkness in a Different Light

[FatesFan]

Disagree about Jarzombek. Zonder was an integral part of the Fates Warning sound. Bobby overplays the shit out of everything here to the point of distraction. The disc has none of the dynamics that past discs did, and the heaviness just falls flat. I rate this as their worst disc and they may fall off of the "must buy" list in the future.

It pains me to say this but I tend to agree with everything here. It's odd though because I didn't mike Bobby on the AM album ( yes i get it's not a fates album but really was ) but on this album I really missed Zonder. Zonder was a key component to the sound. I am not sure however that Zonder could have saved this album. For me, this is the worst FW album hands down. It just feels uninspired.

 

[MelbCro]

It pains me to say this but I tend to agree with everything here. It's odd though because I didn't mike Bobby on the AM album ( yes i get it's not a fates album but really was ) but on this album I really missed Zonder. Zonder was a key component to the sound. I am not sure however that Zonder could have saved this album. For me, this is the worst FW album hands down. It just feels uninspired.

Give it a few more listens, this is an album that will grow on you if you give it a chance. That's been the case with many Fates albums for me.

Anyway it can't be the worst album, that will always be Night on Brocken

 

[Random Axe]

This is what's good and bad about all Fates albums, they're so polarizing and divisive. Having a passionate, yet intelligent debate is a good thing. I love Zonder's work, do not mistake that. I also think Redemption's Chris Quirarte is the best, hands down, current drummer in the industry. I like his style and Jarzombek is similar in a lot of ways, so I appreciate his stuff too. I still have yet to fully indulge this new one, but nothing can compare to the heart crushing disappointment of FWX, at least for me. So this is a new day and a new start for my Fates Warning fanboyism to begin anew. At least the possibility is there, something I didn't have nine years ago.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

I don't think you can truly compare Night on Brocken and Darkness in a Different Light.
Think back to the 1st time you heard Fates Warning. I heard Brocken 1st and I totally loved it. The band grew in leaps and bounds with each successive disc, but if Brocken was so bad I would have never given Fates another chance.
Upon hearing Darkness my thoughts were that it doesn't stand up to the past discs...doesn't make it a bad disc,
It just makes it a bad Fates disc. I have played it through 7 or 8 times and My opinion stays solid...it's average Fates Warning,
which is better than most things.

 

[FatesFan]

I don't think you can truly compare Night on Brocken and Darkness in a Different Light.
Think back to the 1st time you heard Fates Warning. I heard Brocken 1st and I totally loved it. The band grew in leaps and bounds with each successive disc, but if Brocken was so bad I would have never given Fates another chance.
Upon hearing Darkness my thoughts were that it doesn't stand up to the past discs...doesn't make it a bad disc,
It just makes it a bad Fates disc. I have played it through 7 or 8 times and My opinion stays solid...it's average Fates Warning,
which is better than most things.

this ^^^

 

[FatesFan]

Give it a few more listens, this is an album that will grow on you if you give it a chance. That's been the case with many Fates albums for me.

Anyway it can't be the worst album, that will always be Night on Brocken

Broken is not a bad album. I can see if someone started with Fates in the Ray era may have an issue going back to Brocken but Brocken was my first Fates album and for the record, I love every album except for the new one. The new one is not a dog, it's just not great like all the others.

 

[PromisedLand]

I still haven't received my festival pre-order.. *sigh*.

 

[MelbCro]

Broken is not a bad album. I can see if someone started with Fates in the Ray era may have an issue going back to Brocken but Brocken was my first Fates album and for the record, I love every album except for the new one. The new one is not a dog, it's just not great like all the others.

Has nothing to do with being a Ray era fan. I love Spectre and Guardian, but Brocken is just forgettable.

 

[Artizan]

Came across the video this morning. It's fresh from last night. I have been a fan since 1985. We ALMOST got to open for them in Denver for the Parallels tour, but we got the Dream Theater gig instead...Finally get to tour with them in December. The new guitarist does pretty good for his first show....

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Liking the new one quite a bit.

 

[gilpdawg]

It's going to have to be a grower, because I'm not digging it right away. It's just kind of....there. Nothing really stands out to me. I know people are saying it reminds them of Disconnected..which makes me happy, because I love Disconnected, so I'll keep spinning it and see if something sticks.

 

[jaimek]

I listened to it a few times over the weekend - pretty underwhelmed. I liked Lighthouse a lot, but that was really about it; parts of And Yet, Falling, and I Am were okay. And it doesn't feel like a grower; when that happens I usually say "I'm not sure how I feel about this, I need to listen to it again. And again. And again. Wait, I think I actually DO like this!" and that's not happening here; I've been saying "I need to listen to this again a couple times to confirm it just kinda bores me."

 

[KingsGene]

DRUMMER BOBBY JARZOMBEK UPLOADS IN-STUDIO FOOTAGE FOR TWO TRACKS FROM FATES WARNING'S DARKNESS IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT

Drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Fates Warning, Sebastian Bach, Halford) has posted in-studio footage of two songs from Fates Warning's Darkness In A Different Light album, "I Am" and "One Thousand Fires". The footage can be seen below.

 

[sccaldwell]

Thanks, Kingsgene for posting that video!!

Just saw that some longtime fans haven't been thrilled by this disc. Everyone has their own opinion, of course, but I'm a bit shocked by that because I'd rank it as one of my top 3 or 4 Fates discs (APSoG, Parallels, and Perfect Symmetry being the competition for me).

I wasn't that thrilled with FWX...some good tracks, but it felt uninspired to me and more like some generic band than FW, so "Darkness..." really blew me away. It's everything I love about FW...fantastic melodies, cool and intricate rhythms, great vocal melodies, great musicianship, etc...

For those who didn't love it, I'd suggest another spin since it's been a year.

Just my $0.03. (Inflation, ya know...)

Craig