Fates Warning Suggestions?

[Savage Pumpkin]

I know this may sound strange but I am new to Fates Warning. I went by Impulse Music right before they closed and all they had was "Perfect Symmetry" so I picked that up. So other than that, what should I pick up and in what order. Is there a place online that you would suggest ordering from? Thanks!

 

[batmura]

If you liked Perfect Symmetry, which is a milestone for prog metal, you should check out Parallels, where they took a more melodic approach. However, to me, their most amazing pieces of work are A Pleasant Shade of Gray and Disconnected. Truly progressive yet harder to internalize . . . but very rewarding.

Then again, Fates Warning is one of those bands with not a single bad album. The Arch era is also great. Fantastic singer.

 

[13ShadesofGray]

Depends on your musical taste, which order to go in. You may want to start with "Chasing Time", which is a best-of compilation that covers albums up to Inside Out. That being said:

If you lean more towards Power, back track a bit. If you're more into Prog, move forward in the order of release. Here's a list with a brief description of each which will hopefully help:

Night on Bröcken (1984) - Iron Maiden influence is definitely there
The Spectre Within (1985) - Finding more of their own sound - some consider this their first real progressive-metal release with more complex song structures. Goes well with early Queensryche.
Awaken the Guardian (1986) - Frank Aresti replaces Victor Arduini on guitar. Some reviewers consider this one to be a Grandaddy of Progressive Metal.
No Exit (1988) - Ray Alder replaces John Arch on vocals. Not much of a departure, musically, from AtG... heavy and dark. 21 minute The Ivory Gate of Dreams in three letters - OMG
Perfect Symmetry (1989) - Mark Zonder replaces Steve Zimmerman on drums. Kevin Moore appears on keys. More complex drumming is evident throughout. Overall a much more sophisticated approach/sound.
Parallels 1991 - Many consider this one to be the most "commercial" album, though I don't consider Fates commercial. James LeBrie guests on Life in Still Water. I consider this one a perfect halfway point between PS and APSOG.
Inside Out (1994) - I consider this one their most commercial. Not quite as strong as Parallels, but in a very similar vein. Monument is an awesome, awesome track.
A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997) - Frank Aresti leaves, Joey Vera replaces Joe DiBiase on bass. Kevin Moore has a much more prominent appearance, though not overwhelming. This album is one song broken down into 12 parts with the introduction of some industrial elements. Many consider this to be their masterpiece to date, myself included.
Disconnected (2000) - Still Remains. No need to say anything more, just get it and listen.
X (2004) - Not your typical Prog. The complexity, in my opinion, comes from how subtle the complexity really is. Handful of Doubt has become one of my very favorite FW songs, as has Wish. Both slower, but both exquisitely beautiful.

As for ordering, check out Metal Blade, Laser's Edge and Amazon.

Hope that helps and I'll get some vendor links for you.

 

[edgeofthorns]

I don't think Perfect Symmetry is good place to start, unless you're a hard core prog fan. If you are, then you'll love it.

My favorites are No Exit, Parallels, and A Pleasant Shade of Gray. I will say this, that I'm more into power and melody than I am technical prowess though.

~Brian~

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

Awaken the Guardian, No Exit, Perfect Symmetry. The triumverate of greatness. A Pleasant Shade of Gray and Disconnected IMHO, are absolutely horrible beyond comprehension. I'm not really a prog guy and these two releases to me are a monumental exercise in endurance. Hate them both. Just my opinion. Flame if you must.

 

[djwill665]

Awaken the Guardian..Hands down start there...I was in the studio as it was been written and recorded...still a masterpiece.

 

[raising_iron]

Awaken The Guardian and Spectres Within are MUST-owns, after that get No Exit, Night on Brocken, then move forward from there.

 

[Yippee38]

I don't care for the early (pre-Ray) Fates stuff. I don't care for the vocals at all. (ducks thrown rotting vegetables) My intro to Fates was Inside Out. This was one of the first truly prog CDs I purchased and it took me a while to "get it". If you've listened to prog stuff, it should be a good starting point. Then you can go either way. I agree that APSoG is their best. I'd personally listen to their back catalog before getting APSoG though.

 

[SharkBlack]

You got off to a great start there. One of my favorite Fates Albums... But PS is their proggiest and hardest to get into but probably the most rewarding once you start to memorize it yourself.

No Exit is Heavier, if thats the way you want to go. Ivory Gate of Dreams is a fantastic guitar driven masterpiece...Almost everything after this album is proggier and a bit mellower.

A Pleasant Shade of Gray.... AWESOME!! EPIC!!!

The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian are superb too. This is when I became a huge Fates fan.... Completely different Lyrical style and Vocal style with Arch. There was nothing that married Prog and Metal together at that time like they did. Only a couple of bands came close before that in my mind (i.e. Rush 2112, Yes South Side of The Sky) A real Peanut Butter in My Chocolate moment for me!! Dream Theater came shortly after them and were obviously inspired by them.

The albums that are easier to get into that have more mass appeal are Parallels, Inside Out, Disconnected and X. I dig these too, a lot, but they are middle ground on the Fates scale for me...

Night on Broken is Fates in an underdeveloped and underproduced state... Though still pretty cool indeed... This should be your last stop...

 

[Still Remains]

Buy them all and enjoy!

 

[Perpet]

Depends on your musical taste, which order to go in. You may want to start with "Chasing Time", which is a best-of compilation that covers albums up to Inside Out. That being said:

If you lean more towards Power, back track a bit. If you're more into Prog, move forward in the order of release. Here's a list with a brief description of each which will hopefully help:

Night on Bröcken (1984) - Iron Maiden influence is definitely there
The Spectre Within (1985) - Finding more of their own sound - some consider this their first real progressive-metal release with more complex song structures. Goes well with early Queensryche.
Awaken the Guardian (1986) - Frank Aresti replaces Victor Arduini on guitar. Some reviewers consider this one to be a Grandaddy of Progressive Metal.
No Exit (1988) - Ray Alder replaces John Arch on vocals. Not much of a departure, musically, from AtG... heavy and dark. 21 minute The Ivory Gate of Dreams in three letters - OMG
Perfect Symmetry (1989) - Mark Zonder replaces Steve Zimmerman on drums. Kevin Moore appears on keys. More complex drumming is evident throughout. Overall a much more sophisticated approach/sound.
Parallels 1991 - Many consider this one to be the most "commercial" album, though I don't consider Fates commercial. James LeBrie guests on Life in Still Water. I consider this one a perfect halfway point between PS and APSOG.
Inside Out (1994) - I consider this one their most commercial. Not quite as strong as Parallels, but in a very similar vein. Monument is an awesome, awesome track.
A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997) - Frank Aresti leaves, Joey Vera replaces Joe DiBiase on bass. Kevin Moore has a much more prominent appearance, though not overwhelming. This album is one song broken down into 12 parts with the introduction of some industrial elements. Many consider this to be their masterpiece to date, myself included.
Disconnected (2000) - Still Remains. No need to say anything more, just get it and listen.
X (2004) - Not your typical Prog. The complexity, in my opinion, comes from how subtle the complexity really is. Handful of Doubt has become one of my very favorite FW songs, as has Wish. Both slower, but both exquisitely beautiful.

As for ordering, check out Metal Blade, Laser's Edge and Amazon.

Hope that helps and I'll get some vendor links for you.

That was suprisingly condensed...I know Colleen could have gone on for at least 4 more pages considering the topic Nice roundup...

 

[Bryant]

Great replies. I really think that going with Paralells would probably be the next logical step. It is not my personal favorite (though it is hard to pick one) but the songs have more "hook" to them which is why it is considered more "commercial." It is easier to get into their style and sound with this release, then you can go from there.


Bryant

 

[FatesFan]

Depends on your musical taste, which order to go in. You may want to start with "Chasing Time", which is a best-of compilation that covers albums up to Inside Out. That being said:

If you lean more towards Power, back track a bit. If you're more into Prog, move forward in the order of release. Here's a list with a brief description of each which will hopefully help:

Night on Bröcken (1984) - Iron Maiden influence is definitely there
The Spectre Within (1985) - Finding more of their own sound - some consider this their first real progressive-metal release with more complex song structures. Goes well with early Queensryche.
Awaken the Guardian (1986) - Frank Aresti replaces Victor Arduini on guitar. Some reviewers consider this one to be a Grandaddy of Progressive Metal.
No Exit (1988) - Ray Alder replaces John Arch on vocals. Not much of a departure, musically, from AtG... heavy and dark. 21 minute The Ivory Gate of Dreams in three letters - OMG
Perfect Symmetry (1989) - Mark Zonder replaces Steve Zimmerman on drums. Kevin Moore appears on keys. More complex drumming is evident throughout. Overall a much more sophisticated approach/sound.
Parallels 1991 - Many consider this one to be the most "commercial" album, though I don't consider Fates commercial. James LeBrie guests on Life in Still Water. I consider this one a perfect halfway point between PS and APSOG.
Inside Out (1994) - I consider this one their most commercial. Not quite as strong as Parallels, but in a very similar vein. Monument is an awesome, awesome track.
A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997) - Frank Aresti leaves, Joey Vera replaces Joe DiBiase on bass. Kevin Moore has a much more prominent appearance, though not overwhelming. This album is one song broken down into 12 parts with the introduction of some industrial elements. Many consider this to be their masterpiece to date, myself included.
Disconnected (2000) - Still Remains. No need to say anything more, just get it and listen.
X (2004) - Not your typical Prog. The complexity, in my opinion, comes from how subtle the complexity really is. Handful of Doubt has become one of my very favorite FW songs, as has Wish. Both slower, but both exquisitely beautiful.

As for ordering, check out Metal Blade, Laser's Edge and Amazon.

Hope that helps and I'll get some vendor links for you.

Nicely done! I know APSOG is not for everyone but I for one would not want to live in a world where it does not exist. APSOG is my favorite album of all time. I would say, get the bookends to what you got and then get the bookends o those and so on.

 

[FatesFan]

I don't care for the early (pre-Ray) Fates stuff. I don't care for the vocals at all. (ducks thrown rotting vegetables) My intro to Fates was Inside Out. This was one of the first truly prog CDs I purchased and it took me a while to "get it". If you've listened to prog stuff, it should be a good starting point. Then you can go either way. I agree that APSoG is their best. I'd personally listen to their back catalog before getting APSoG though.

Yippee, Just curious, have you heard the John Arch solo album he did with Jim,Vera, and portnoy a few years ago? It is just a 2 song cd but it s killer. Try it out if not and maybe Arch will grow on you because it is that good.

 

[Yippee38]

Yippee, Just curious, have you heard the John Arch solo album he did with Jim,Vera, and portnoy a few years ago? It is just a 2 song cd but it s killer. Try it out if not and maybe Arch will grow on you because it is that good.

No. I haven't. Maybe I'll have to check it out.