FATES WARNING – Theories Of Flight (2016)
Ranked as US prog metal pioneers alongside the likes of Queensrÿche or Dream Theater and standing tall today as twelve-album veterans, FATES WARNING will release their new album “Theories Of Flight” next July 1st.
Progressive metal is, by definition, all about forward movement, change, and intensity. With “Theories Of Flight” Fates Warning are currently sitting on a release based around those same core themes. And they excel at that.
Are otherworldly chops your thing? Check out the CD opener ‘From The Rooftops’ for multiple motor-cortex-melting drum moments courtesy of Fates Warning drummer Bobby Jarzombek, and the freaky guitar soloing to be found on empowering powerhouse ‘White Flag’.
Without a doubt one of the best tracks on the record ‘White Flag’ is a five-minute tour de force, a blizzard of massive chords, searing leads, churning riffs, and backbreaking grooves that underpin Ray Alder’s vocals simultaneously talking straight and singing theatrically.
What about epics? Fates Warning have two to hand this time out in ‘The Light And Shade Of Things’ and another highlight titled ‘The Ghosts Of Home’. The latter proves this album’s winner as guitarist / producer / lyricist Jim Matheos digs deep into his past, mulling over the psychological repercussions of repeated childhood uprootings and emerging with a song you just need to hear for yourself, because saying anything more would spoil an experience Fates Warning fans are going to treasure for some time to come.
Do you need some virtuosic vocal performances? Worry not: Ray Alder has you covered in the title track ‘Theories Of Flight’ and its captivating fifty-three-minute duration divided in various sections.
Simply put, “Theories Of Flight” is a nearly flawless example of modern progressive metal.
Fates Warning have never been a band that was hell-bent to run the listener over with their technical prowess, speed, and mind twisting time changes. The players are all highly skilled and technical at their instruments, the music is certainly complex and the rhythms & grooves slither and move together like a Bali dancer with a king cobra, but at the heart of all the songs is a strong melody, complete with hooks to draw the listener in and even accessible choruses, a heresy to some prog fans.
But those melodies make their home here, and they draw the listener in every time, and make you wish to God that more bands had the ability to do them as well.
Highly Recommended.
1 – From The Rooftops
2 – Seven Stars
3 – SOS
4 – The Light And Shade Of Things
5 – White Flag
6 – Like Stars Our Eyes Have Seen
7 – The Ghosts Of Home
8 – Theories Of Flight
Ray Alder – Vocals
Jim Matheos – Guitars
Joey Vera – Bass
Bobby Jarzombek – Drums
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