FATES WARNING – Long Day Good Night (2020)
On November 6th 2020, influential act FATES WARNING will release their much anticipated 13th studio album, ”Long Day Good Night”, they return to Metal Blade Records after almost 20 years.
Fates Warning has the unique ability to place the emphasis on specific lyrics exactly with the specific instrumental at just the right time in the song. This controlled writing technique pushes this album into a whole different level, and it can be likened to a ‘masterclass in progressive metal’.
No wonder they are referred to as “one of the Big 3 of the progressive metal genre, along with Queensryche and Dream Theater to effectively grow and popularize the sub-genre.”
Active since 1982, Fates Warning has mastered its craft, and it shows on “Long Day Good Night”, certainly the band’s most versatile and varied release to date, even with some AOR moments.
Guitarist Jim Matheos and singer Ray Alder started writing the album in 2019 and worked on it for a year, as the members each tracked their parts from home studios all over the world. Hats off to Joey Vera, who was also recording the new Armored Saint album at about the same time.
The result is my favorite album of the most recent three, an album that captures the diverse styles and influences of the band.
“Under The Sun” features the first full string section the band has ever used on an album. “Scars” gets the blood pumping with Vera and Jarzombek’s rhythm section locked in thumping unison. This could easily be a concert opener.
Alder sounds great, his melodies always seeming to complement the various styles of music Matheos throws at him. Joe Barresi’s mix gives the distorted guitars a harsher edge than on the past two albums, but the bass and drums are captured in all their sonic glory.
There are some guest appearances included, with touring guitarist Mike Abdow contributing some solos to the album, while Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison plays on “When Snow Falls”, and “Under The Sun.”
”Long Day Good Night” is nothing short of a triumph. As the longest Fates Warning studio album ever recorded, it will take some time to fully absorb. Fortunately, so many songs have an immediate resonance that the album feels shorter – and runs 72 minutes…
When you survey the current landscape of progressive metal, it is easy to make the case that Fates Warning has been the most consistent and accessible for quite some time. Songs that can stand on their merits as short pieces of art, rather than a stitching of complex passages and labyrinthine structures has been the Fates Warning approach.
”Long Day Good Night” continues to show the band refuses to conform to expectations and to experiment with an eye towards the future and a foot in the past.
Highly Recommended
01. The Destination Onward
02. Shuttered World
03. Alone We Walk
04. Now Comes the Rain
05. The Way Home
06. Under the Sun
07. Scars
08. Begin Again
09. When Snow Falls
10. Liar
11. Glass Houses
12. The Longest Shadow of the Day
13. The Last Song
Jim Matheos – Guitars
Ray Alder – Vocals
Joey Vera – Bass
Bobby Jarzombek – Drums
guests:
Michael Abdow – Guitars (lead) (track 2, 5, 12)
Gavin Harrison – Drums (track 9)
Mika Posen – Violin (track 6)
Raphael Weinroth-Browne – Cello (track 6)
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www.amazon.com/Long-Good-Night-Fates-Warning/dp/B08GLSY88Y
