Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Fates Warning
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release: 2017
Rating: 4.5/5
»Awaken the Guardian Live« (DVD/2CD) is, no beating around the bush, one of the highlights of this year when it comes to live releases, if not the highlight outright. And not just because the album »Awaken the Guardian« is now seen as one of the central, most important, if not downright cult achievements in the rich, long-running career of these highly esteemed progressive metal icons, Fates Warning, but simply because it’s played so well (especially technically) and because it’s an exceptionally good recording. Both of them, in fact. Audio and video.
Last year Fates Warning celebrated 30 years since the release of »Awaken the Guardian«. Of the lineup that recorded the album 30 years ago, only guitarist Jim Matheos is still in Fates Warning today. Back then, three decades ago, he was joined in the band by the famous singer Jon Arch, drummer Steve Zimmerman, guitarist Frank Aresti and bassist Joe DiBase. Not only did »Awaken the Guardian« hand fans a heaping helping of “folk-hero” classics in the years after its release, songs that are forever etched in the hearts of the band’s followers, it was also the band’s first album to break onto the Billboard charts.
For the occasion, Matheos managed to reform Fates Warning in the »Awaken the Guardian« lineup. That’s the one described in the paragraph above. He also booked two dates on which the band played this album in full. From start to finish. The chosen venues were Germany’s Keep It True XIX festival (held in Lauda-Königshofen), where Fates Warning played on 30.04.2016, followed by the equally traditional American ProgPower festival on 09.09.2016, which takes place in Atlanta every year.
At both festivals, then, the band played the album live in its entirety, just as it was recorded on the studio original, meaning in the identical track order, and on top of that they threw in a few cult classics from the debut »Night On Bröcken« and from »The Spectre Within«: The Apparition, Damnation, Night On Bröcken (replaced by Kyrie Eleison at ProgPower) and Epitaph.
Immodestly put: an investment that pays off with more than a 100% return. This lineup, reunited for just two shows, really does pull off a miracle. They should never have broken up in the first place, because they sound as if the members had never parted ways. Both concerts are played brilliantly. The icing on the cake is the final sound mix. The audio was reworked afterwards by the excellent and experienced Bill Metoyer, a legendary specialist of the American old-school speed metal sound, though the Keep it True recording, when you compare the sound on the DVD, comes out a shade better. That’s why the band decided to include the entire German concert on both audio discs. Jon Arch was of course the biggest question mark in all of this. He’s the vocalist who, when he arrived on the scene in the eighties, with his singular approach and incredible punch and authority, which basically laid the mood and expression foundations of the band’s first three albums, set new qualitative standards on the international scene during heavy metal’s heyday. His contribution was hugely influential. So what fans will be happiest about, and what is really the key factor in why the live performance of this album still lights up with a 100% return after 30 years, is the realization that Jon Arch still sings with undiminished fire and hunger, just as on the cult »Awaken the Guardian«, and still credibly masters every extreme vocal register. Those unbelievable heights, where he launches himself with a superb transfer of power from the mid to the high and highest registers, remain distinctive and untarnished. Without losing an ounce of strength. That’s why every song has kept the expressive and atmospheric power and the stamp it has on the original studio recording. As the guy in charge of connecting with the crowd, Jon also nailed it, as if he had never taken a longer break in his musical career. Born for the stage.
Fates Warning are a byword for perfectionism, and all their records are consequently a byword for high quality. Over all these years of defiance, the band has spoiled its fans rather too much in this respect, and expectations are always sky-high. This time too, Fates Warning deliver literally the best they know and can do. If you know the studio original of the cult classic »Awaken the Guardian« well, you’ll be floored by how evergreen this album still is and how incredibly punchy it sounds thirty years on. The same goes for the stage performance, which in this case is basically flawless.
Fates Warning – Fata Morgana (live, 30.04.2016, Keep It True XIX festival):
Lineup
John Arch – vocals
Jim Matheos – guitar
Frank Aresti – guitar
Joe DiBase – bass
Steve Zimmerman – drums
Track list
DVD:
Live at Keep It True XIX
01. The Sorceress
02. Valley of the Dolls
03. Fata Morgana
04. Guardian
05. Prelude to Ruin
06. Giant’s Lore (Heart of Winter)
07. Time Long Past
08. Exodus
09. The Apparition
10. Damnation
11. Night on Brocken
12. Epitaph
Live at ProgPower XVII
01. The Sorceress
02. Valley of the Dolls
03. Fata Morgana
04. Guardian
05. Prelude to Ruin
06. Giant’s Lore (Heart of Winter)
07. Time Long Past
08. Exodus
09. Damnation
10. The Apparition
11. Kyrie Eleison
12. Epitaph
CD1.:
Live at Keep It True XIX
01. The Sorceress
02. Valley of the Dolls
03. Fata Morgana
04. Guardian
05. Prelude to Ruin
06. Giant’s Lore (Heart of Winter)
07. Time Long Past
08. Exodus
CD2.;
Live at Keep It True XIX
09. The Apparition
10. Damnation
11. Night on Brocken
12. Epitaph
