Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Fates Warning
Label: Metal Blade Records
Release: 1984
Length: 42:26
Rating: 4/5
Just when it looked like Iron Maiden had set standards for heavy metal in the first half of the eighties that nobody would top for a good long while, bands like Queensrÿche and Fates Warning came along and showed that you could go far, far beyond Iron Maiden, not just up to them. American oddballs Fats Warning complicated things so much that they sounded even faster, more aggressive and more alive than their idolized role models. In short: dirty! Unlike Iron Maiden’s polished sound, the Fates Warning production kept that true rebel garage-band, live sound. They only “fixed” the guitar tone, and so cut the noise down to a minimum.
The band has an incredible feel for drama (e.g. the ending of the title track). The songs are colorful and complexly structured (“Misfit”, Shadowfax”, “Soldier Boy”). The power-riffing storm is decked out with first-rate three-part harmonies (but typically American), the transitions get extra guitar ornamentation, and the rhythm section cuts like it’s got money on it. The drums fire off a couple of seriously wicked technical passages. Constant rhythm changes are always in play. The bass guitar is an equal partner (in the style of eighties production) and follows the drums tightly. The sound is full! The vocals are powerful, energetic and heartfelt. They stand out for top-notch screams, a fantastic knack for adapting to the song structures and shifting the color of the voice, which builds a seriously ambient mood. “Damnation” is a grandiose song full of epicness, hinting at the band’s later stylistic direction toward progressive metal currents (a turn that first becomes most obvious on the album “Awaken The Guardian”).
Through all this fantastic raw aggression of pure old school speed U.S. metal you can feel the band’s total enthusiasm. With their arrival on the metal scene and their unique approach, they showed already on their debut that there were still undiscovered, untouched musical dimensions in the world of metal. And that was only the birth.
Lineup
John Arch – vocals
Jim Matheos – guitar
Victor Arduini – guitar
Joe DiBiase – bass
Steve Zimmerman – drums
Production
Fates Warning
Tracklist
1. Buried Alive (4:39)
2. The Calling (5:03)
3. Kiss Of Death (4:39)
4. Night On Bröcken (5:30)
5. S.E.K. (1:20)
6. Misfit (5:06)
7. Shadowfax (3:16)
8. Damnation (6:26)
9. Soldier Boy (6:25)
Album length: 42:21
10. Last Call*
11. The Calling*
12. Kiss Of Death*
13. Flight Of Icarus*
*…BONUS TRACKS ON THE 2002 REMASTERED EDITION
