Fates Warning
The Spectre Within

THE REVIEW

Fates Warning will be known to most as pioneers of a progressive-metal that thrived in the '90s alongside Dream Theater, but few know that they too have cumbersome skeletons in their closet, relics of a forgotten and renounced past (a bit like the teased hair of Pantera's early days).

The first three albums from the Connecticut group contained an epic-power metal that stands as a rare gem in the past, present, and future metal scene, unique and unrepeatable yet at the same time heralds of the prog shift, which occurred when guitarist and project leader Jim Matheos forced the departure of John Arch, singer and indispensable piece of the group at this stage.

The debut, "Night on Brocken," was raw and unpolished; the following "Awaken The Guardian" is considered by many to represent the maturity and pinnacle of these early Fates Warning; in between stands "The Spectre Within," which in my opinion has little or nothing to envy of its successor.

Sure, there are some convoluted or not very smooth passages, but the work never appears difficult or awkward. The guitars are in top form and dart with elegant agility between evocative riffs that wouldn’t be out of place in a Bay Area group, decadent arpeggios, and solo dialogues that favor melodic and sentimental expressionism rather than cold and leaden technique. But it is still the vocals that are the real protagonists of this new phase of the American group: John Arch has a very peculiar way of conceiving his vocal lines; while his timbre might remind of Bruce Dickinson, his way of tackling verses and choruses with a unique and overflowing sense of harmony and theatricality is unmatched, making each song a mosaic of melodies and emotions, painting landscapes with fairytale, magical, and wild atmospheres.

From elaborate songs rich in tempo changes like "Traveler in Time", "Pirates of the Underground", or "Orphan Gypsy" with its dreamy chorus, we move to the majesty of the long "Epitaph" and "The Apparition" (anyone who appreciates the genre cannot help but fall into an ecstatic swoon from a Stendhal syndrome auditively when listening to the central acceleration), with ventures into more canonical Power of "Without a Trace" and "Kyrie Eleison".

But the common denominator remains John Arch, whose vocal ups and downs always confer that aura of romance and proud poetry that is the real distinguishing feature of the band in this phase, often ignored by many but absolutely deserving of being rediscovered.