Fates Warning

North Sea Echoes – Really Good Terrible Things Review

North Sea Echoes – Really Good Terrible Things Review

“Fewer combos in metal have spurred music in my wheelhouse as that of Ray Alder and Jim Matheos. Their union for Fates Warning’s 1988 release No Exit burst in the budding progressive metal scene with USPM histrionics and Rush-fueled narrative structure. Of course, that was near forty years ago. At sixty vs twenty, your mind (mostly) thinks differently, your voice cracks differently, your hair grays and may even thin. In the case of Alder and Matheos, while immune to the loss of hair, do fall in line to some extent with the other consequences of time. In the sea of time.

Ray Alder – II Review

Ray Alder – II Review

“It’s probably not much of a stretch at this point to call Ray Alder a near-legendary prog-metal vocalist. With long-running stints in Fates Warning, Redemption, and recently, A-Z to his credit, the man has been part of a wide collection of influential prog releases and his voice has shined over multiple decades. Now that Fates Warning is inactive, Mr. Alder found time to work on his second solo outing.” Ray of light (prog).

Redemption – I Am the Storm Review

Redemption – I Am the Storm Review

“Call me olde and jaded, but I tend to be suspicious of bands that bear the “supergroup” imprimatur. Cautious though I may be, I’ve been a fan of Redemption since their launch way back in 2003. The brainchild of guitarist extraordinaire, Nicolas van Dyk, the project has benefitted from some exceptional frontmen over time, such as Rick Mythiasin (Steel Prophet, New Eden) and Ray Alder (Fates Warning, A-Z), and since 2018s Long Night’s Journey into Day, they’ve had Evergrey’s Tom Englund on the mic.” Forgiveness is more than saying sorry.

Queensrÿche – Digital Noise Alliance Review

Queensrÿche – Digital Noise Alliance Review

“A new Queensrÿche platter almost mandates a look back at the many peaks and valleys the band traversed over their long career. Early releases like their eponymous EP and The Warning were timeless pieces of traditional metal. They created what is arguably the best metal concept album of all time with Operation: Mindcrime, and they had major commercial success with Mindcrime and Empire without having to “sell out.” Lean years followed as Geoff Tate and company drifted into drab alt-rock (Hear in the Now Frontier, Q2K), then came the trend hopping (Tribe), and finally, phoning it in (Operation: Mindcrime II).” God save the Queensrÿche!

Kings of Mercia – Kings of Mercia Review

Kings of Mercia – Kings of Mercia Review

“Here we are for Round 2 of Battle of the Bands. Round 1 took place back on August 12, when Ray Alder and Mark Zonder conspired to release their exceptionally strong A-Z album. Now we’ve got the response from Jim Matheos and Joey Vera, another eponymous debut, by their new band Kings of Mercia.” Fates be warned.

Trial – Feed the Fire Review

Trial – Feed the Fire Review

“Way back in 2015, when the world was young and AMG was still using the cursed and damned Excel Promo Sheet ov Doom, an album called Vessel by Swedish prog/power/trad act Trial graced my earholes. It was like a joyous fusion of Crimson Glory, early Fates Warning, In Solitude and NWoBHM and I really enjoyed it. I planned to review it but time conspired against me and Vessel never got the AMG treatment it deserved. 2017s Motherless did, however, and that album was a hot mess lacking the old timey charm and mystique of its predecessor. Fast forward to 2022 and Trial return with Feed the Fire and a brand new singer, and the awkwardness of Motherless is nowhere to be found.” Trial by fire.

A-Z – A-Z Review

A-Z – A-Z Review

“The last Fates Warning album, 2020’s tepid Long Day Good Night may have marked the end of the band (pure speculation, frens), but the fellas have not been resting on their laurels. Look at this summer alone: bassist Joey Vera has been touring for Mercyful Fate, and Ray Alder and ex-drummer Mark Zonder are dropping their straight-ahead metal album, A-Z, this week. Next month Jim Matheos does the same with his new band, Kings of Mercia. If you’re a long-time fan like me, this is exciting stuff!” ABCs of Fate.

Poverty’s No Crime – A Secret To Hide Review

Poverty’s No Crime – A Secret To Hide Review

Poverty’s No Crime plays a very archetypal brand of progressive metal as developed in the mid-80’s by other genre veterans such as Fates Warning and 90s acts like Dream Theater. This means expansive songs that still hold on to classic verse-chorus structures, recognizable riffs and melodic leads, but allow for a lot of exploration upon the motifs within these tracks.” Operation: Povertycrime.

Blue Hour Ghosts – Due Review

Blue Hour Ghosts – Due Review

“NASA once lost a perfectly good spacecraft due to a units error, which led to a miscalculated course and a fiery collision with the destination planet. The navigation team had raised concerns that it was off course before the actual crash, but no action was taken. Managers preferred to assume everything was fine until it was too late. Here on final approach hoping everything is fine is Italy’s Blue Hour Ghosts with their second album, Due.” Brace for impact.