Fates Warning - Perfect Symmetry (Expanded Edition)
Posted on June 16, 2008 at 8:00 am by admin
I’m not completely familiar with the history of progressive metal/rock. What I have heard is that the 2 bands who really helped to pioneer the genre were generally Rush and Yes, although I did hear the Fates Warning name quite a bit. While some of you would want me to rush out right now and begin a musical history of progressive of rock and metal in order to make myself a perfect review for those progressive fans, I do believe that music shouldn’t always be made to appeal only to limited audiences, so I do like the idea of hearing an album with “innocent ears” so to speak.
Being that this album actually dates back to 1989, that would explain why more recent progressive bands have done what they could to basically copy Fates Warning, pretty much under the idea that they could sound just like Fates Warning, only with different songs, which of course is extremely limiting. The way Fates Warning comes off in my interpretation is certainly as a bunch of experienced players from the world of power metal just diving right into progressive, so there’s tiny little hints of power metal sprinkled throughout the player. The other big noticeable element is actually the fact that Fates Warning decided not to make “Perfect Symmetry” a huge fest of overdone cliches. Sure they can play off-time, get a couple of longer songs (just under anywhere from 3 to 7 minutes) and shred the guitar fretboard into splinters, the amazing part is that they don’t overdo anything simply for the sake of showing off their prog chops. You can feel that the band is simply taking their time and relaxing through the song, and it’s emotion that translates rather well to the listener.
The main addition is the second disc full of demos and long lost material. It isn’t simply a demo of the entire album, but actually goes back quite far back in time. Some of those demos sound like they could’ve been done in ‘84, when Fates Warning actually had their first demo out before they got signed. It’s always a plus to hear a young band before they really got started, as they always have a bit of youthful exuberance, and a real urge to show the world their wares.
The saddest part isn’t the actual album at all, but the simple fact that so many imitators have come along, from cheap to nearly perfect, who have come along to basically rape and pillage the signature sound of Fates Warning to the point where the real thing has become devalued. While I haven’t heard later Fates Warning, I’m hoping that they took their abilities to push themselves to creative limits rather than superficial ones. For those musicians looking to pick this album, my suggestion is to use “Perfect Symmetry” as inspiration rather than an influence.
Re-Released June 19th, 2008
Fates Warning at MySpace
Metal Blade Records at MySpae
Buy this album at Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
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