Fates Warning is one of my favorite bands of all times. Here you can find my Fates Warning discography review. Guitarist Jim Matheos has been its driving force for thirty-five years and John Arch was the original front-man of that band singing in the first three albums. That includes 1986's Awaken the Guardian, one of the most celebrated masterpieces of progressive metal. Twenty-five years after Arch left Fates Warning, the duo released 2011's Sympathetic Resonance under the Arch/Matheos banner. It's hard to believe it's been 8 years! But the wait is over. They have reunited to follow that record up with Winter Ethereal.
The fantastic and unique guitar playing and music writing from Jim Matheos is obviously the strong anchor of the album. Matheos keeps the music not too far from the Fates Warning sound. However, collaborating with John Arch brings a different side to Matheos music, as he would say himself, for Arch/Matheos "more is more". For starters, the album is long and the songs complex. Arch likes to sing over complicated parts and creates crazy melody lines. Winter Ethereal actually displays some of the best melody lines I've ever heard from the duo. The second pillar that defines Arch/Matheos sound is Arch's high pitched voice and impressive range. As a classic "love or hate" situation, his singing style is not for everyone though. But for us on the love side, it's so good to see that after all those years we still get new material from Arch. Despite the fact that he is turning 60 this year, he continues to go strong and even improving his performance and unique tone.
Another welcomed change that brought diversity to the music is the musicians supporting the duo. As opposed to the first album, for this one the duo assembled a lineup featuring not only of present and former Fates Warning drummers and bassists (Joey Vera, Bobby Jarzombek, Joe Dibiase and Mark Zonder) but also other noted musicians, such as Steve Di Giorgio (Death, Testament), Cynic‘s Sean Malone, and drummer Thomas Lang (stOrk). Frank Aresti is also back to perform a couple of guitar solos.
Winter Ethereal features nine tracks and clocks in at almost seventy minutes. The only song below the 6-ish minute mark is the first single "Straight and Narrow" with 4:20. A fast paced and heavy track featuring some awesome drumming. The album opens with a nine-minute masterpiece "Vermilion Moons" that exemplifies the brilliance of the whole album. From the get go, the creativity and uniqueness of their sound is clear. The song starts with a cool heavy guitar riffs and instead of drums and bass to join immediately after, we first get a second guitar playing a clean arpeggio! Certainly not what I expected. Then the beautiful singing followed by some very cool drum fills. Overall the song is heavy, with ups and downs and full of those very interesting guitar layers and superb drumming. The vocal melody foreshadows what's seen in the whole album: very interesting, complex and yet catchy and melodic. You will immediately feel compelled to get the lyrics and start singing along. All the eight songs that follow keep the same quality level and I wouldn't cut any out. Some shorter songs are more on the fast pace and heavy side like the single discussed, "Wanderlust", and "Solitary Man". "Tethered" is a welcomed beautiful melodic and slow song that helps us catch some breath. The other tracks are longer, progressive and full of interesting details. The guitar solo duel in "Never in Your Hands" is just an amazing call back to Maiden's Smith/Murray old days. The guitar tone on "Wrath of the Universe" makes the guitar solo sound almost like a saxophone. Then the 13-min closer "Kindred Spirits" is full of heavy and beautiful moments, also some great solos and overall an emotional ending proclaiming John's love for animals.
I don't have much to complain about Winter Ethereal. The production is clear and well mixed, but it's a bit on the loud side. Yes, it could be shorter and it violates my rule of max length by 13 minutes. But I don't really know where to cut it. Other than that, this is one of the best sonic experiences I had this year and Winter Ethereal is already a strong contender for album of the year. The guitar work, the emotions, the powerful and catchy singing, the song writing and drumming are all perfectly combined in a unique display of emotion and uncompromising creativity that only Arch/Matheos can deliver.
SCORE: 85/100
DR: 6
Genre: Progressive Metal
Released by Metal Blade on May 10th, 2019
No comments:
Post a Comment