sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Jan 30, 2006 14:44:40 GMT -5
I've been recommended FW many times before, but for some reason I've never acted upon it. The only song I've heard by them is Eye To Eye (from Parallels), so I'd like to properly acquaint myself with their style by buying an album.
I was thinking of buying Disconnected because it has a neat cover, but I'm perfectly aware that's not necessarily the wisest way to go about it. :P So instead, I decided to check out the official website.
Getting to the point, I'd like it if I could be advised as to which albums to check out. To give you a rough idea of the kind of stuff I'm into, I've been listening to a lot of the following albums lately...
Dream Theater - Octavarium Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun Mostly Autumn - Passengers, Storms Over Still Water Therion - Secret of the Runes Rush - Hemispheres Ayreon - Into The Electric Castle, The Human Equation Spock's Beard - Octane Genesis - Foxtrot
...of which all except Spock's Beard and Genesis are some of my favorite bands. I also listen to a little Power Metal here and there (Blind Guardian etc.), and I'm growing into some of Devin Townsend's stuff.
So what should someone with my music tastes check out first, in the way of FW albums?
Thanks in advance.
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BenMech
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Post by BenMech on Jan 30, 2006 18:05:53 GMT -5
"Chasing Time" or "Still Life (the double live album)"
Then get every album in the catalogue
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Jan 30, 2006 18:35:25 GMT -5
You're quite the prog guy I see, based on those albums I would be comfortable suggesting "A Pleasant Shade of Gray" for a mellower side of FW. Still rocks, but has a very somber PTish feel. It's my favorite from them, and I would suggest "Disconnected" and "FWX" for the most current sound... both excellent albums. Going back to the older stuff, you'll find some more variety of styles between albums. The first 3 have the original singer John Arch, they are early '80s prog/power metal...more prog as they went on. All excellent albums as well, but as I said...they are a bit dated. Doesn't bother me since I was listening to them right when they came out, but for a new fan...who knows? Ray Alder became the singer on "No Exit" and still is, all the albums from there range from heavier '80s style prog metal to a sometimes more mainstream sound(as you heard on "Eye to Eye")...all good stuff. You can get a bit of a rundown of each album here... www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=FATES|WARNING&uid=MIW030601301840&sql=11:dxkcikc6bb69~T2Pay no attention to the rankings, especially for APSOG!!... They usually give a fairly unbiased assessment of bands and albums, so overall it's a good site. Then there's resident board member Fox's site... thefinalverdict.net/Just surf to them by letter and you'll find them on the left with reviews of each album. Hope it helps and welcome to the board... #cheers# Seth
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Shark Black
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Post by Shark Black on Jan 31, 2006 0:00:56 GMT -5
A Pleasant Shade Of Gray seems like a good pick for you.
but...
Inside Out is more accessible, great lyrics.
Perfect Symmetry is probably the most technical and progressive...
The old John Arch Stuff is heavier....
Disconnected is the most mainstream.
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BenMech
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Post by BenMech on Jan 31, 2006 11:05:46 GMT -5
I listened to my Inside Out cassette in da car yesterday. Better album than I remembered. Monument still kicks all kinds of arse
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Jan 31, 2006 15:27:40 GMT -5
Okay, thanks loads everyone. A Pleasant Shade Of Grey it is. : [/i]D Just need to wait for my new CD rack to arrive (just ran out of space in my current one). I might get one or two others at the same time, just to sample a bit of a fuller range. I'm leaning toward Disconnected and Inside Out, as their descriptions piqued my interest on the allmusic site that Seth linked to. Not 100% sure yet though, might just check how much I like A Pleasant Shade of Gray for now. If it's got a bit of Porcupine Tree style in it I can't see how I can lose. Looking forward to finally getting some Fates Warning down me.
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Post by journeytoarcana on Jan 31, 2006 17:35:06 GMT -5
FWX (2004) - this has the most Porcupine Tree influence in it, I think. It also has two of their best World music numbers as well ("Wish" and "River Wide, Ocean Deep")
Perfect Symmetry (1989) - probably their most technical, and I would even go as far as saying this is to Fates Warning what Hemispheres is to Rush, from a musicianship standpoint.
No Exit (1988)- Their heaviest, and lyrically it's a shining gem. "The Ivory Gate of Dreams"(21:58) is obviously worth the price of the album alone, but I also always believed the strength of this LP lied in the fact that the entire band wrote many of the songs together.
I always recommend purchasing No Exit and Perfect Symmetry together, and depending on which one you like better, either proceed forward into their future catalogue (Parallels and on) or head backwards (Awaken the Guardian and before)
The problem with Fates Warning's catalogue is that each album sounds so completely different than the next, that it is difficult to believe it's the same band. And, based on your musical tastes (as of late), the only album that would logically fit that mold would be their latest one, FWX. I know people go ga-ga over A Pleasant Shade of Gray (for many reasons) but it's not a good album to start with for the uninitiated considering the whole thing is only 1 track.
That is all
jta
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Jan 31, 2006 19:50:13 GMT -5
JTA could be right about APSOG as a first album, although I think the songs are still pretty individual despite it being a concept album with no track titles.
Also agree completely about "Perfect Symmetry", incredible album technically as well as the writing.
Maybe "FWX" or "Disconnected" would be better to start with, but you really can't go wrong with any of them. Just remember they are very different from each other, I know some who only like a few albums...but they like them a lot. That's kind of a PT comparison in itself, something that keeps a band fresh IMO.
Seth
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Feb 2, 2006 15:03:14 GMT -5
Just got my CD rack today, so I went on a binge. 6 CDs for £42.00 ain't bad.
Three of them were Fates Warning CDs, so I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of A Pleasant Shade Of Gray, Disconnected, and FWX. I decided it would be worth getting APSOG because it'll give me a flavour of what lots of the fans see in the band, and Disconnected and FWX based on what you guys have been telling me about those two matching my tastes best.
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Post by journeytoarcana on Feb 2, 2006 15:39:49 GMT -5
Looking back, it would be safe to divide Fates Warning into three eras now, and you ordered the installment of their newest era:
Zimmerman Era:
(1984) Night on Brocken (1985) The Spectre Within (1986) Awaken the Guardian (1988) No Exit
Early Zonder Era:
(1989) Perfect Symmetry (1991) Parallels (1994) Inside Out
Late Zonder Era:
(1997) A Pleasant Shade of Gray (2000) Disconnected (2004) FWX
All of these albums, though quite different from each other, have more in common with the ones in their respective era. Therefore, if you enjoy the lot you bought, and plan on getting more, it may help to stay within the particular eras to compare them to each other. I still think Awaken the Guardian slays all of them, but then again, what the hell do I know?
If Zonder chooses (or Jim chooses) not to play anymore, then there will be a new twist in the Fates catalogue, and yet another era to add.
Enjoy your selections, and let us know what you think.
jta
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Feb 4, 2006 7:59:22 GMT -5
First of my haul arrived today; Disconnected. When I was buying them, I was a little hesitant - I'd just spent thirty pounds on a band I knew barely anything about. Thankfully, I had nothing to worry about. Onto track two and I already love it.
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BenMech
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Post by BenMech on Feb 4, 2006 10:31:17 GMT -5
So Sabre: outta curiosity, what were the three non-FW cds in the haul?
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SethFWF
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Post by SethFWF on Feb 4, 2006 11:19:18 GMT -5
Funny about "Disconnected", it seems for most fans to be a let down...not that they don't like it, just not as much. From much of what I've read from them, they prefer "FWX".
While I like "FWX" a lot, I actually prefer "Disconnected" overall. Even if you take out "So", and the 2 "Disconnected" bookends... the other 4 that remain make an awesome album IMO. I don't mind the other songs really, the rest are the meat of the album though.
Even with the long intros to "Still Remains" and "Something from Nothing", they just create a mood and build up to some of the best stuff they've done for me. The epicness of the whole album helps with my opinion too, I like longer songs anyway...i.e. APSOG, "Ivory Gate of Dreams" obviously.
Seth
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sabredog
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Post by sabredog on Feb 4, 2006 13:32:52 GMT -5
So Sabre: outta curiosity, what were the three non-FW cds in the haul? Mostly Autumn - For All We Shared, Spock's Beard - V, and Porcupine Tree - Voyage 34. The SB CD arrived at the same time as Disconnected (I'm really liking The Great Nothing - I'm pretty sure I'm hearing some Genesis influence in it), and the other two aren't here yet for whatever reason. Apparently Voyage 34 is very different to most PT stuff, so I hope I like it. X: I was going to get Angra - Fireworks, too, but I don't like spending more than £50 at any one time. So far, the highlights of Disconnected for me have been One, So, and Disconnected Pt. 2. The other songs sound good, but I'm going to need to give them a couple more spins to truly get into them. Good album, and hopefully with a couple more listens a great album.
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BenMech
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Post by BenMech on Feb 4, 2006 16:05:16 GMT -5
Ahh. I have one Mostly Autumn album here, the entire PT catalogue, and 2 Spock's Beard albums. Your comments are on target. Voyage 34 is NOT a rock album. It's actually more like ambient druggy trance music from the early 1990s. the title refers to the number of times a controlled subject was given LSD before he had his first unpleasant reaction. It was determined a subject can handle it 33 times before it happens
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