#fates warning

[colorcodedquiescence]

embrace this shade of gray

All pics from Pinterest. May be modified or created by AI.

[nofatclips]

Scars by Fates Warning

[rockingreads]

Roie Avin: Essential Modern Progressive Rock Albums: Images and Words Behind Prog's Most Celebrated Albums 1990-2016 (2018)

As the editor of The Prog Report website (and a longtime friend and music biz colleague), Roie Avin is one of this planet's preeminent experts about this often misunderstood, sometimes reviled, but obviously enduring branch of rock 'n' roll's family tree.

Punk rock tried its damndest to kill progressive rock in the late 1970s, but it frankly never stood a chance and so-called "dinosaurs" like Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and Pink Floyd kept right on selling millions of records long after their assailants had gone extinct themselves or sold out to new wave.

And then, after a relatively quiet 1980s (emphasis on "relative" since the decade spawned the mighty Marillion and many other genre standard bearers featured here), progressive rock grew ever more ambitious and expansive in the decades that followed.

Hence this period frequently being referred to as the 'Third Wave.'

Roie's book makes that abundantly obvious with a chronological survey of over 50 LPs, each of which receives a dedicated chapter full of historical information, band interviews and photos, and the author's own well-informed opinions about each title.

From Queensrÿche's multi-platinum-selling Empire to Opeth's twelfth opus, Sorceress (both obviously pictured above), Roie proves that prog never stopped, uh, progressing in the capable hands of major names like Dream Theater, Tool, Fates Warning, Spock's Beard, Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, and Devin Townsend.

What's more, even a somewhat knowledgeable music fan like me learned a lot about unfamiliar albums by the likes of Scale the Summit, Beardfish, The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Periphery, Haken, Enchant, Riverside, and Karnivool.

If anything, Roie seldom ventures into the extreme metal woods where countless Cookie Monsters beyond Opeth tread, but he had to draw the line somewhere, or else no coffee table would be large enough to support the resulting Encyclopedia Progtannica.

And I was thrilled to see Cynic's incomparable Focus LP included, alongside other personal favorites like Anathema, Ayeron, King's X, Mastodon, Between the Buried and Me, and, of course, Marillion.

So here's to you, Roie!

May you carry on sailing these seas of cheese (it's at least guaranteed to be gourmet cheese) and remain safe aboard all of those crazy prog rock cruises.

Featured Records:

Queensrÿche: Empire (1990)

Dream Theater: Images and Words (1992)

King's X: Faith Hope Love (1990)

Opeth: Sorceress (2016)

Cynic: Focus (1993)

Buy from: The Prog Report

[metalsongoftheday]

Thursday, January 1: Fates Warning, "Life in Still Water"

If Fates Warning parallel pathed with Queensrÿche for their first 20 years, Parallels was a clear indication that Jim Matheos was watching how Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo hit paydirt in the early ‘90s by streamlining their band’s overall approach and dialing down the histrionics.  The big difference, besides Queensrÿche having the muscle of a major label, more overtly aiming for the radio and MTV and ultimately selling a lot more records, was that Matheos was actually a more thoughtful songwriter, and while that didn’t lend itself to mainstream success (and honestly didn’t always work out creatively either) it made Fates Warning arguably a better band in the long run.  So while “Life in Still Water” didn’t have the frenzy and firepower of Awaken the Guardian and Ray Alder toned down his wailing by a lot, it was a complex, interesting and emotive track that offered a smarter take on prog going commercial.  The early ‘90s touches were probably unavoidable and the prog (including James LaBrie’s backing vocals) was a bit more subtle, but the tune showed how Fates Warning could adapt their sound and approach not only to the times but also present their vision in a more introspective context.  And that turned out to be the defining signal for where Matheos would go for the rest of the band’s run.

[ivorytowerprog]

Fates Warning - The Light And Shade of Things / live

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[seasons-in-hell]

Fates Warning - Point Of View (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

[dreamsofconsciousnessmetal]

Kozmik Qubes [Weekly Mixtape 193]

Electric Citizen | L'Ira del Baccano | Skyjoggers | Civil Service | Tuesday The Sky | Yawning Man | Marmalade Knives | Black Honey Cult | Monkeys On Mars | Giöbia

Direct Download [hold + "Save As"]

Music On This Mixtape:

Electric Citizen: "Lizard Brain" taken from the album "EC4"

L'Ira del Baccano: "Tempus 25" (single edit) taken from the L'Ira Del Baccano / Yama split "Tempus Deorum"

Skyjoggers: "Døpehølm" taken from the album "12021: Post-Electric Apocalypse"

Civil Service: "Black Giraffes" taken from the album "Dark ///"

Tuesday The Sky: "Set Fire to the Stars" taken from the album "Indoor Enthusiast"

Yawning Man: "Burrito Power" taken from the album "Pavement Ends"

Marmalade Knives: "Sacramental Lamb" taken from the album "Paradigm Lost"

Black Honey Cult: "LSD and Me" taken from the album "Black Honey Cult"

Monkeys On Mars: "Seasonal Pyres" taken from the album "Monkeys On Mars"

Giöbia: "Fractal Haze" taken from the album "X-ÆON"