Mark Zonder was the drummer on this album, and he's been one of my favorite drummers since I first heard the album after this one, A Pleasant Shade of Gray. But I love this entire band, and all of the musicians that have come and gone. Their current incarnation is also great, and Bobby Jarzombek is no slouch when it comes to drumming. Bobby and his brother Ron made some music together with the band Spastic Ink, and that is some pretty intense technical prog metal. It's just full-on tech prog. I can't listen to it very often. 😅😅
Yeah Mark Zonder is wonderful. The only drummer i can think of, coming remotely close, is Rod Morgenstein, but in a very different stylistic environment. th-cam.com/video/20xl9x8BhUM/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/RHNs2jDOS1g/w-d-xo.html
if your interested in more of marks work Mark Zonder and Ray Alder are back together with a project called A-Z. Joined by Philip Bynoe (Warlord, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt) on bass, Joop Wolters (Steve Walsh, Simon Phillips) on guitar and Vivien Lalu on keys.
Hello from New England..I used to see F.W. in Connecticut a lot back in the day at a club called The Sting..they were around at the same time as Drem Theater but never achieved the same level of success..A nice blast from the past..Peace from the Northeast..
Traditional Prog Metal band trying to be more accessible Theres a Fusion Influence/Solo Section (Proto-Avant Garde Metal) This band influenced Dream Theater... Its a Brilliant Progressive Metal Masterpiece Song (Album) with Amazing Solos... All their music is Unique... from The Spectre Within (1985) to Long Day Good Night (2020) I don't subscribe to simpler/accessible is better composition Great Artist (like Fates Warning) can write great songs at any level of skill (Still this isn't a pop song its Progressive Metal) Odd Meters/Syncopation... etc... Fates Warnings (Jim Matheos) Lyrics are Philosophical they don't underestimate the listeners intelligence they leave it open for the audience to think for themselfs
Really cool! Reminded of a “proto-prog metal” style. A bit heavier and crunchier than prog rock. Really interesting hearing the line from early 60’s/70’s prog rock to 90’s prog metal to current stuff. Cool stuff.
I love this song so much! The riff, the guitar and acoustic solo, the remarkable Ray Alder's voice and melodies but what makes this song great is the drums, incredibly creative, carries you like a wave through the entire song!!!!
Fates Warning started out as a Maiden/Dio-Sabbath influenced metal act in the early-to-mid 80s. The first three records featured a different singer (and drummer), who sang about mostly fantasy-influenced themes. Starting in 1988, with a new singer, they edged closer to more complex thrashy compositions with "realistic" lyrical content. 1989 saw a new, much more technically-focused drummer (Mark Zonder) and proto-prog metal compositions. 1992 saw them going for the "big time", bringing in Rush producer Terry Brown, and a much more accessible (prog-lite?) direction. Big time MTV videos with flowing pirate shirt visuals, and an attempt to get the Queensryche/Dream Theater audience, but it didn't quite pan out. I sense the lyrics of this song refer to the doubts they were feeling about "making it." Post-1988 lyrical content for Fates Warning tends to border on the pessimistic...so perhaps that colored my impression. 1994's Inside Out (from which this track was taken) was a bit of a repeated attempt to corner that market, including a tour with DT, but unfortunately grunge was taking over and this type of metal was just about snuffed out. 40% of the band left (bassist and one of the guitarists) and instead of focusing on the commercial direction, the band's response was to issue an hour-long single-track concept record in 1997. Fates became pretty much a cult band at this point and periodically released records throughout the years, culminating in their 13th record, 2020's Long Day, Good Night, which apparently will be their final record. Tomorrow we will take a look at that and see how the band has progressed since '94 with a new drummer (2013), a new bassist (1997), and a new soloist (guitar), yet the same original songwriter/composer and same singer. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Where'd you copy this text from? A lot of it is correct, but I don't believe Long Day Good Night is meant to be their final record. I believe Jim Matheos, Ray Alder, and Joey Vera (who have all been in the band since '97 or earlier) all intend on continuing; with the addition of Bobby Jarzombek, who has been the drummer for the past three albums, and new guitarist Michael Abdow.
@@TheDondoran I didn't copy this text from anywhere. I wrote it myself. Here it is in Ray Alder's words: "I think Jim no longer wants to write new music for Fates Warning. I think this may be our last album. And this was a kind of way to say that. We all still want to tour, but as far as new music, I think it's done."
@@kevinmadden3396 I guess what I found confusing in your original post was this: "Tomorrow we will take a look at that and see how the band has progressed since '94 with a new drummer (2013), a new bassist (1997), and a new soloist (guitar), yet the same original songwriter/composer and same singer." My apologies. I know that the band's future has been tenuous and that Ray has been the more aggressive one in trying to get new music made. I think I remember at one point he said that if the band had pushed harder they could've been as successful as Dream Theater, or something to that effect. Maybe Jim isn't as motivated to reach that level, but I don't remember hearing about any finality.
Modern Fates Warning has a really cool production, the album Theories of Flight is one of my favorites ever. Btw it's a good time to introduce the band Redemption, which for most of their albums has the same singer than Fates Warning, the great Ray Alder. I would recommend any of their lengthy songs but if it's too much, "Black and white world" is a really cool option.
Theories of Flight was a career defining album. Speaking of modern Fates Warning, do you know Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance ? Basically it's the same line up just with their original vocalist. And that's the big elephant. His vocal lines are too much for most people and I can understand that, but for me personally, it's the best metallic album of the last 20 years or so. Dwarfing even Theories of Flight. th-cam.com/video/4Vch5IRptto/w-d-xo.html
@@stinky_nut_blast I have only listened their 2019 album, but I find it hard to get along with the singer's voice :( In contrast, I find Ray Alder's voice wonderful, his solo album is very classy btw
absolutely agree. and, if you haven't caught it yet,Mark Zonder and Ray Alder are back together with a project called A-Z. Joined by Philip Bynoe (Warlord, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt) on bass, Joop Wolters (Steve Walsh, Simon Phillips) on guitar and Vivien Lalu on keys.
If you're interested in this kind of "proto prog metal" you just HAVE to react to Watchtower, Control And Resistance and The Fall Of Reason would be perfect songs
re, ending: I think Jim Matheos was composing parts of Monument on midi at some point so he fixed a section of the midi notation at the end of the final band recording. I'm sure the rest of the band was thrilled with that, especially Mark Zonder, having to be an opening act to a midi metronome, lol. That incarnation of the band broke up soon thereafter
Not my favorite FW album but its so accessible and gives hints all over of their talent they have had throughout their discography. Ray Alder is so wonderful as a singer emotionally and Mark Zonder is colorful in the band and on this album. You mentioned Dream Theater etc as being Prog heavy compared to FW being Prog light yet FW started in the same region before and DT has said many times FW was one of their main influences starting out and even shared a keyboardist. I adore FW and maybe the "light" as you say is what makes them so enjoyable compared to over doing it like "math rock" does.
One of the few bands who continued to get better through the entire arc of their career. As much as I like the 90's stuff, I like their last five albums the best, especially FWX.
Wow that was a cool song. Lots of twists and turns. I assumed this was from 2022. don't know why. I thought "is this meta or zappa-y or something? Is this intentional? Am I imaging things?" Forgot about power metal. Never thought or imagined casual power metal. well done, great breakdown.
This was from the late 90s but I'm checking out at 2020 track from them today. It'll be a nice compare/contrast of their older works and their newer ones.
Fates Warning were on of the OG prog metal bands of the late 80s. They were eclipsed in popularity by Queensryche and, later, by Dream Theater, but I think they are very much in the same class with both bands. Here's what I wrote about them on my Top 100 Artists list (I ranked them #37--I ranked DT #21 and Queensryche #55 for comparison): "FW are what I imagine Queensryche would've been had they kept getting better in the 90s instead of going to hell. In truth, FW were always something of a Johnny-come-lately band who got by on imitating their predecessors--Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queensryche, etc.--but rather than that being a knock against them it's actually a testament to how well they adapted to each new style, continually evolving and staying fresh rather than resting on their laurels and becoming too dated. They're also the model of consistency in prog metal, rarely releasing a genuinely bad or mediocre album. Even if I'd admit they never released an album as great as Operation: Mindcrime, I could equally say Queensryche never released anything else as good as probably the next 3 or 4 best FW albums." As you can probably tell from the above they're a band whose sound/style has changed significantly over the years. Their 80s stuff goes from and Iron Maiden clone, to being quasi-thrash/pog (ala Metallica), then to Queensryche; then in the mid-late 90s they start incorporating more alternative rock influences (while maintaining the proggy edge), and in the 2000s/2010s they start incorporating more modern prog metal bands like Dream Theater and others. Like I suggested, the big knock against them is they were always "iterative" rather than "innovative," but they are hella great iterators with a consistent standard of excellence across all their various eras. I mean, I have 3 of their albums ranked 9/10, and 6 rated 8/10. Doesn't get much more consistently solid than that! This track is from their '94 album Inside Out where I'd say they first started incorporating more alternative rock/metal influences. It's probably one of my least favorite albums from them (not helped by the fact its bookended by two of their best: Parallels from '91 and A Pleasant Shade of Grey from '97). I'd say this was an odd choice of a song to introduce you to them, but I have found that FW fans tend be quite diverse in their favorite songs/albums, so maybe it's not terribly surprising. I probably would've recommended a track from a more recent album if only because they're more accessible to people more familiar with modern prog metal. I also think their recent albums have been the best lineup they've ever had: Jim Matheos is one of the most underrated guitarists in metal; ditto for Ray Alder as a vocalist. Bobby Jarzombek is one of those absolute monster drummers both technically and creative, and ditto for Joey Vera on bass. One thing I really appreciate about them is how they never abandoned clean singing and melodic guitar/vocal writing. Especially with their new material they're as rhythmically advanced as other modern prog metal bands, and their riffs are crushingly heavy, but they've always maintained the existence of melodic vocal/guitar writing over that. Not that I dislike all metal that focuses on other elements, but melodic metal ala Maiden and Priest (and Queensryche and Dream Theater) are what got met into metal to begin with.
boy brian you really missed the boat on who fates really are ,they are the fathers of pro metal no one and i mean no could play the stuff to this day,they are legends in connecticut were they were fonded!!!!
![[Full] 4 ต่อ 4 Celebrity EP.920 | 3 พ.ย. 67 | one31](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KwiW2M_kAg4/mqdefault.jpg)
Mark Zonder is my favorite drummer of all time.
He’s incredible
Zonder is up there with Peart in my book. I find it insane that he almost NEVER gets any recognition
In my book too.
Mark Zonder was the drummer on this album, and he's been one of my favorite drummers since I first heard the album after this one, A Pleasant Shade of Gray. But I love this entire band, and all of the musicians that have come and gone. Their current incarnation is also great, and Bobby Jarzombek is no slouch when it comes to drumming. Bobby and his brother Ron made some music together with the band Spastic Ink, and that is some pretty intense technical prog metal. It's just full-on tech prog. I can't listen to it very often. 😅😅
Yeah Mark Zonder is wonderful. The only drummer i can think of, coming remotely close, is Rod Morgenstein, but in a very different stylistic environment.
th-cam.com/video/20xl9x8BhUM/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/RHNs2jDOS1g/w-d-xo.html
if your interested in more of marks work
Mark Zonder and Ray Alder are back together with a project called A-Z. Joined by Philip Bynoe (Warlord, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt) on bass, Joop Wolters (Steve Walsh, Simon Phillips) on guitar and Vivien Lalu on keys.
Hello from New England..I used to see F.W. in Connecticut a lot back in the day at a club called The Sting..they were around at the same time as Drem Theater but never achieved the same level of success..A nice blast from the past..Peace from the Northeast..
I have loved Fates Warning every since I first heard them. This is my favorite song by them!
This band was Tool before Tool was Tool
WHAT! tool?
I call the end piece, the Peanuts version.
I have love Zonder for 33 years great feel reminds me of G Harrison,,,timing, pocket, ghost notes.
Traditional Prog Metal band trying to be more accessible
Theres a Fusion Influence/Solo Section (Proto-Avant Garde Metal)
This band influenced Dream Theater...
Its a Brilliant Progressive Metal Masterpiece Song (Album) with Amazing Solos...
All their music is Unique... from The Spectre Within (1985) to Long Day Good Night (2020)
I don't subscribe to simpler/accessible is better composition
Great Artist (like Fates Warning) can write great songs at any level of skill
(Still this isn't a pop song its Progressive Metal)
Odd Meters/Syncopation... etc...
Fates Warnings (Jim Matheos) Lyrics are Philosophical they don't underestimate the listeners intelligence they leave it open for the audience to think for themselfs
Really cool! Reminded of a “proto-prog metal” style. A bit heavier and crunchier than prog rock. Really interesting hearing the line from early 60’s/70’s prog rock to 90’s prog metal to current stuff. Cool stuff.
Mark zonder is a beast. Too bad he never really got enough recognition.
I love this song so much! The riff, the guitar and acoustic solo, the remarkable Ray Alder's voice and melodies but what makes this song great is the drums, incredibly creative, carries you like a wave through the entire song!!!!
Fates Warning started out as a Maiden/Dio-Sabbath influenced metal act in the early-to-mid 80s. The first three records featured a different singer (and drummer), who sang about mostly fantasy-influenced themes. Starting in 1988, with a new singer, they edged closer to more complex thrashy compositions with "realistic" lyrical content. 1989 saw a new, much more technically-focused drummer (Mark Zonder) and proto-prog metal compositions. 1992 saw them going for the "big time", bringing in Rush producer Terry Brown, and a much more accessible (prog-lite?) direction. Big time MTV videos with flowing pirate shirt visuals, and an attempt to get the Queensryche/Dream Theater audience, but it didn't quite pan out. I sense the lyrics of this song refer to the doubts they were feeling about "making it." Post-1988 lyrical content for Fates Warning tends to border on the pessimistic...so perhaps that colored my impression. 1994's Inside Out (from which this track was taken) was a bit of a repeated attempt to corner that market, including a tour with DT, but unfortunately grunge was taking over and this type of metal was just about snuffed out. 40% of the band left (bassist and one of the guitarists) and instead of focusing on the commercial direction, the band's response was to issue an hour-long single-track concept record in 1997. Fates became pretty much a cult band at this point and periodically released records throughout the years, culminating in their 13th record, 2020's Long Day, Good Night, which apparently will be their final record. Tomorrow we will take a look at that and see how the band has progressed since '94 with a new drummer (2013), a new bassist (1997), and a new soloist (guitar), yet the same original songwriter/composer and same singer. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Where'd you copy this text from? A lot of it is correct, but I don't believe Long Day Good Night is meant to be their final record. I believe Jim Matheos, Ray Alder, and Joey Vera (who have all been in the band since '97 or earlier) all intend on continuing; with the addition of Bobby Jarzombek, who has been the drummer for the past three albums, and new guitarist Michael Abdow.
@@TheDondoran I didn't copy this text from anywhere. I wrote it myself. Here it is in Ray Alder's words: "I think Jim no longer wants to write new music for Fates Warning. I think this may be our last album. And this was a kind of way to say that. We all still want to tour, but as far as new music, I think it's done."
@@kevinmadden3396 I guess what I found confusing in your original post was this: "Tomorrow we will take a look at that and see how the band has progressed since '94 with a new drummer (2013), a new bassist (1997), and a new soloist (guitar), yet the same original songwriter/composer and same singer."
My apologies. I know that the band's future has been tenuous and that Ray has been the more aggressive one in trying to get new music made. I think I remember at one point he said that if the band had pushed harder they could've been as successful as Dream Theater, or something to that effect. Maybe Jim isn't as motivated to reach that level, but I don't remember hearing about any finality.
@@TheDondoran the tomorrow reference is to the next special selection, which should be "The Longest Shadow of the Day" from the latest record.
@@kevinmadden3396 Okay, thank you. That's something to look forward to.
Modern Fates Warning has a really cool production, the album Theories of Flight is one of my favorites ever.
Btw it's a good time to introduce the band Redemption, which for most of their albums has the same singer than Fates Warning, the great Ray Alder. I would recommend any of their lengthy songs but if it's too much, "Black and white world" is a really cool option.
Theories of Flight was a career defining album. Speaking of modern Fates Warning, do you know Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance ? Basically it's the same line up just with their original vocalist. And that's the big elephant. His vocal lines are too much for most people and I can understand that, but for me personally, it's the best metallic album of the last 20 years or so. Dwarfing even Theories of Flight.
th-cam.com/video/4Vch5IRptto/w-d-xo.html
@@stinky_nut_blast I have only listened their 2019 album, but I find it hard to get along with the singer's voice :( In contrast, I find Ray Alder's voice wonderful, his solo album is very classy btw
absolutely agree. and, if you haven't caught it yet,Mark Zonder and Ray Alder are back together with a project called A-Z. Joined by Philip Bynoe (Warlord, Steve Vai, Nuno Bettencourt) on bass, Joop Wolters (Steve Walsh, Simon Phillips) on guitar and Vivien Lalu on keys.
Big Fates Warning fan here. Give “Still Remains” a listen. Live from Athens.
Thank you for this. Great deep dive into arguably my favorite band of all time.
A virtual tour de force of suspended 2nd 🎸
If you're interested in this kind of "proto prog metal" you just HAVE to react to Watchtower, Control And Resistance and The Fall Of Reason would be perfect songs
Ah yes watchtower 👍
re, ending: I think Jim Matheos was composing parts of Monument on midi at some point so he fixed a section of the midi notation at the end of the final band recording. I'm sure the rest of the band was thrilled with that, especially Mark Zonder, having to be an opening act to a midi metronome, lol. That incarnation of the band broke up soon thereafter
Not my favorite FW album but its so accessible and gives hints all over of their talent they have had throughout their discography. Ray Alder is so wonderful as a singer emotionally and Mark Zonder is colorful in the band and on this album. You mentioned Dream Theater etc as being Prog heavy compared to FW being Prog light yet FW started in the same region before and DT has said many times FW was one of their main influences starting out and even shared a keyboardist. I adore FW and maybe the "light" as you say is what makes them so enjoyable compared to over doing it like "math rock" does.
One of the few bands who continued to get better through the entire arc of their career. As much as I like the 90's stuff, I like their last five albums the best, especially FWX.
Wow that was a cool song. Lots of twists and turns. I assumed this was from 2022. don't know why. I thought "is this meta or zappa-y or something? Is this intentional? Am I imaging things?" Forgot about power metal. Never thought or imagined casual power metal. well done, great breakdown.
This was from the late 90s but I'm checking out at 2020 track from them today. It'll be a nice compare/contrast of their older works and their newer ones.
Maybe the high pitched vocals make it seem like Power Metal but it’s actually Progressive Metal :), Fates Warning are one of the pioneers
Fates Warning were on of the OG prog metal bands of the late 80s. They were eclipsed in popularity by Queensryche and, later, by Dream Theater, but I think they are very much in the same class with both bands. Here's what I wrote about them on my Top 100 Artists list (I ranked them #37--I ranked DT #21 and Queensryche #55 for comparison): "FW are what I imagine Queensryche would've been had they kept getting better in the 90s instead of going to hell. In truth, FW were always something of a Johnny-come-lately band who got by on imitating their predecessors--Iron Maiden, Metallica, Queensryche, etc.--but rather than that being a knock against them it's actually a testament to how well they adapted to each new style, continually evolving and staying fresh rather than resting on their laurels and becoming too dated. They're also the model of consistency in prog metal, rarely releasing a genuinely bad or mediocre album. Even if I'd admit they never released an album as great as Operation: Mindcrime, I could equally say Queensryche never released anything else as good as probably the next 3 or 4 best FW albums."
As you can probably tell from the above they're a band whose sound/style has changed significantly over the years. Their 80s stuff goes from and Iron Maiden clone, to being quasi-thrash/pog (ala Metallica), then to Queensryche; then in the mid-late 90s they start incorporating more alternative rock influences (while maintaining the proggy edge), and in the 2000s/2010s they start incorporating more modern prog metal bands like Dream Theater and others. Like I suggested, the big knock against them is they were always "iterative" rather than "innovative," but they are hella great iterators with a consistent standard of excellence across all their various eras. I mean, I have 3 of their albums ranked 9/10, and 6 rated 8/10. Doesn't get much more consistently solid than that!
This track is from their '94 album Inside Out where I'd say they first started incorporating more alternative rock/metal influences. It's probably one of my least favorite albums from them (not helped by the fact its bookended by two of their best: Parallels from '91 and A Pleasant Shade of Grey from '97). I'd say this was an odd choice of a song to introduce you to them, but I have found that FW fans tend be quite diverse in their favorite songs/albums, so maybe it's not terribly surprising. I probably would've recommended a track from a more recent album if only because they're more accessible to people more familiar with modern prog metal. I also think their recent albums have been the best lineup they've ever had: Jim Matheos is one of the most underrated guitarists in metal; ditto for Ray Alder as a vocalist. Bobby Jarzombek is one of those absolute monster drummers both technically and creative, and ditto for Joey Vera on bass.
One thing I really appreciate about them is how they never abandoned clean singing and melodic guitar/vocal writing. Especially with their new material they're as rhythmically advanced as other modern prog metal bands, and their riffs are crushingly heavy, but they've always maintained the existence of melodic vocal/guitar writing over that. Not that I dislike all metal that focuses on other elements, but melodic metal ala Maiden and Priest (and Queensryche and Dream Theater) are what got met into metal to begin with.
Mark Zonder .. Period lol
great band....one of my all time favs....them and psychotic waltz
Brilliant as usual.
Do take a look at the new animals as leaders album, specifically Red Miso.
I know nothing about music but thats a Bad Ass song!!!
boy brian you really missed the boat on who fates really are ,they are the fathers of pro metal no one and i mean no could play the stuff to this day,they are legends in connecticut were they were fonded!!!!
Fates Warning 🤔 equals good 👌
I think the ending was a bit of a lark. They don't play it live.
Queensryche is definitely metal but definitely not prog. Imo
Tool ‹ Fates Warning
The second singer took the music in the wrong direction
Fates Warning didn't do a bad album