Well that was one great trip down memory lane and at times rediscovering the beauty of some albums. So now I shall rank them from 13 to 1. This ranking is the one I made today and might even next week be different. For sure if I would have come up with a different order if not replaying all 13 over the past days. This ranking has been done before and I can say that the seaoftranquility YouTube channel gave me the idea first. Pleased to say that while I am pretty sure Pete Pardo is as much or even more a Fates Warning fan as I am, we still came up with pretty different choices. If you want to check out what he thought here is the link
Enough introduction, here is the list. Please feel free to criticize or confirm my list remembering all albums are very good to start with.
13. Night on Bröcken
This is a very strong heavy metal album from 1984. If you compare it with the levels Fates Warning reached hereafter this is a band still finding their way. Damnation being the best window to the future.
12. Darkness in a Different Light
Even if holding one of the best heavy opening riffs ever released It has the least standout tracks of the later years. Maybe the 9 year pause was too long.
11. Inside Out
Being in style close to Fates Warning at its best I think for me it had some trouble matching its three pre-decessors. Yet an album with Monument, Pale Fire, Face the Fear and Outside Looking In so the level is high.
10. The Spectre Within
One metal side and one future Fates Warning side with The Apparition, Kylie Eleison and Epitaph made me realize I will revisit this album more in the future. Pity production was not at the same level of the songs yet.
9. A Pleasant Shade of Gray
This must be the hardest album to rank. There definitely are days that it is my favorite Fates Warning album, but then again it also is not for every day or 20 minutes only. A wonderful album as such which opened the door for many progrock fans. Maybe I should have seen it played live in full, but that was 10.000 km away for me.
8. Disconnected
This is another one I have been moving up and down my list. On forehand I would give it top three at least. What I realized is that it is one of the albums I played most over the years. I loved all the shows I saw with the Disconnected part 1/One opener to get you straight into the mood. Can be at any other place tomorrow really.
7. Long Day Good Night
Too close to call. Really impossible to judge how it stands compared with the full discography after one week. Playing safe putting it in the middle therefore.
6. Awaken the Guardian
This album should have had the production that became the norm hereafter and I don't know where it could have arrived on my list. Eight great Heavy Metal songs which build a progpower genre. The most popular cult album, bridging between old school metal and progmetal fans.
5. FWX
This album I would have rated lower in advance. Playing it again I totally love the variation and fact it is build around shorter songs still over a wide range of styles. Another Perfect Day is the song I would have given most chances to reach high in hitparades. But then again who plays Fates Warning on the radio?
4. Perfect Symmetry
Another album of eight killers. First time I saw them live when they finally made it to Europe. This one also could be on another position but never higher than 1 or lower than 6. This album definitely set the progmetal style which I love so much.
3. Theories of Flight
My favorite of the current century. Again eight tracks all hitting the bull fo rme. Either long and epic, shorter and faster or instrumental and dark. For anyone in doubt this album brought them straight back to the top of progmetal Champions League. How many bands can say that their twelfth album is among their very best work?
2. No Exit
This is the heavier Rush album where all seemed to have arrived at the right place at the right time. Heavier Rush means side A full of short songs and Side B one 21:25 minute song. The Ivory Gate of Dreams sets a standard for long songs, which is not met by any other band thereafter. On Side A I love the aggression of the heavy metal days is still very present. Just the perfect mix.
1. Paralllels
Parallels is for me the Holy Grail in progmetal. For some maybe too commercial or accesible, I loved all eight songs as from the first time I heard them. If than the album also holds in The Eleventh Hour my favorite Fates Warning song it can only be my number one. The album works both with headphones on reading along with the lyrics as well as on the background while doing something else. Music as it was meant to be for me.
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