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Pleasant Shade of Gray

Fates Warning - Pleasant Shade of Gray Audio CD

A fair review of the Fates Warning "Pleasant Shade of Gray" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Fates Warning reviews here, or go back to the Fates Warning tabs.

Band: Fates Warning
Title: Pleasant Shade of Gray
Rating:

Release Date: 1997-04-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 1 2: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 2 3: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 3 4: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 4 5: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 5 6: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 6 7: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 7 8: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 8 9: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 9 10: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 10 11: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 11 12: Pleasant Shade of Gray: Pt. 12

darker mood, but highly rewarding
Jim Matheos proves once more a great composer. Quite dark mood across this album, but musically enforced at the highest rates. The pieces are flowing smoothly from one to another, in an exquisite acoustic atmosphere. Highly recommended!.

WOW
Fates warning is working on an entirely different(and higher)level than other prog metal band. This is one of the best progressive metal albums you could possibly listen to. This is a MUST for a prog fan. . . . . Alder really sings his heart out on this album, beautifly excecuted voice work here, and ofcourse Matheos the brain behind Fates Warning amazing as always. . . . . and MArk Zonder. . . . WOW! best drummer in the world at work here. . . . just listen to Part 5. . . . . . anywayz. . . . . . i wont go into anymore detail. . . discover it for yourself. . . YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED!!!!!!!!! BUY THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!! NEW. . USED. . . IT DOESENT MATTER. . . anything is better than letting this album pass by you. . . . CHEERS!!.

Manages to mix progressive rock with a late 90's sound
I had been kind of bored by the mainstream music of the 90s, but this album won me over on first listen, despite having a modern sound for it's time. I checked out a promotional CD of this at a recommendation, having never heard the band before. The reason was, they did interesting things with this sound - mixing in prog rock tempo and odd-time changes, nice acoustic piano and guitar, and the most inventive drumming I've heard since the heyday of 70's prog rock.
I have to admit, I more consistenly enjoy their 80's John Arch albums, which are very metal while intelligent and complex. They drifted into a mellower, Queensrychey, sound for the early 90's - which has its moments but a lot of it doesn't really do much for me. This album is more interesting - although I need to be in the mood for it (when I first got it and when I'm in the right mood, I'd give it 5 stars, but sometimes I'm not totally into it). The lyrics for 90's Fates Warning are more introspective, although sometimes seem a little cliche - I wouldn't rate Jim Matheos as a "great" lyric writer (John Arch was), but he's not bad and if he's expressing his true feelings, I can respect that. Ray Alder's voice works fine in this style - very much in that late 90's post-grunge style, but he's a good singer and this album may be his best singing (FWX he kind of grates on me at times, and on No Exit he doesn't completely work for me either). The interesting music (some of the odd-meter stuff reminds me of Jethro Tull - probably "No Lullaby" - although not the flutey/folky Tull!) should be a treat for any prog-rock fan looking for something that sounds different from their old favorites (I love early Genesis, but I don't need to hear a million bands copy them - I'm more excited when someone takes something from an influence and presents it in a different way or context, which is what Fates Warning does).

A pleasant listening
This is true for A Pleasant Shade of Gray: virtually a song of 54 min (in 12 parts) that never bored me. While other prog-metal bands like Q�eensryche were missing creativity and punch on each new album in the 90's (for example, searching for radio friendly tunes), Fates Warning fortunately released on each subsequent album different and exciting music [which was ever unsuccessful or absent in MTV (at least the Brazilian MTV), an excellent indication of good music: bad for MTV = very good music!]. Fantastic performance of all musicians and the vocalist. The bass is very present and keyboards are in the right measure [just for atmospheric effects and background, no self indulgence or cheesy solos (arrrghh!!) as usual in Dream Theater and so many prog-metal bands]. There are sublime moments, as Parts III, V, VII, VIII, XI and XII, but all parts are fine, no filler, no cheesy tune. Highly recommended for any progressive or prog-metal fan. ****1/2 stars.

"Let nothing bleed into nothing"
And, although I'm not a huge fan of progmetal anyway, I must agree. Fates Warning are often credited as the founders of progmetal, and are also considered by many to be one of the best in the genre. To be honest, a lot of their stuff isn't really my preferred style, although I consider it to be well above a lot of newer progmetal bands, most of which I just can't stand. This album, however, is something else entirely.

With "A Pleasant Shade of Gray", Fates Warning reached a level of brilliance that far eclipsed anything they did before, or have done since. This is a progmetal album, of that there is no doubt, but aesthetically it is very different from what one might expect. It is dark, melodic, brilliantly subtle, very multi-layered rhythmically and melodically, and the songwriting overall is just immacculate. A lot of people say that this album is slow, plodding, monotonous, etc, but I honestly don't hear that at all. Sure, it's not a shredfest by any means, but there's a lot going on here. Mark Zonder's drumming is dizzyingly intricate and nuanced, and Matheos's playing is crisp, tight, and extremely engaging. Not to mention, the amazing Kevin Moore contributes beautifully tasteful keyboard melodies as only he can.

As you probably know, the album is (or rather is meant to be) all one song, separated into 12 parts. Although the flow is excellent, and there are numerous repeated themes, it really sort of just feels like a concept album to me, not really all one song. But, that doesn't really matter, because either way, the album is meant to be taken as a whole, and in that sense it is a tremendous success. It goes beautifully from minimalist arrangements to dazzling proggy interludes, from chilling acoustic balladry to crunchy metal riffage. The highlight for me comes in Part VIII, in which Moore and Matheos play this mesmerizing unison line of piano and classical guitar. This is right up there with Pain of Salvation's "Dryad of the Woods" as one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard a progmetal band do.

And of course I can't forget Ray Alder. Having heard his vocals on previous albums before this, I never could have imagined how he'd mature here. He's toned down his soaring operatic 80's metal style a great deal, and belts out his vocals with pure dark emotion. Much like Geoff Tate, he started singing in more of a low range, and it only made him better. The vocals are still sort of operatic, but with much more style and restraint. I really can't imagine them fitting this album any more perfectly, especially with the touching, introspective lyrics, which are given a whole other level of power and conviction.

All in all, this is hands down one of the best progmetal albums I've ever heard. It really just doesn't get much better than this. Of course, I say this as a non-fan of progmetal, and the fact that it pretty much flies in the face of nearly everything progmetal is "supposed" to be is what I love about it the most. But, that said, I think any open-minded fan of the genre will greatly enjoy this, as long as you expect the unexpected. Either way, this is WAY too good to pass up. .

You can see a complete list of all Fates Warning discography, or go back to the Fates Warning tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.