Fates Warning - Disconnected

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Metal Blade
Catalog Number: 3984-14324-2
Format: CD
Total Time: 51:28:00

Where to find inspiration after having recorded the prog-metal album (in my opinion) of all time? How to make it possible to duplicate the scary (in a positive way) perfection of A Pleasant Shade Of Gray, a music work in which a remarkable technique was beautifully merged with celestial melodies? Which road to venture, when all the progressive world seemed to be comprised in their last unmatched epic piece, consisting in 50 minutes of immense music? My beloved Fates Warning, authors of the above-mentioned masterpiece (also in the estimation of a lot of other prog experts), had to answer to all these difficult questions. I, for one, knew in my heart that the band would have been able to record another great work, but I also feared a little (and understandable) stop of Matheos and Co ? then ? then one day a guitar rips the air with an ungodly lament.

Disconnected starts with this sinister sound, along with a brilliant cover that reveals straight away the ongoing liveliness of the 5 musicians' (Kevin Moore is again on keyboards) intelligence. And it's "One," after the claustrophobic intro, that immediately counters us with a perfect marriage of harmonic lines intertwined with more complex passages. Mark Zonder displays once again what we already know: He is the sturdy engine directing this perfect machine, and he is followed by the accurate, yet always underestimated, riffing of Jim Matheos. "So," with its dark gait, ensues, and here we can find the first references (of some tracks) about another great band, Tool. The shadow of Tool returns again and again in the album, so I start to think that this is the main surprise Matheos has secretly kept for us. But as I'm wondering this, I'm taken back to reality by "Pieces Of Me," another bold demonstration of prog imaginary managed by Fates Warning, this thanks to the techno rhythm skilfully tamed by Zonder. I'm astonished and confused but, as Fates Warning return in a moment to the magic of APSOG, now I stare at "Something From Nothing," which quickly develops in a new, powerful work of art created by the Cincinnati-based band. Here, Moore creates an insane industrial atmosphere from nothing, then gives space to the sharp cymbals of Zonder, in a crescendo that extends itself until the multicoloured finish. Hey! But there are also "Still Remains" and "Disconnected ? Part 2" before the end of the road, two songs virtually united, where the boys play their ace up the sleeve.

So the divine universe of Fates Warning is unleashed once more in 20 minutes of pure excellence with those two, and I find myself captured by the exquisite refrain of "Still Remains", before completely submitting to the melancholy of "Disconnected ? Part 2", a tune in which Moore gladly takes the role of main character (generating another "Space Dye Vest"). The frightening guitar that opened the show, now conduces us to the last seconds of the record, and I can't help but grin maliciously, because I know that the validation Fates Warning had to deliver after APSOG has finally arrived. The only thing that upsets me is the fact that probably the cult-band status won't leave my heroes anytime soon, because not even the precedent brilliant reviews have managed to carry Fates Warning to the level of popularity of Dream Theater, the most prominent prog band of the 90's. This is a shame because, as Disconnected shows, the band of Petrucci is a tad under their friends' band today in terms of quality, and this even with the strong release of Scenes From A Memory. Cerebral music, always searching for new emotions ? these are Fates Warning ? I only hope that someone will discover them someday ?

Released in Europe by Massacre Records (MAS CD0242); artwork shown above left

Tracklisting:
Disconnected Part 1 (1:13) / One (4:27) / So (8:07) / Pieces Of Me (4:24) / Something From Nothing (10:58) / Still Remains (16:08) / Disconnected 2 (6:11)

Musicians:
Ray Alder - vocals
Jim Matheos - guitars, additional keys, sequencing and noise
Mark Zonder - drums
Joey Vera - bass
Kevin Moore - keyboards
Steve Tushar - additional keys, sequencing, and noise

Discography:
Night On Brocken (1984)
The Spectre Within (1985)
Awaken The Guardian (1986)
No Exit (1988)
Perfect Symmetry (1989)
Parallels (1991)
Inside Out (1994)
Chasing Time (1995)
A Pleasant Shade Of Gray (1997)
Still Life (1998)
Disconnected (2000)
FW:X (2004)
Darkness In A Different Light (2013)
Theories Of Flight (2016)
Awaken The Guardian Live (2017)

Live At The Dynamo (DVD) (2000)
The View From Here (DVD) (2003)
Live In Athens (DVD) (2005)
Awaken The Guardian Live (BR) (2017)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin US

Added: March 15th 2001
Reviewer: Igor Italiani

Artist website: www.fateswarning.com
Hits: 2717
Language: english