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│ METAL CLASSICS ARCHIVE │
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│ P R E S E N T S │
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│ + Fates Warning - FWX (Jap. Ed.) + │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Information ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Release Date.Feb-15-2015 Encoder......L3.97 -V2 --vbr-new ║ │
│║ Genre........Metal Graber.......EAC ║ │
│║ Year.........2004 Khz/Bitrate..44,1/ Br ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Ripper.......anthem Songs........10 ║ │
│║ Covers.......Yes Url... www.fateswarning.com ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Notes ║ │
│╠═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Artist : Fates Warning Rating : You Decide! ║ │
│║ Album : FWX (Jap. Ed.) Label : Metal Blade ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Description : ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Fates Warning X, i.e. FWX was the 10th and ║ │
│║ assumedly 'final' album from Fates Warning, ║ │
│║ after which drummer Mark Zonder decided to part ║ │
│║ ways with the band. This was very much a wise ║ │
│║ decision, as the previous two albums were a ║ │
│║ trainwreck compared to the band's older material ║ │
│║ and the homefires had long since burnt to their ║ │
│║ embers. As is so often the case in the ║ │
│║ fluctuating world of metal music, the band have ║ │
│║ since reunited for some gigs, and Ray Alder has ║ │
│║ stated that there was material for another album ║ │
│║ at some point, but for our purposes, FWX was the ║ │
│║ end of Fates Warning's output during the ║ │
│║ 'Oughts, and a good thing, that. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ But the blame should not be placed squarely on ║ │
│║ the shoulders of this work, because to be fair, ║ │
│║ it's a better record than Disconnected in every ║ │
│║ way, and light years ahead of A Pleasant Shade ║ │
│║ of Gray. The band were still in their electronic ║ │
│║ phase, and FWX is a sleek, modern affair, the ║ │
│║ best of the Alder/Zonder/Matheos/Vera ║ │
│║ configuration, loaded with nuance and subtlety. ║ │
│║ The one real downside to the album is that it ║ │
│║ simply lacks the truly memorable impact of the ║ │
│║ many classics in the band's catalog. There is no ║ │
│║ "Through Different Eyes", "Anarchy Divine", "We ║ │
│║ Only Say Goodbye" or any other manner of ║ │
│║ standout track which will rattle about your ║ │
│║ skull until you let it escape through a bullet ║ │
│║ hole. It's decent enough for a visit, if you ║ │
│║ truly care for the latter half of the band's ║ │
│║ career, but even then...you probably won't want ║ │
│║ to remain for long. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The sounds of crickets herald the throbbing ║ │
│║ pulse of "Left Here", with a casual interplay ║ │
│║ between distorted riffing and acoustics up until ║ │
│║ its chorus breakdown, where the band revisit a ║ │
│║ decadent electric beat like "Something from ║ │
│║ Nothing" on the previous album. The guitar ║ │
│║ grooves here are forgettable individually, and ║ │
│║ Vera's bass does little more than plop along ║ │
│║ like a heartbeat. The song works its way towards ║ │
│║ a supposed payoff, but unfortunately this is a ║ │
│║ rather underwhelming chorus segment with Alder ║ │
│║ repeating himself. "Simple Human" is slightly ║ │
│║ better, kind of a fixed point between big ║ │
│║ Filter/Deftones groove guitars and NIN electro ║ │
│║ breakdowns, with a solid bass line woven below ║ │
│║ the mire. "River Wide Ocean Deep" is moody and ║ │
│║ subtly haunting, as the acoustics summon forth a ║ │
│║ droning distorted guitar and some female ║ │
│║ wailing, and the pace continues to escalate into ║ │
│║ another Alder-driven rock segment. Despite the ║ │
│║ cliche title, "Another Perfect Day" is actually ║ │
│║ not so bad, a rambling melodic acoustic prog- ║ │
│║ folk with some sections in which the guitars ║ │
│║ groove out, but again more of a rock thing. ║ │
│║ "Heal Me" is another of those long, lamenting ║ │
│║ tracks like the classic "At Fate's Hands", the ║ │
│║ exception being that the pick-me-up rock rhythms ║ │
│║ here sound more like generic modern radio nu- ║ │
│║ metal tripe than anything of real substance. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ The album's latter half commences with the ║ │
│║ instrumental "Sequence #7", all throbbing bass, ║ │
│║ sparkling clean guitars and electrode pulses ║ │
│║ that usher in the big rhythm of "Crawl", which, ║ │
│║ while simmering in the same modern groove metal ║ │
│║ that has often spoiled their 21st century ║ │
│║ efforts, at least maintains a momentum that ║ │
│║ might have you slowly bobbing your head. "A ║ │
│║ Handful of Doubt" is another softy, but if you ║ │
│║ enjoyed the band's balladry on Perfect Symmetry, ║ │
│║ Parallels, or Inside Out, there's not much to ║ │
│║ complain about. "Stranger (With a Familiar ║ │
│║ Face)" does break into a half-assed ║ │
│║ Zeppelin/Hendrix rock and roll, which picks up ║ │
│║ into an even more uptempo segment, but otherwise ║ │
│║ its tribal pandering is lost upon me, and the ║ │
│║ drippy, percussive clean guitars and piano of ║ │
│║ "Wish" build a bridge and simply fail to ║ │
│║ properly plunge from it. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Production-wise, the album is loud and stunning, ║ │
│║ with each subtle atmospheric element resonant in ║ │
│║ the mix. It sounds so great that you almost ║ │
│║ forget that the songs themselves are not. If ║ │
│║ only they were to record another album like No ║ │
│║ Exit at this level of studio savvy! Alas, that's ║ │
│║ unlikely to happen. But I must give credit that ║ │
│║ Fates Warning X at least does not leave a ║ │
│║ bitter, stale taste in my mouth like its two ║ │
│║ closest siblings, and if you favor heavy ║ │
│║ progressive rock with a mainstream friendly ║ │
│║ face, you can probably do worse. ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ Highlights: River Wide Ocean Deep, Another ║ │
│║ Perfect Day, Crawl ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│║ ║ │
│╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
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│╔═════════════════════╗ │
│║ Release Tracklist ║ │
│╚═════════════════════╩══════════════════════════════════════════ │
│ │
│ 01 - left here [07:00] │
│ 02 - simple human [04:03] │
│ 03 - river wide ocean deep [06:10] │
│ 04 - another perfect day [04:44] │
│ 05 - heal me [07:39] │
│ 06 - sequence #7 [02:13] │
│ 07 - crawl [04:22] │
│ 08 - a handful of doubt [05:06] │
│ 09 - stranger (with a familiar face) [04:21] │
│ 10 - wish [06:39] │
│ │
│ Total Length : [52:17 minn │
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│ ╔═════════════════════╗ │
│ ║ Greetings To: ║ │
│ ╚═════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Too all people who contributes to make this │
│ archive of good music in a exceptional conditions │
│ │
│ │
│ │
│■ ■│
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