PARALLELS

Fates Warning's wasted chance to break big, I think the band and the fans alike agree upon it (Jim Matheos: I wish I knew what went wrong). The album is written in its entirety by the mastermind Jim Matheos; no other member has contributed with music, only with arrangements. The relationship between the band members was failing and this is reflected by the lyrics. Music-wise, to quote Jim Matheos "It's been much more challenging for us to come up with shorter songs and keep them interesting, both lyrically and musically". I was turned into Fates Warning by Chasing Time (someone taped me the CD) and Parallels was the first album I ever bought and naturally is the one I have listened to mostly. I got hooked immediately by the skills and musicanship of Frank Aresti (I was hugely disappointed when he quit), his solos fire me up (consider the opener Leave the Past Behind). Now, the music does sound a bit more commercial (or maybe better it is more accessible), but I don't think many bands could perform these songs. It is a great thing to play intricate stuff and yet sound easy and straightforward. Ray Alder sounds amazing throughout. The drumming is phenomenal. No need to speak of the guitar work since Frank Aresti is present. The production of Terry Brown (yes, the "fourth" member of Rush) is clear. To my taste, the first six songs are my favourites without being able to point out any of them as most beloved. Inexplicably, my interest falters in the last two songs, although The Road Goes on Forever sounds a bit more interesting.

The verdict? Probably Fates Warning were not destined for success. They kept changing their sound and this cost them. Other "progressive" bands play the same things all over again, so the audience knows what to expect and their fan base keeps growing. Fates Warning have fans that swear by the Arch-area and are totally cold to the Alder-era and there are fans that think exactly the opposite. Then they carried on with Matheos as the only gutarist and their output took some years to come out...it seems that commercial success requires some standard steps and Fates Warning didn't comply with this.