Album Review: A Pleasant Shade of Gray

By: Anton Max (MadMax+@cmu.edu)
http://thunderdome.pc.cs.cmu.edu/aepithex.html
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Fates Warning has finally cut loose after too many attempts to make songs
that were short enough for the radio. Few stations will be willing to take
an hour out of their schedule to play this monster, but by casting aside
the time restriction, the band has freed itself to make a true
masterpiece. A Pleasant Shade of Gray is easily their best album since
Perfect Symmetry, and may have surpassed that one. 

Fates has often been compared to Dream Theater, and for the first time,
with Kevin Moore on keys, they actually sound quite like DT in places.
There are a couple of guitar and keyboard unison solos that would fit
right in on Images and Words. In other places, the sound is rather
reminiscent of the Australian band Vauxdvihl, thanks to the incorporation
of some industrial influence.

I make these comparisons to give some indication of what the sound is
like, but the music is unmistakably Fates Warning. It is quite a departure
from the last couple albums, and is more in the vein of Perfect Symmetry.
There are some wildly complex instrumental passages, and the writing in
general is more adventurous than anything since Symmetry. It's also,
generally, the heaviest song they've recorded since No Exit, although it
tends towards the slower. 

Joey Vera is excellent in taking the place of Joe DiBiase on bass, which
comes through more strongly than it has in the past, perhaps thanks to
Terry Brown, whose excellent production has combined with the keyboards
has given Fates' signature dark sound an awesome presence. And more than
ever, this album reaches out and grabs you. Past Fates albums have taken
time to digest, to appreciate their subtle beauty. This one was there on
the first listen. It's so strong melodically that you can't help but be
sucked in.

Ray Alder is in prime form. He doesn't scream like he used to, but his
voice is still powerful and emotional, and the melodies he sings here are
nothing short of beautiful, especially in some of the quieter sections.

In short, the restraint that marked the last two Fates Warning albums is
gone, and the result is nothing short of a masterpiece, moving and
explosive. My only complaint is that, at fifty-five minutes, it is
remarkably too short.


-maximilian