Album Review: Disconnected

By: Boris Kaiser
Translated By: Marco van Leeuwen (overlord@caiw.nl)
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I'm not German, but I'll give it a try. I didn't attempt a literal
translation, but tried to capture the meaning of the text.
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Whenever a new Fates Warning disc is announced, expectations are high. Just
like Dream Theater and Tori Amos, Jim Matheos and the guys can really only
lose - everyone expects the band to deliver nothing short of a masterpiece.
And indeed 'Disconnected' urns out to be one - with a few minor flaws.The
sound of the album is reminiscent of their previous effort, 'A Pleasant
Shade Of Gray', though three years later they are a bit heavier here and
there. What connects the two albums is the tangible melancholia, which
deserves a thourough discussion. About the seven tracks: the opener
'Disconnected Part I' is a spacey, one-minute intro, preceding the first
real song 'One' (which you can also find on our 'Dynamit'-CD). The piece is
definitely one of the most accessible Matheos has composed so far, contains
a mighty chorus and is something like the 'Throurgh Different Eyes' of
'Disconnected'. Super! The following, eight-minute 'So' doesn't make things
easy. Kevin Moore's keyboards sound decidedly modern, and the song reaches
its conclusion in a relaxed fashion with a few digressions. Nevertheless,
'So' turns out to be a bit too monotonous and in my opinion the weakest
track, and costs the album a perfect score. 'Pieces Of Me' is the most
unusual song of the album: very heavy, groovy and even features a
Rammstein-like riff. On the strength of the catchy chorus a real
crowd-pleaser [or something similar, I think. I'm not familiar with the
German word 'Bringer' -Marco]. Next the two core pices of the album: the
eleven-minute 'Something From Nothing' starts out really quiet and
keyboard-heavy, contains a haunting atmosphere, picks up some real speed
after five minutes and reminds somewhat of 'The Eleventh Hour'. The chorus
in particular, which first appears after 360 seconds, is not of this earth.
However, the main course is called 'Still Remains' (16:11) and features a
superb interplay between grandiose solo-adventures and singular parts. When
Matheos, after a good eleven minutes, plays a Petrucci-like solo that blends
into a beautiful vocal melody to once again return to the guitar theme, you
know that why this band has reached divine status. Finally, 'Disconnected
Part II' continues the intro. Many keyboards, spoken vocal samples and
atmospheric sounds make the outro the 'Space Dye Vest' of the year 2000. No
question about it: Fates Warning didn't even dream of making their ninth
album a lackluster effort. Who knows what'll come next...

9.5 out of 10.
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[translation of review by Boris Kaiser]

-Marco van Leeuwen