Reviewed - 08/04/05
Awaken
The Guardian
[Metal Blade]
I'll never forget listening to Fates Warning's "The Spectre Within" for the first time when it came out back in the mid 80's. There used to be this cool Metal record store in Saginaw, Michigan called Heavy Metal Unlimited I'd go to and blow all of my hard earned after school job money every Saturday afternoon. It was a thirty mile drive there and a thirty mile drive back, but I didn't care as I was a full-fledged Metalhead much like I am still to this day. I loved Heavy Metal Unlimited so much because they got the albums in that the local stores in my hometown would not. Not only that, like that happens with a lot of small record stores, you get to know the owners pretty well and they can get stuff in on special order or even make recommendations to you. One day the stores' owner Joel handed me "The Spectre Within" and said "You'll like this". He knew I liked a lot of Metal Blade bands then, so with his words that he'd let me exchange it for something I liked if I didn't like it, I bought the cassette along with some Venom cassettes he ordered for me. I put the cassette in the tape deck of my '85 Chevette and sat wide eyed as I heard some of the greatest Metal I've ever heard blast through my overpriced Pioneer speakers. I had never heard anything like it before! It was like Iron Maiden a bit, but rawer, faster and dirtier. I listened to it all the way home, called Joel back up when I got there and ordered "Night On Brocken". I continued to enjoy both on a regular basis until I hear word through the mags that they were gearing up for a new album. I kept thinking "There's no way they're going to top the last album. No way!". Another phone call to Joel before Fates Warning's new album came out set me up with a pre-order. I think this may have been the first time I was ever so excited about an album's release that I pre-ordered it! Sad thing is that I pre-ordered the damn thing nearly two months before it actually hit the shelves. The wait was excruciating. But finally one day out of the blue, good ole buddy Joel called. "Awaken The Guardian" is in. On my way to Saginaw I went. I popped that thing in right in the store in Joel's stereo and said after a few minutes "Shit, they did it! They topped the last album!".
For those that do not know, "Awaken The Guardian" is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums released in the 1980's. Very influential, but I don't think it was a huge seller for the band. This album influenced a myriad of bands including Dream Theater, so somehow this album got stuck with the label of "Prog Metal". It may very well be the first Prog Metal album ever released, but to my buddies and I it was just an extremely melodic and atmospheric form of Thrash. To be honest, I never heard the term "Prog Metal" until many years after this album was released. But whatever you want to call it, "Awaken The Guardian" is a landmark release no matter what type of Metal you are into.
The music of "Awaken The Guardian" is a bit Thrash, a bit Traditional Metal, and a bit atmospheric as well. The guitar duo of Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti put down some of the most awe-inspiring and catchy guitar melodies ever on "Awaken The Guardian". The melodies damn near bring a tear to my eye they are so well done, passionate and sublime. They also used a lot of acoustic guitars on this album which was pretty unique for its time. Joe Dibiase's galloping and pulverizing bass is something to behold, and Steve Zimmerman's drumwork is so precise he may have been one of the first technical Metal drummers out there. All four musicians on this album are perfect, no exceptions. The music they created is well played and has this underlying atmosphere of dread, melancholy and hope all at the same time.
My favorite aspect of this album though is John Arch's vocals. He was called a Bruce Dickinson clone on more than a few occasions, but in my opinion Arch was way more passionate, melodic, and operatic. Bruce may have had more power when singing, but as good as he was he could never measure up to John Arch in my opinion. There's always been a big argument among various Fates Warning fans as to who is the best vocalist. John Arch, or the guy who replaced him, Ray Alder. Me, I've always been a John Arch fan. In fact, I think John Arch is one of the best vocalists ever, and while Ray Alder was pretty good on "No Exit", he just can't hold a candle to Arch. Not only was Arch a better vocalist in my opinion, but he was a better lyricist as well. John Arch didn't just write songs, he wrote small stories in which the lyrics were given new life due to his unique vocal approach. Back when everyone else at the time was writing about Satan and politics, Arch was writing about fantasy, witches, the Arthurian legend, magic, and even Egypt. And he wrote these songs well! It's sad that this was the last Fates Warning album we ever got to hear John on, but what a testament to his vocal skills! All is not bad news though as a few years ago John released a thirty minute two-song opus called "A Twist Of Fate" which any fan of old Fates Warning should check out!
So you may be thinking to yourself "Why in the hell is an almost twenty year old album being reviewed now?". Well, it's simple. Metal Blade Records has graciously decided to bless fans of old Fates Warning with an "Expanded Edition" of "Awaken The Guardian", and what an expansion it is! For one, the entire album is (thankfully) fully remastered. The remastering done by Brad Vance is incredible. There's tons more bass and treble and is generally like hearing the album again for the first time.
Hey, but that's not even close to being all that's included with this expanded edition. You also get a bonus C.D. filled with demo and live tracks. These demos are odd to listen to as they are more stripped down and sound rawer, heavier and at sometimes completely different than the versions that ended up on the album. Some of these songs sounds as if they're Speed Metal Songs! But they are good anyhow. Also, for nearly twenty year old demos, they have a pretty good sound! The live songs don't sound quite as good, but they're fun nonetheless, and there's a live cover of Black Sabbath's "Die Young" to be heard.
You still want more with your expanded edition of "Awaken The Guardian"? You got it! How about a bonus DVD? Yep, there's a bonus DVD included that contains a complete performance filmed on December 28, 1986 at Sundance - Long Island, New York. I was a bit bummed that it is not much better than bootleg quality, but then I read that this is the only live footage known to exist anywhere of this lineup! So with that in mind, it became like a collectors dream come true to own! It's almost like going back in time twenty years when you watch this. It's pretty impressive to see Jim Matheos seamlessly switch from the acoustic to electric guitar in a live setting, and it's even more impressing to know that John Arch can hit those high notes when he sings live! The DVD has scene selections and a VERY cool slideshow presentation. Various photos of the old lineup pass slowly by as the song "Guardian" plays. I actually like the slideshow as much as the live footage!
The packaging for the album is frigging great! The two music CD's are in one two disc jewel case and the DVD is in its own jewel case. Both jewel cases slide into a cardboard slipcase cover that has the original "Awaken The Guardian" artwork, and this art rules! I've always liked the art for this album, but it looks better and more richly colored here. They must have touched it up a bit or used a newer technique to make it look closer to the original artwork than the earlier version of the C.D. did. The cover is painted in very bright colors and is a fantasy landscape painting with a warrior (or perhaps a traveler in time?) staring through a gate or portal to space. Very nicely done and extremely eye-catching. The lyrics are all printed within the booklet and there are some photos of the band and a short word from Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy. Speaking of Portnoy, if you watch closely to the DVD, you can see him in the audience towards the front row. I never cared for Dream Theater at all, but it's cool such a well known band was influenced by Fates Warning so much. In fact, when John Arch left Fates Warning, they asked him to join Dream Theater.
I want to thank Fates Warning for so many years of enjoyment that I got out of their first three albums. I may not care for what they do now, but those first three albums I still listen to at least once a week. I now own thousands of albums and "Awaken The Guardian" is still in my top three of all time favorite albums, so that's saying a lot. I also want to thank Joel (wherever you are) who turned me on to the band. I may have not given them a chance otherwise. As I pre-ordered this from you, so did I pre-order this expanded version! If you're a longtime fan of the band, the remastering and bonus material is more than enough to warrant you purchasing it again. If you've never heard the band before then this is the best way I can think of to get into them. "Awaken The Guardian" is not just one of the best albums of the 80's, it's one of the best albums ever. I beg anyone who reads this to pick it up when you can. Hell, I got it all of it for the price of a regular C.D., so don't worry that it's going to be expensive. This album is so damn good, I'd give it a "12/10" if I could. I will cherish this until the day I die.
Morrigan you come again
Morgana La Fey, raven on my sill of frost...
Come to me!
[Metal Blade]
I'll never forget listening to Fates Warning's "The Spectre Within" for the first time when it came out back in the mid 80's. There used to be this cool Metal record store in Saginaw, Michigan called Heavy Metal Unlimited I'd go to and blow all of my hard earned after school job money every Saturday afternoon. It was a thirty mile drive there and a thirty mile drive back, but I didn't care as I was a full-fledged Metalhead much like I am still to this day. I loved Heavy Metal Unlimited so much because they got the albums in that the local stores in my hometown would not. Not only that, like that happens with a lot of small record stores, you get to know the owners pretty well and they can get stuff in on special order or even make recommendations to you. One day the stores' owner Joel handed me "The Spectre Within" and said "You'll like this". He knew I liked a lot of Metal Blade bands then, so with his words that he'd let me exchange it for something I liked if I didn't like it, I bought the cassette along with some Venom cassettes he ordered for me. I put the cassette in the tape deck of my '85 Chevette and sat wide eyed as I heard some of the greatest Metal I've ever heard blast through my overpriced Pioneer speakers. I had never heard anything like it before! It was like Iron Maiden a bit, but rawer, faster and dirtier. I listened to it all the way home, called Joel back up when I got there and ordered "Night On Brocken". I continued to enjoy both on a regular basis until I hear word through the mags that they were gearing up for a new album. I kept thinking "There's no way they're going to top the last album. No way!". Another phone call to Joel before Fates Warning's new album came out set me up with a pre-order. I think this may have been the first time I was ever so excited about an album's release that I pre-ordered it! Sad thing is that I pre-ordered the damn thing nearly two months before it actually hit the shelves. The wait was excruciating. But finally one day out of the blue, good ole buddy Joel called. "Awaken The Guardian" is in. On my way to Saginaw I went. I popped that thing in right in the store in Joel's stereo and said after a few minutes "Shit, they did it! They topped the last album!".
For those that do not know, "Awaken The Guardian" is widely considered to be one of the most influential albums released in the 1980's. Very influential, but I don't think it was a huge seller for the band. This album influenced a myriad of bands including Dream Theater, so somehow this album got stuck with the label of "Prog Metal". It may very well be the first Prog Metal album ever released, but to my buddies and I it was just an extremely melodic and atmospheric form of Thrash. To be honest, I never heard the term "Prog Metal" until many years after this album was released. But whatever you want to call it, "Awaken The Guardian" is a landmark release no matter what type of Metal you are into.
The music of "Awaken The Guardian" is a bit Thrash, a bit Traditional Metal, and a bit atmospheric as well. The guitar duo of Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti put down some of the most awe-inspiring and catchy guitar melodies ever on "Awaken The Guardian". The melodies damn near bring a tear to my eye they are so well done, passionate and sublime. They also used a lot of acoustic guitars on this album which was pretty unique for its time. Joe Dibiase's galloping and pulverizing bass is something to behold, and Steve Zimmerman's drumwork is so precise he may have been one of the first technical Metal drummers out there. All four musicians on this album are perfect, no exceptions. The music they created is well played and has this underlying atmosphere of dread, melancholy and hope all at the same time.
My favorite aspect of this album though is John Arch's vocals. He was called a Bruce Dickinson clone on more than a few occasions, but in my opinion Arch was way more passionate, melodic, and operatic. Bruce may have had more power when singing, but as good as he was he could never measure up to John Arch in my opinion. There's always been a big argument among various Fates Warning fans as to who is the best vocalist. John Arch, or the guy who replaced him, Ray Alder. Me, I've always been a John Arch fan. In fact, I think John Arch is one of the best vocalists ever, and while Ray Alder was pretty good on "No Exit", he just can't hold a candle to Arch. Not only was Arch a better vocalist in my opinion, but he was a better lyricist as well. John Arch didn't just write songs, he wrote small stories in which the lyrics were given new life due to his unique vocal approach. Back when everyone else at the time was writing about Satan and politics, Arch was writing about fantasy, witches, the Arthurian legend, magic, and even Egypt. And he wrote these songs well! It's sad that this was the last Fates Warning album we ever got to hear John on, but what a testament to his vocal skills! All is not bad news though as a few years ago John released a thirty minute two-song opus called "A Twist Of Fate" which any fan of old Fates Warning should check out!
So you may be thinking to yourself "Why in the hell is an almost twenty year old album being reviewed now?". Well, it's simple. Metal Blade Records has graciously decided to bless fans of old Fates Warning with an "Expanded Edition" of "Awaken The Guardian", and what an expansion it is! For one, the entire album is (thankfully) fully remastered. The remastering done by Brad Vance is incredible. There's tons more bass and treble and is generally like hearing the album again for the first time.
Hey, but that's not even close to being all that's included with this expanded edition. You also get a bonus C.D. filled with demo and live tracks. These demos are odd to listen to as they are more stripped down and sound rawer, heavier and at sometimes completely different than the versions that ended up on the album. Some of these songs sounds as if they're Speed Metal Songs! But they are good anyhow. Also, for nearly twenty year old demos, they have a pretty good sound! The live songs don't sound quite as good, but they're fun nonetheless, and there's a live cover of Black Sabbath's "Die Young" to be heard.
You still want more with your expanded edition of "Awaken The Guardian"? You got it! How about a bonus DVD? Yep, there's a bonus DVD included that contains a complete performance filmed on December 28, 1986 at Sundance - Long Island, New York. I was a bit bummed that it is not much better than bootleg quality, but then I read that this is the only live footage known to exist anywhere of this lineup! So with that in mind, it became like a collectors dream come true to own! It's almost like going back in time twenty years when you watch this. It's pretty impressive to see Jim Matheos seamlessly switch from the acoustic to electric guitar in a live setting, and it's even more impressing to know that John Arch can hit those high notes when he sings live! The DVD has scene selections and a VERY cool slideshow presentation. Various photos of the old lineup pass slowly by as the song "Guardian" plays. I actually like the slideshow as much as the live footage!
The packaging for the album is frigging great! The two music CD's are in one two disc jewel case and the DVD is in its own jewel case. Both jewel cases slide into a cardboard slipcase cover that has the original "Awaken The Guardian" artwork, and this art rules! I've always liked the art for this album, but it looks better and more richly colored here. They must have touched it up a bit or used a newer technique to make it look closer to the original artwork than the earlier version of the C.D. did. The cover is painted in very bright colors and is a fantasy landscape painting with a warrior (or perhaps a traveler in time?) staring through a gate or portal to space. Very nicely done and extremely eye-catching. The lyrics are all printed within the booklet and there are some photos of the band and a short word from Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy. Speaking of Portnoy, if you watch closely to the DVD, you can see him in the audience towards the front row. I never cared for Dream Theater at all, but it's cool such a well known band was influenced by Fates Warning so much. In fact, when John Arch left Fates Warning, they asked him to join Dream Theater.
I want to thank Fates Warning for so many years of enjoyment that I got out of their first three albums. I may not care for what they do now, but those first three albums I still listen to at least once a week. I now own thousands of albums and "Awaken The Guardian" is still in my top three of all time favorite albums, so that's saying a lot. I also want to thank Joel (wherever you are) who turned me on to the band. I may have not given them a chance otherwise. As I pre-ordered this from you, so did I pre-order this expanded version! If you're a longtime fan of the band, the remastering and bonus material is more than enough to warrant you purchasing it again. If you've never heard the band before then this is the best way I can think of to get into them. "Awaken The Guardian" is not just one of the best albums of the 80's, it's one of the best albums ever. I beg anyone who reads this to pick it up when you can. Hell, I got it all of it for the price of a regular C.D., so don't worry that it's going to be expensive. This album is so damn good, I'd give it a "12/10" if I could. I will cherish this until the day I die.
Morrigan you come again
Morgana La Fey, raven on my sill of frost...
Come to me!
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 10/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 97:80 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Bands Website: Go Here | |
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