FATES WARNING - Parallels

The stories tell that progressive metal gave birth to three main bands, who decisively influenced this genre. These are Dream Theater, Queensryche and, obviously, Fates Warning (I would add without hesitation Watchtower to the list). And while Dream Theater can always brag about Images & Words as the album that stands as a reference for their entire discography, Queensryche have their Operation: Mindcrime, then Fates Warning can always be proud of Parallels as the most representative album for their entire activity. 

Two years before, in 1989, when the five Americans from Hartford had released Perfect Symmetry, an album that was considered then to be the most progressive album (if we can call it that) of any metal band. This was also possible due to the arrival of Mark Zonder, who brought a new way of drumming to the band, more jazz than metal. For this reason it was to be expected that their next record would be a masterpiece, especially since the band would be more experienced. Thus, in 1991 with Parallels, Fates Warning managed to gather everything that was great in this genre by that time and make their own version of it. While we find influences from many bands, the strongest comes from Fates Warning itself; this album is a normal evolution of what they had played on the five previous materials. 

Even though Jim Matheos wrote both the lyrics and the music for the entire record, he managed to get the most out of his four band mates. I underlined this because Jim does not stand out as other band leaders, doing everything to highlight their own value while leaving the others to deal with the boundaries they set.

About Ray Alder we can say that each note and tone of his voice is very calculated, in a departure from the very high pitches he liked to abuse on the previous albums, making this record his best performance in his entire music career. Joe DiBiase has a melodic yet technical bass line, standing out many times with his precision. Mark Zonder is practically out of this world with his practically inhuman drumming. I couldn’t say that he drums better on this record than on the others, because if you remind me about A Pleasant Shade of Gray I am instantly dumbfounded. The two guitar players, Frank Aresti and Jim Matheos, complete each other perfectly both on riffing and on soloing. Additionally, Matheos handles clean parts (undistorted guitars, even classical ones), while Aresti is in charge of more distorted parts, and they both achieve amazing sounds. The production on this record is signed by Terry Brown, none other than the producer of Rush in their heyday, making Parallels an album to remain forever in the history of progressive metal, especially with its flawless production.

This record was launced as a special edition by Metal Blade in March 2010, including CDs and a DVD. On one of these two CDs we find the entire album, re-released as an improved version, while on the second CD we find the songs from the album as live recordings or demos. The DVD is host to several live shootings, unreleased behind-the-scenes interviews and the two official videos for Eye to Eye and Point of View. 

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