If "Inside Out" was a continuation of "Parallels" (in musical style), then "A Pleasant Shade of Gray" is something new compared to its predecessor. No, not fundamentally new, but still the changes are substantial, in my opinion.
First of all, Ray Alder continues with his emotional vocal manner but adds to it some subtlety, which provides for a wonderful result. Then, Jim Matheos manages to come up with quite a handful of great (and hard) riffs. And the last, but definitely not the least, the addition of Joey Vera on bass made that often undeservingly put into the back of the mix instrument really shine.
My verdict - a great progressive metal album and one of the jewels of Fates Warning discography.

I dont get it sometimes... People raving on about how awesome a particular band is... I love Progressive Metal and I think Ray Alder works great in Redemption... I have given Fates Warning my ears over and over again trying to find out what the fuss is about... They are extemely talented there is no doubt about that but overall their songs are just lame, they have no real direction, it is totally lost and Ray is constantly howling over and over again. The drummer is the only excellent thing about this band... Sure a few good riffs here and there, some nice choruses but I am always left waiting for the good moments which are only temporary so this band isn't worth my time anymore. Sorry Fates Warning, I have listened to your albums over and over again but I never had the natural desire to listen to your music.

As far as I am aware though, Parallels is their only good album.

I sometime like listening to this one but for some reason it hasn't struck me as a good record. It plods along nicely and has moments of greatness but at times I seem to zone out and forget what I listened to. I prefer the album in live shows where they play 3-4 parts scattered across the show, that always works good.

Written by majormalfunction on 22.11.2020 at 18:11

I sometime like listening to this one but for some reason it hasn't struck me as a good record. It plods along nicely and has moments of greatness but at times I seem to zone out and forget what I listened to. I prefer the album in live shows where they play 3-4 parts scattered across the show, that always works good.

I listened to this when it came out. I knew who FW were, listened a few songs, but not a full album. This was the first one for me. Loved it instantly, has a nice flow, it's not long and does not overstay its welcome.
I also find this album quite unique, I don't know other albums sounding like this TBH. Kevin Moore helped out on keys and he did a great job.

If I had to listen to this band, I still think their early US power metal is slightly more interesting. Their later albums just don't work for me. The first half of this album is boring, and the second half is slightly better but it doesn't save anything. For me, Dream Theater has all of their advantages, and the songs are much more interesting.