Fates Warning - Awaken The Guardian

Written by Yaniv on 14.11.2012 at 13:42

This album is hard to digest at first, you need to listen to it a couple of time to start to like it but not in loop, otherwise it will become boring.
The sound is good, sometimes it's look like prog Iron Maiden. Guardian is the best track.

You either love or hate Arch's voice. The production is crappy on the album but it is saved by terrific song writing.

Fata Morgana and The Guardian all the best songs from this album in my opinion...John Arch's vocals are amazing, the whole team rules i give 10 to this album

Lol, who would rate this any lower than 10.0?

Written by Jagermeister on 24.04.2015 at 21:18

Lol, who would rate this any lower than 10.0?

People who don't like it as much?

Written by [user id=126528] on 25.04.2015 at 02:27

Written by Jagermeister on 24.04.2015 at 21:18

Lol, who would rate this any lower than 10.0?

People who don't like it as much?

Hmm, never thought of that...

Maybe their best album,at least from their power metal era.
I have always known Fates Warning for their power metal, discovered their progressive stuff only recently.
I seem to enjoy their power metal slightly more than their prog stuff, though Parallels is certainly a good album. Then again, I've never been much into prog metal in general.
Highlights on the one at hand are Guardian and Exodus for me.

One of my favorite albums of all time.

Written by Lord Slothrop on 11.11.2020 at 06:16

One of my favorite albums of all time.

Makes perfect sense, it is one of the best USPM albums of all time. Maybe the best even.

US power metal classic. John Arch is definitely among my favourite metal singers. If anyone has missed the second disc you should check it out, the live songs are a fantastic live document of these guys (bootleg quality though)

Best album artwork ever.

Written by nikarg on 12.11.2020 at 02:05

it is one of the best USPM albums of all time. Maybe the best even.

Iced Earth fans -- those who are left of them, like me -- might disagree.
It is a great release, best FW album for me (Guardian, Exodus are masterpiece).
But it does not even come close to best IE.
We can agree on "among the best USPM albums of all time".
It is certainly better than any Manowar.

Written by Redel on 19.02.2021 at 15:37

Written by nikarg on 12.11.2020 at 02:05

it is one of the best USPM albums of all time. Maybe the best even.

Iced Earth fans -- those who are left of them, like me -- might disagree.
It is a great release, best FW album for me (Guardian, Exodus are masterpiece).
But it does not even come close to best IE.
We can agree on "among the best USPM albums of all time".
It is certainly better than any Manowar.

so which Iced Earth album is better than this?
I for one always get bored with IE... I shouldn't have asked but I'm curious.

Written by John_Doe on 19.02.2021 at 17:24

so which Iced Earth album is better than this?
I for one always get bored with IE... I shouldn't have asked but I curious.

I easily get bored with most -- if not any -- IE past 1998.
But I prefer their first 3-4 albums a lot to the one at hand, well at least that is me.

Even best iced earth albums are hot garbage compared to Fates Warning. It's just different League.

Also if you want to talk about best US Power metal, talk about Crimson Glory, Early Queensryche, Riot, Virgin Steele, Manilla Road, Metal Church, not Iced Earth

Written by Scintil on 04.03.2021 at 00:27

Also if you want to talk about best US Power metal, talk about Crimson Glory, Early Queensryche, Riot, Virgin Steele, Manilla Road, Metal Church, not Iced Earth

Manilla Road yes, Riot, VS naaaah, Metal Church no.
Crimson Glory, early QR not USPM in my eyes.
Rather Sanctuary, Helstar...

Written by Redel on 04.03.2021 at 16:15

Rather Sanctuary, Helstar...

Actually big fucking +1. Also by early 'Ryche I mean first album + EP.

[Edit] Didn't really want to include God knows how many bands. The ones I included I find have more interesting albums than IE. IE albums are just very mixed bags (except Stormrider ofc), even Burnt Offerings, with fantastic songs like title-track or Dante's Inferno, has some unlistenable garbage tracks.

Never liked the term "The greatest of all time...", but when it comes to metal music this is what comes to my mind.

I don't think I've heard this album too many times, maybe once or twice before this. There's something in the name "Fates Warning" that makes me forget about them and only return to them after years have passed. Generally speaking this is really good music; not too repetitive songwriting, good musicianship and the only thing which kind of puts me off is the vocals; I know John Arch is kind of a big name in the us power circles, but I think he is underperforming compared to other aspects of this album.

So it's another of those albums worth finding. Now I'll probably forget this band again if I don't put a sticker note somewhere saying "Fates fuckin Warning"

Awesome album and a classic for sure. I remember reading some interview where they said that back when the band recorded this they probably went a little too far with all the goodness, because it turned out this stuff was really hard to nail perfectly live and at the time they got a reputation of being more of a killer studio band rather than a great live act, which eventually also ended up hurting them.

A classic release. It’s a shame Arch was bumped after this but poor guy couldn’t take the touring and live performances. The stage was basically hell for him.

I read in the latest Metal Blade biography that he was finally diagnosed bipolar 2. The good news is he has a much better understanding of his mental health and can do something about it, albeit a bit later in life. Better late than never.