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Fates Warning - A Pleasant Shade Of Gray



8.5 | 223 votes |
Release date: 22 April 1997
Style: Progressive metal

Owners:

237 have it
16 want it


01. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part I
02. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part II
03. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part III
04. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part IV
05. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part V
06. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part VI
07. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part VII
08. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part VIII
09. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part IX
10. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part X
11. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part XI
12. A Pleasant Shade Of Gray Part XII

Additional info
Recorded, produced, and mixed by Terry Brown at the Carriage House, Stamford, CT in November-December 1996.
Assistant engineers: Andy Katz and Joe Peccerillo.
Mastering: Eddie Schreyer at Oasis.

Pre-production: Bill's Place.

Art direction and design: Ioannis and Steven Jacaruso at Vivid Images Int.

Photography: Ioannis and Heide Coyle.

Guest review by
janhuss
Rating:
9.5
Well, when someone is speaking of progressive rock, usually, you could think of Dream Theater or Symphony X. But, no, for sure, there are many other bands in this field that deserve a high degree of attention. And one of these bands is, certainly, Fates Warning. This band could be considered as one of the founders of progressive metal in the late 80s.

Read more ››
published 07.10.2004 | Comments (10)

Found in 14 lists
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Comments

Comments: 5   Visited by: 387 users
08.08.2013 - 17:46
Rating: 9
NocturnalStalker
Metal Addict
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.
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"And we are not who we think we are
We are who we're afraid to be"
- Lux Occulta "The Opening of Eleventh Sephirah"
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08.06.2020 - 11:20
Rating: 6
Robdog
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.
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22.11.2020 - 18:11
Rating: 6
majormalfunction
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.
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Everything's twice as bright with money in your hands
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22.11.2020 - 18:34
Rating: 9
JoHn Doe
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.
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I thought the two primary purposes for the internet were cat memes and overreactions.
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05.10.2024 - 07:54
Rating: 6
Crawltipede
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.
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I will regret nothing.
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