Review Summary: A stylistic peak for the progressive metal group Fates Warning, with emotion running in every verse and flawless songwriting throughout.
For any artist, the roughest course of action is a complete change in sound. It could be to strive for uniqueness, or for fluidity and accessibility, but this can be disastrous to a band's career. After Fates Warning recruited Ray Alder as their new lead vocalist, they pioneered a new genre by blending their rebellious and heavy hitting image with progressive tendencies on
No Exit, before breaking into a wild sprint that eschewed their chugging and galloping epics in favor of mechanical lamentations on their next work,
Perfect Symmetry. The original fanbase was further broken up as critics lauded
Perfect Symmetry and it's complex arrangements, but the band did the unthinkable and pushed even farther on
Parallels, in a move toward accessibility that was staggering to critics and fans alike. An inital spin gave listeners the impression that the band was positioning toward newcomers, with radio-ready-and-polished singles "Eye to Eye," "Point of View," and "We Only Say Goodbye" becoming international hits, and not to mention a shiny world tour being granted to them.
Despite it's direct approach and stark contrast from any of Fates Warning's previous albums,
Parallels manages to impress by remaining relaxed while it dishes out its progressive lamentations. The melodical focus is consistently maintained throughout with Zonder's drumming as he showcases an impressive balance of precision and caution. This brings out each song's distinct flavor, bringing out the striking bass waves, and an excellent string of Matheos' choruses. Their edge is as strong as ever, and although fans of the power metal era of Fates Warning may have a bone to pick with Ray Alder, the album's lyrical content manages to answer those questioning their decisions, giving an intriguing account of emotional altruism that is unheard of in the metal genre. Contrary to the commercial failures of many bands throughout the nineties,
Parallels was a massive success that helped shape the progressive metal genre alongside Dream Theater's
Images and Words and Queensrÿche's
Operation: Mindcrime. The band also obtains assistance from fellow prog metal band Dream Theater, who was not far off from their landmark release “Images and Words." Both bands share a word of thanks with each other in the liner notes of their respective albums, in addition to Dream Theater vocalist James LaBrie teaming up with Ray Alder for backup vocals on "Life in Still Water." Each band has their cover art showing near-parallel images of a young girl - where this album shows her at the deathbed of the laborer from Perfect Symmetry, and Dream Theater shows her alone in a lavish dreamscape of a bedroom - holding a pocket mirror.
If you are familiar with the band, then you are probably aware that Mark Zonder can be a rabid squirrel on the drums. He plays beats on his offbeats, creates drum fills that are impossible to decipher without multiple listens and a PHD in Progressive Metal, and stretches the atmosphere of the genre that the band was pioneering, even greater than Scott Rockenfield and Mike Portnoy ever did to Queensryche and Dream Theater, respectively. His presence on
Parallels is beautifully connected with the rest of the band without taking from his obvious prowess. It's vaguely reminiscent of Neil Peart through the 80's "synth-era" Rush by granting creedence to the compositional nuances and letting the verses flow. Matheos' guitar work is simplistic in technicality, but affective by it's emphasized dissosance which simultaneously resonances when matched with bassist Frank Aresti.
"Leave the Past Behind" may not be able to challenge the untouchable "Part of the Machine," but it is a solid number and impressive opener with melodic flurries may leave you deftly in need for some Promethazine to cure your motion sickness.
Parallels reflects ideas of death and regret, and everyday experience with the fact that life is short. "Life in Still Water" illustrates this with lyrics like
"Beneath the dust of our days/hides the key to our emotions/and it's been a while since we've been moved/without going through the motions/No emotions…/Is there time still for us to show?/Feelings we forgot long ago". An odd quirk worth noting is the obsessive use of 2nd person narration in the lyrics, (perhaps even joked about in the song "Point of View", the very title itself ironic) every song except for "The Road Goes On Forever" features some repeated use of the word 'You.' Still, their songwriting is nearly top notch, as is Ray Alder’s voice easily at its stylistic peak, belting out some impressive heights from his pipes on "The Eleventh Hour" and some sobering wails on"We Only Say Goodbye". As the closing track, "We Only Say Goodbye" has an incredibly memorable melody and as moody as it presents itself, it is the perfect theme to fit the new sound, the album cover, and the image and name of the band itself. With the perfect lineup of their members,
Parallels is definitely the best place for any newcomer to Fates Warning, and is always a solid place in their catalogue.
