Fates Warning Bring ‘A Pleasant Shade Of Gray’ & More To The Whisky

By Andrew Bansal

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November 1st 2015, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Hartford CT progressive metal veterans Fates Warning have had a lot on their plate in 2015. They finished writing their 12th studio album which is slated for an early 2016 release via Inside Out Music, and besides, they also reissued their 1997 release ‘A Pleasant Shade Of Gray’ as a deluxe edition this year via Metal Blade. Fates Warning just wrapped up a US headline tour which began in their hometown on October 9th and ended in Ramona, California on November 2nd. On its penultimate night, the tour visited the Los Angeles area for a gig at the Whisky-A-Go-Go in West Hollywood, and prog metal fans gathered in good numbers as Fates Warning prepared to treat them with a healthy dosage of ‘A Pleasant Shade Of Gray’, along with a full set of other material old and new.

The band took the stage at 11:10 amidst huge cheers, and played a 90-minute set that was as flawless as any performance ever witnessed at the Whisky. Vocalist Ray Alder was at the peak of his powers, and as he joked that he couldn’t wait for the set to end so he could go get his drink on, he simultaneously indicated that he had refrained from drinking prior to the set, as did his band mates, most likely, the true professionals that they are. For the old-school heads coming to Fates Warning shows, it is always a treat getting to watch Armored Saint’s Joey Vera, who’s been with this band for 15 years, on bass. The old guard of Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti put forth some tremendous guitar work in heaviness and in melody, while Bobby Jarzombek sounded the most powerful any drummer ever has at this venue. Many bands are unable to figure out the ideal settings to get the best out of the Whisky’s sound system, but Fates Warning did it better than anyone at this show, as they were sounding incredibly clean and balanced, proving that having the luxury of your own sound guy on tour makes such a huge difference.

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Selections from ‘A Pleasant Shade Of Gray’ were nothing short of prog perfection, but material off of the band’s latest full-length effort ‘Darkness In A Different Light’ including songs like ‘One Thousand Fires’, ‘Into The Black’ and ‘Firefly’ showcased the band’s progression from a melody-driven prog approach on past albums, to a heavier, groove-oriented sound while still retaining the signature vocal and guitar melodies. The crowd cheering just as loud for these songs as any of the older tunes was sheer testimony to the album’s success, and should motivate the band to even greater things on FW12.

The Whisky witnessed a prog masterclass by Fates Warning, and those in attendance loved every moment of it.

Set List:
01. One Thousand Fires
02. Pale Fire
03. Part of the Machine
04. Life in Still Water
05. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part III
06. Into the Black
07. One
08. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part VI
09. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part VII
10. Another Perfect Day
11. The Ivory Gate of Dreams: IV. Quietus
12. Firefly
13. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part IX
14. A Pleasant Shade of Gray, Part XI
15. Monument
Encore:
16. Natural Thing (UFO cover)
17. The Eleventh Hour
18. Point of View

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