Search - Fates Warning :: Perfect Symmetry (W/Dvd) (Exp)

Fates' best re-release so far

Spooky | 06/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let me start out by saying I am a huge Fates Warning fan and think this is one of their best albums. I think the album was originally mastered superbly so the reason for purchasing this was not for the re-mastered main disc, but because of the extras. In this case, the demos are much higher quality recordings than the demos on the previous re-releases. They are also a lot more enlightening because this was a real transition album for the band and the demos really show the band still searching for an updated sound. Their new sound really gelled on the final recording but was still falling into place on these demos. The songs are a lot less developed than on the actual album and especially the demos of the songs with Steve Zimmerman on drums they still sound like "old" Fates Warning. The demos on the previous re-releases were interesting to listen to, but not something I cared to listen to more than once or twice because of the sound quality. So in this regard, this is the best re-release so far in my opinion. I have not watched the DVD yet but did watch the trailer and based on what they showed there, it looks pretty much like bootlegs with rare glimpses at Ray doing some John Arch songs, but overall bootleg-quality audio.



For the price, this is a bargain for 2 CDs and a DVD and the demos CD is worth the price alone."

Buy it for the DVD content if nothing else...

C. Gervais | Worcester, MA United States | 06/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I want to say that I just got this yesterday and have been through all the bonus material once around while my familiarity goes back to the first week of its initial release.



The demos are just that demos. Depending on your "Point of View" (bad pun for FW insiders), listening is either good for laugh or interesting perspective on the evolution of the songs. Personally, I can take it or leave it. It's somewhat interesting to hear a couple of these tracks that include Steve Zimmerman on drums though. While Mark Zonder is probably the better drummer of the two the story of Steve Zimmerman's exit from FW has never been 100% clear to me.



For me, the DVD content is what makes the purchase worthwhile. I actually bought the Awaken the Guardian re-issue which includes a DVD of a FW show during the John Arch era for this specific reason. Now that footage left a little to be desired but FW did acknowledge this in the liner notes of that re-issue. I'm happy to say that this footage from the Perfect Symmetry re-issue by comparison is much better (in some cases by orders of magnitude). The DVD material covers several different gigs and samples a number of tracks from the FW catalog (some 2-3 times.....specifically "Through Different Eyes" and "Part of the Machine".....hey it is video of the Perfect Symmetry tour though!).



As for the album, what can I say? I bought it when it first came out in 1989 (yes I am that "old") and don't think that I can add much to what's already been written. Great album by a great band which reflects the time in progressive metal before Dream Theater really took the mantle over from the Queensryches, etc. My first impressions at the time were, "wow, this isn't anything like No Exit" and "where the hell is Steve Zimmerman?" I kept listening though and eventually over a period of several weeks I started to "get it." Thinking back (and this disc brings back memories galore including attending their gig at the old Living Room in Providence, RI back in early 1990), I don't think that ANYONE had put out anything quite like Perfect Symmetry. Hell, they didn't even rip themselves off but instead threw out the old book and started fresh in my opinion. To throw out a tired cliche (which works here), this album was ahead of it's time. To me, it's fair to sat that this falls somewhere between the great Queensryche and Dream Theater albums of the era that Perfect Symmetry was released."