Arch/MatheosSympathetic Resonance
2011 Metal Blade Records
This year saw what could well be the biggest event in prog metal history ever. I'm not talking about Mike Portnoy's exit from Dream Theater. I'm of course referring to something much more important. That, of course, is this album. This collaboration between Jim Matheos and John Arch. It was big news when John put out that two track disk a few years ago. But let's face it. That was only two songs. What we've got here is a full album. There's a few ways to look at this album. On the one hand, it sounds virtually nothing like the first three Fates Warning albums. So it's not a straightforward metal album. But it's also nothing like what came after "No Exit" once Ray Alder took up the vocalist spot in FW. At least for me, FW became far too progressive, and were, well, ...boring. While still in the prog vein, the songs here manage to stay on the level and are fairly focused, or at least they have a decent flow to them. Given how long some of them are, this is no small feat. John doesn't sound like he lost anything vocal-wise and is still as powerful and instantly recognizable as ever. With any luck, this won't be a one-off release and we'll hear more from John Arch sooner rather than later.
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