Darkness in a Different Light | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 30, 2013 [1] | |||
Recorded | April–July 2013 | |||
Studio | Carriage House Studios, Stamford, Connecticut; Jim Matheos' home studio, New Hampshire; The Bridge Recording, Glendale, California | |||
Genre | Progressive metal | |||
Length | 56:57 | |||
Label | Inside Out | |||
Producer | Jim Matheos | |||
Fates Warning chronology | ||||
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Darkness in a Different Light is the eleventh studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 2013 through Inside Out Music. [1] It is the band's first album since FWX (2004), marking the longest gap between two studio albums in their career, as well as being their first studio album with guitarist Frank Aresti since Inside Out (1994); although he appeared on the band's next album Theories of Flight (2016), as a guest, Darkness in a Different Light would be the last to feature Aresti as an official member. Drummer Bobby Jarzombek also makes his debut with Fates Warning on this album, and it is the band's first release through Inside Out Music. [2]
Plans for an eleventh Fates Warning studio album were mentioned in September 2009 when vocalist Ray Alder said that the band was working on new material. [3] In June 2011, guitarist and bandleader Jim Matheos hinted that Fates Warning would not be playing any more shows that year as the band was continuing to work on their new album. [4]
In March 2012, Alder reaffirmed that the band was working "as hard as we can" to complete the album for a late 2012 or early 2013 release. [5] On December 28, 2012, Matheos confirmed that the songwriting was complete. [6] Three months later, it was announced that Fates Warning would enter the studio in April to record the album. [7]
On August 1, 2013, the album title and release dates were announced. Alder described Darkness in a Different Light as "the result of almost two years of very hard work from everyone in the band" [2] and celebrated the lineup as "the best that Fates Warning has ever had". [2] He expressed his eagerness to tour extensively in support of the album. [2] During October 2013, the band performed in nine European countries. [8]
Alder suggested that awareness of the band's previous releases informed the new album: "The idea with Darkness in a Different Light was to do something similar to Parallels , not necessarily musically, but in theory. Catchy songs, big choruses—that was the idea. Sure, we sometimes think that we won't ever make an album as big as Parallels, but I think our new album is different than anything else out there right now. We look to the future". [9]
With respect to the album title, Alder indicated that it was inspired, although accidentally, by Matheos' lyrics for the song "And Yet It Moves". Alder explained that
the lyrics [to that song] seemed to make everything a common bond—going back between light and dark. I don't know why or how that happened. It was some subconscious thing that went on. So the title just seemed to make sense. Some of the songs have to do with hope and working your way through certain things. I mean, darkness to me seems more of a state of mind - it's not a physical darkness. But Darkness In A Different Light seemed to make sense. Again, it tied in with the lyrics. It didn't mean to, but it did". [10]
The track "O Chloroform" features lyrics by keyboardist Kevin Moore, which were originally left unused from the writing sessions for the 2011 Arch/Matheos album Sympathetic Resonance . Alder remarked of the song's lyrics and curious title: "It's such a cool song, ... I know what chloroform is, but I don't know what he's talking about [laughs]." [11]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blabbermouth | 8.5/10 [14] |
Jukebox:Metal | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Loudwire | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Reviews for Darkness in a Different Light have been mostly positive. Observing that instrumental technicality has become the norm in metal, AllMusic's Gregory Heaney lauded Fates Warning for bucking the trend and writing songs which "bring us back to a time when songs felt more like sprawling compositions than theoretical math problems". [13] Describing it as "another notch in a long list of accomplishments for Fates Warning", Dan Drago praised the album in About.com for "flawlessly glid[ing] back and forth between complex progressive time signatures and straightforward crushing riffs". [12] Blabbermouth's Ray Van Horn Jr. suggested a kinship between Darkness in a Different Light and Fates Warning's 1990s output, but also noted an "amplified toughness" that pointed to earlier works such as No Exit (1988). [14] Joe Devita suggested in Loudwire that Darkness in a Different Light marked Fates Warning's "leap into the modern age" with the band "reinventing themselves while retaining pieces of their hallmark sound". [16]
Around 2,700 copies were sold in its first week of release. [18] This resulted in Darkness in a Different Light entering at 162 on the Billboard 200; the band's first album since Perfect Symmetry (1989) to appear on the chart.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "One Thousand Fires" | Jim Matheos, Ray Alder, Frank Aresti | 7:21 |
2. | "Firefly" | Matheos, Alder | 4:59 |
3. | "Desire" | Matheos, Alder | 4:00 |
4. | "Falling" | Alder, Matheos | 1:34 |
5. | "I Am" | Matheos, Alder, Bobby Jarzombek | 5:08 |
6. | "Lighthouse" | Matheos, Alder | 5:25 |
7. | "Into the Black" | Matheos, Alder | 5:09 |
8. | "Kneel and Obey" | Matheos | 5:05 |
9. | "O Chloroform" (lyrics by Kevin Moore) | Matheos, Alder | 4:13 |
10. | "And Yet It Moves" | Matheos | 14:03 |
Total length: | 56:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Firefly" (extended version) | Matheos, Alder | 7:20 |
2. | "Falling Further" | Matheos, Alder | 4:43 |
3. | "One" (live at Progpower USA; Atlanta, Georgia; September 12, 2009 [19] ) | Matheos, Alder | 4:41 |
4. | "Life in Still Water" (live at ProgPower USA; Atlanta, Georgia; September 12, 2009) | Matheos | 5:21 |
Total length: | 22:05 |
Fates Warning
Additional credits
Region | Date | Label |
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Europe | September 30, 2013 [1] | Inside Out |
North America | October 1, 2013 [1] |
Year | Chart | Position |
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2013 | Billboard Heatseekers Albums | 5 [20] |
Billboard Hard Rock Albums | 10 [20] | |
Billboard Independent Albums | 32 [20] | |
German albums chart | 41 [21] | |
Billboard Top Rock Albums | 50 [20] | |
Swiss albums chart | 56 [21] | |
Dutch albums chart | 90 [21] | |
Belgian albums chart | 129 [21] | |
Billboard 200 | 162 [20] |
OSI was an American progressive rock band, originally formed by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos in 2002. Chroma Key keyboardist and vocalist Kevin Moore is the only other full-time member of the band. The collaboration may be considered a studio project, as its members and contributors write and track most of their material independently, sharing and developing tracks long-distance, only coming together at the end of the process for mixing and additional tracking. The band's name is a reference to the Office of Strategic Influence, a short-lived American government agency formed in 2001 to support the War on Terror through propaganda. The band has featured a number of guest musicians on its albums, including Sean Malone, Steven Wilson, Mikael Akerfeldt, Joey Vera and Gavin Harrison.
Office of Strategic Influence is the first studio album by American progressive rock band OSI, released by Inside Out Music on February 18, 2003. The album was recorded in June 2002 and mixed in August 2002 at the Carriage House Studios in Stamford, Connecticut.
Kevin Moore is an American keyboardist, composer, founder of the Chroma Key music project and psychiatrist. He is also a former member of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater, co-founder of the progressive rock supergroup O.S.I., and a composer of film soundtracks. Throughout his career, he has become known for his emotional music and lyrics, nomadic lifestyle and use of spoken word samples.
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup changes over the course of their 41-year career, and Matheos is the only constant member. As of 2020, the band consists of Matheos, vocalist Ray Alder, bassist Joey Vera, drummer Bobby Jarzombek and guitarist Michael Abdow. Fates Warning also had a revolving cast of drummers and guitarists by the time Jarzombek and Abdow joined the band in 2007 and 2020 respectively.
Jim Matheos is an American guitarist and the primary songwriter for the progressive metal band Fates Warning, in which he has been the only consistent member since the group's beginning. Matheos also plays in OSI alongside Kevin Moore, as well as making other appearances with many different bands and artists.
No Exit is the fourth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 1988 through Metal Blade Records. It is the first Fates Warning album to feature current singer Ray Alder, who replaced John Arch after the release of Awaken the Guardian (1986), as well as the last to feature drummer Steve Zimmerman, who left the band just prior to the recording of their subsequent album Perfect Symmetry (1989). The album's title was inspired by No Exit, a 1944 play written by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre.
Bobby Jarzombek is an American musician of Polish and German ancestry who is currently the drummer for country music legend George Strait. Bobby also has been a drummer for: vocalist Sebastian Bach, and progressive metal band Fates Warning. Guitarist Ron Jarzombek is his younger brother.
Ray Alder is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of the progressive metal band Fates Warning since their 1988 release No Exit. He is of Mexican descent.
Free is the second studio album by American progressive rock band OSI, released by InsideOut Music on April 21, 2006.
Awaken the Guardian is the third studio album by American progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 1986 through Metal Blade Records. The album was the band and their label's first to enter the U.S. Billboard 200, reaching No. 191 and remaining on the chart for four weeks. It is also the first Fates Warning album to feature guitarist Frank Aresti and the last with original singer John Arch, who was replaced by Ray Alder on their subsequent 1988 album No Exit.
Perfect Symmetry is the fifth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 1989 through Metal Blade Records; a remastered edition was reissued on June 10, 2008 together with a bonus disc containing studio demos, as well as a DVD of live performances from the 1989–90 Perfect Symmetry world tour. It was with this album that the band's more modern, progressive direction was established.
Parallels is the sixth studio album by American progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on October 29, 1991, through Metal Blade Records. The album reached No. 20 on the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers chart.
Inside Out is the seventh studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on July 26, 1994 through Metal Blade Records. The album continues with the commercial sound that Parallels began. It was the last to feature long-time bassist Joe DiBiase, who left after its release, as well as the last to feature guitarist Frank Aresti until his return to band in 2005. Aresti later appeared on their 2013 album Darkness in a Different Light as a full-time member and on the 2016 album Theories of Flight as a guest. DiBiase would return in 2010 and 2016 for a number of shows, but did not officially rejoin.
A Pleasant Shade of Gray is the eighth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on April 22, 1997 through Metal Blade Records. It is a concept album, and contains one song divided into twelve parts and is noted for its darker mood and more progressive style.
Fire Make Thunder is the fourth studio album by American progressive rock band OSI, released by Metal Blade Records on March 27, 2012 in Europe and North America.
Sympathetic Resonance is a collaborative studio album by singer John Arch and guitarist Jim Matheos, released on September 9, 2011 through Metal Blade Records.
Frank Aresti is an American guitarist and composer and former member of progressive metal band Fates Warning.
Arch/Matheos is an American progressive metal project.
Theories of Flight is the twelfth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on July 1, 2016 through Inside Out Music; their last release on the label with their re-signing with their longtime label Metal Blade Records in 2019. Theories of Flight marked the first time since 2004's FWX that Fates Warning had recorded as a four-piece. Although guitarist Frank Aresti was still a member of Fates Warning at the time of the album's writing and recording sessions, he does not appear in band photos inside the album booklet and is credited only as a guest, for providing guitar solos on two tracks ; therefore, this is the last Fates Warning album to feature Aresti.
Long Day Good Night is the thirteenth studio album by American progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on November 6, 2020. It is Fates Warning's first release on Metal Blade Records since 2004's FWX and also the first to feature guitarist Mike Abdow as a full time member, which he became in 2017 having previously been a touring only member and appearing as a guest on their previous album Theories of Flight in 2016.