No Exit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 23, 1988 [1] | |||
Recorded | October–December 1987 | |||
Studio | Carriage House Studios, Stamford, Connecticut | |||
Genre | Progressive metal | |||
Length | 40:04 | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | Roger Probert, Max Norman | |||
Fates Warning chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from No Exit | ||||
No Exit is the fourth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 1988 through Metal Blade Records. [5] 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. [6]
Musically, No Exit is fairly similar to the band's previous efforts, although incorporating more elements of thrash metal while still maintaining the complex structures and powerful vocal performances found in the earlier albums. Although the lyrics are less influenced by fantasy themes which were predominant in the earlier albums, the philosophical element is still present.
No Exit has had two major reissues. The first was in 1992 as part of a double album with Awaken the Guardian . [7] The second was a remastered edition containing three bonus tracks and a DVD of live material, released on September 4, 2007 to coincide with Metal Blade's 25th anniversary. [8]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Eduardo Rivadavia at AllMusic gave No Exit four stars out of five, saying "Usually regarded as the finest release from Fates Warning's early years, when their progressive leanings were tempered with no small amount of classic metal riffing, No Exit is a typically difficult album to come to grips with." [5] The album reached No. 111 on the U.S. Billboard 200 [9] and remained on that chart for thirteen weeks, longer than any of the band's albums before or since. [10] In a 2007 article by IGN, it was ranked No. 14 on their list of "Top 25 Metal Albums". [11]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "No Exit" | Jim Matheos | Matheos | 0:41 |
2. | "Anarchy Divine" | Frank Aresti | Aresti, Matheos | 3:46 |
3. | "Silent Cries" | Matheos | Matheos, Aresti, Joe DiBiase, Steve Zimmerman | 3:17 |
4. | "In a Word" | Aresti | Aresti | 4:25 |
5. | "Shades of Heavenly Death" | Aresti | Aresti, DiBiase, Matheos, Zimmerman | 5:57 |
6. | "The Ivory Gate of Dreams"
| Matheos | Matheos | 21:58 |
Total length: | 40:04 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
7. | "Quietus" (demo) | 4:00 |
8. | "Ivory Gate of Dreams (Outtake 1)" | 2:04 |
9. | "Ivory Gate of Dreams (Outtake 2)" | 3:14 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "No Exit" (tour documentary) | |
2. | "Silent Cries" (music video) | |
3. | "Anarchy Divine" (music video) | |
4. | "Valley of the Dolls" (live in Philadelphia, 1988) |
Chart (1988) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200 | 111 [10] |
Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or "pseudo-classical" compositions of the latter. One of these experimental examples introduced to modern metal was djent. The music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodox harmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequent meter changes and intense syncopation.
Elements is the third studio album released by American technical death metal band Atheist. It was released on August 30, 1993 by Music for Nations in Europe and by Metal Blade Records in the US. Elements was reissued by Relapse Records in 2005 and was digitally remastered with the addition of six bonus tracks.
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.
New American Gospel is the first studio album by American heavy metal band Lamb of God. It was released in 2000 through Prosthetic Records. New American Gospel is also the first release with Willie Adler on guitar, who replaced Abe Spear.
John Arch is an American progressive metal singer most well known for his work with the band Fates Warning.
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.
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.
FWX is the tenth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released on October 5, 2004 through Metal Blade Records; their last album on the label until re-signing in 2019. It is also the band's last studio album to feature drummer Mark Zonder.
Night on Bröcken is the first studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in September 9, 1984 through Metal Blade Records and Roadrunner Records.
The Spectre Within is the second studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in October 1985 through Metal Blade Records. It has been reissued three times: first as a double album together with Night on Bröcken (1984) in 1992, followed by a remastered edition in 1994, and again in 2002 with four bonus tracks as well as new cover art.
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 that 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.
Chasing Time is a compilation album, recorded by the Progressive metal group Fates Warning. The album was released on July 25, 1995. It includes 14 songs from all the band's periods, including 1 unreleased remix and 2 unreleased songs. It is the only compilation album the band has released.
A Twist of Fate is an EP by singer John Arch, released on June 17, 2003 through Metal Blade Records. At the time, the EP was Arch's first musical work in over seventeen years since leaving progressive metal band Fates Warning in 1987, with whom he recorded their first three albums; the last being Awaken the Guardian (1986). Consisting of two tracks, A Twist of Fate features Fates Warning founder and guitarist Jim Matheos, with whom Arch would later release a collaborative album in 2011, entitled Sympathetic Resonance, under the banner of Arch/Matheos. Also among the line-up are former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy and current Fates Warning bassist Joey Vera.
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.
Darkness in a Different Light is the eleventh studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in 2013 through Inside Out Music. 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.
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.