Search - Fates Warning :: Night on Bröcken

Still developing, but wonderfully metal

Matthew Schwarz | Bridgewater, nj United States | 12/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"3.5 stars, really, but I didn't want to shortchange the boys. This album isn't a work of a band at their peak yet - John Arch still needed some development as a singer, and it is somewhat derivative of Iron Maiden. Yet, the guitar is just so METAL that it doesn't matter (kind of reminds me of the first Iced Earth in that respect). John Arch's singing would improve significantly over the next two albums, and his unusual phrasing and excellent lyric-writing would make him (in my opinion) one of the stand-out singers of metal. Sadly, after 3 albums with Fates Warning he would disappear from the musical world until his fantastic recent solo CD "A Twist of Fate" (with Jim Matheos, the main songwriter/guitarist of Fates Warning).

So, I would recommend the more progressive, accomplished, and original "Spectre Within" and "Awaken the Guardian" to start out, but this is certainly a nice piece of classic 80's underground metal for those who are wondering if there's anything other than Iron Maiden (and some Judas Priest & Scorpions) that put out metal in the 80's that wasn't pop/hair or thrash (although Fates does have a somewhat thrashy side to them at times). I think Mercyful Fate/King Diamond is also good in that direction."