FATES WARNING – Disconnected

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9.0

• Bands:
  FATES WARNING
• Duration: 00:51:30
• Available from: 07/25/2000
• Label:

• Metal Blade Records

In the second half of the '90s, Fates Warning – who had already accomplished several metamorphoses within progressive metal at that time – arrived at what is considered by many to be their masterpiece, the summation of cultured and cerebral thought in gift to American education. “A Pleasant Shade Of Grey”, a single composition divided into several acts, actually marks one of the pinnacles of the entire progressive metal movement, which in those years was experiencing its period of heyday, at least in terms of dominance in the metalhead's audience. medium. If the numbers of prog, rock and metal, in terms of number of listeners, attendance at concerts, have even grown, thanks also to a positive flourishing of subgenres and contaminations, the golden age for progressive metal itself is probably right at the end of the century and the millennium.
If Dream Theater were – rightly – the undisputed leaders of this scene and will remain so in the future up until today, Fates Warning came just behind. “A Pleasant Shade Of Grey” marks yet another high point for a band that in the passage between the more typically metallic dimension and the refinements of maturity had no shocks or uncertainties, moving forward clearly and confidently on its path. Producing in 1997 a one-of-a-kind album, a symbol of how cultured, complex, yet extremely direct and relatively easy to assimilate music can be written.
At that point, however, in the immediate future, it was probably not easy to give a successor who would satisfy the – very high – expectations of the fan base. Unexpectedly, Fates Warning came out with something profoundly different, a primarily formal redefinition of their canons that could not fail to leave one speechless at the time. And which in turn remains something unique in the band's endless and successful discography.
“Disconnected” reveals itself to be unusual right from the cover, seemingly inconsistent with the group and its history up to that point. Yet, it is enough to give a first listen, delve into the lyrics, to understand that that cover, closer to that of a nu metal or crossover album – still alive and kicking in that period – was strangely perfect for the musical contents. The intro “Disconnected (Part 1)” immediately casts a cold and alienating patina on the record, as if to announce that idea of ​​detachment, asepticity, conveyed by the cover. The first real song, “One”, almost goes in the opposite direction, were it not for the electronic arrangements – never intrusive or dominant – and a compressed and synthetic sound, especially for the guitars, which tries to partially strip the ideas of the song of emotionality. band. “One”, so direct, powerful and with a chorus tight and bad enough, would be the prototype of the prog metal single, between pressing odd tempos, straight to the point riffing and bass digressions; while some small, more reflective asides seem to lead, timidly, into a more abstract and cerebral dimension. The one inaugurated with very different atmospheres from “So”, when the links with the 'usual' progressive metal of Fates Warning actually begin to corrode a little and an unusual, leaden, harshness peeks out. The guitars get bigger, the electronics start to dictate an aseptic climate, of calm and cold annihilation of emotions. Alder's voice matches these rarefied sounds, the tones are lowered, sadness and a meandering disillusionment make their way, while the singer echoes, when exhausted, how 'tired of you, tired of me' he is.
“Pieces Of Me” presents the characteristics of progressive metal with few frills, exuding a greater drama than that of “One”. It is the most metallic and violent piece of “Disconnected”. Here guitars, electronics and drums come together to make tension pulsate, with an angry and restless nature that crosses the most acclaimed genres of the time. The true jewels of the album, however, are yet to arrive.
In “Something For Nothing” the experimental ambitions overflow, with a first half dedicated to a long soliloquy by Alder, surrounded by subtle electronics, full of tension and very descriptive, with the metal elements reduced to a minimum: the second part is instead a dramatic crescendo, still cold and coldly suffered. The sweetness of the chorus contrasts with the darkness of the verses and some particularly heavy cuts. A kind of bridge between the present and future of progressive music. “Still Remains” expands the discussion, taking the form of an intense suite, summary and exaltation of all the emotional and conceptual nuances of “Disconnected”. Reflective and dilated moments are interspersed with more powerful and squared breaks, piano notes and futuristic atmospheres; Alder's narration is heartfelt and painful, projecting us into a labyrinth of internal torment. A song with a thousand nuances, as layered as it is full of pathos. “Disconnected (Part 2)” is finally a long instrumental coda, where the sound theme of the intro is taken up and evolves in an increasingly leaden, sidereal way, giving off a sensation of glacial, ineluctable solitude. A coherent closure to the main themes of the album, a true unicum in Fates Warning's discography.
In 2004, with “FWX”, they returned to a more 'classic' conception of progressive metal, inaugurating a less flashy and daring twenty years of record releases, although always of an excellent level. While “Disconnected” will probably remain the most atypical album in their history.