Perfect Symmetry

About

"Perfect Symmetry" is the fifth studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning. It was released in 1989 through Metal Blade Records. A remastered edition was released on June 10, 2008, with a bonus disc containing studio demos and a DVD featuring live performances from the 1989-90 "Perfect Symmetry" world tour. "Perfect Symmetry" was Fates Warning's second album with vocalist Ray Alder, who participated in the songwriting. According to guitarist and founding member Jim Matheos, Alder developed his vocal range on the album and began singing in a lower register, reflecting the band's developing musical direction. The album was also the first Fates Warning release to feature drummer Mark Zonder. Matheos said that Zonder contributed to the band's move towards a more progressive style. Zonder later described the songwriting as more progressive and less thrash-oriented, with longer and more linear arrangements. "Nothing Left to Say" was included on the soundtrack of the 1991 film "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare". An instrumental version of "At Fates Hands", titled "At Fate's Fingers", appeared on the 1991 compilation album "Guitar's Practicing Musicians Vol. 2". It was later included on Fates Warning's compilation album "Chasing Time", released in 1995. "Perfect Symmetry" received generally positive reviews from critics. Robert Taylor of AllMusic rated the album four out of five stars and described it as the recording that established Fates Warning as a progressive band, noting the continued presence of the band's metal influences and Zonder's contribution to the sound. Trey Spencer of Sputnikmusic rated it five out of five stars and described it as the band's most progressive album at the time. The album reached number 141 on the US Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for nine weeks. It was the second-highest-charting album of Fates Warning's career at the time. The band did not appear on the Billboard 200 again until "Darkness in a Different Light" in 2013.

via Last.fm