FATES WARNING
Live in Athens DVD
Inside Out Music 2005
www.fateswarning.com

Read the Ray Alder interview

What’s the 4-1-1?
One of the leaders of the progressive metal genre, Fates Warning gives us the concert archive for their FWX world tour. The DVD was recorded in Athens, Greece on February 20th, 2005. The disc includes the entire 15-song concert performance, plus a host of bonus features. The bonus material includes behind the scenes looks at their appearance on Bulgarian TV, rehearsing for the Athens show and soundcheck. Also included in the extras footage is video of 2 songs performed at a festival in Holland where Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy was filling in on drums.

Genre
Progressive rock / progressive metal / metal

The Good
The concert: The sound of the performance is really top notch. The band is really in synch with each other during the concert. I liked that aside from an assortment of lighting changes to highlight the band and the stage, the real focus was on the material being performed. It always pains me when the stage show outshines the show on the stage. Thankfully, that is not the case here. Fates Warning knows that it’s music first! There wasn’t a misstep with any of the material chosen for the set list. They opened the show strongly with “One” and muscled their way through 15 songs. A couple of other real high points in the show were the songs “Quietus” and “Point Of View.”

Bonus features: The extras on the disc are okay but nothing to really write home about. There’s a 25-minute segment from showing the band on Bulgarian TV, as well as rehearsal and soundcheck for the Athens show. The clips from the 2005 Holland Headway Festival are fine, but other than Mike Portnoy filling in on drums, I didn’t find too much difference between the two songs here than they were during the main concert.

The Bad
I wish they had included a couple more songs that are personal favorites of mine like “Anarchy Divine” and “Silent Cries,” or perhaps something a little more interesting in regards to the bonus features. An interview with the band or something like that would’ve been great.

The Verdict
I saw Fates Warning in person once about 4 or 5 years ago in their home state of Connecticut. It was perhaps one of the single most boring concerts I’d ever seen. They didn’t seem the least bit interested in performing that night.
I’m glad to report that this DVD is nothing like my initial impression of their live show. This is a hard driving metal performance of high caliber.

The DVD also showcases that the “foreign” audiences really love the band. You should take a minute and check out the crowd while watching the audience. They are going crazy with screaming, hand gestures and head banging. I’ve always been a big fan of the band from their studio albums, but man this is a real eye opener as far as the live reputation of the band. You simply have to check out this DVD!

Did You Know?
The group’s bassist, Joey Vera, has worked in the past with one of the most underrated metal bands of all time, Armored Saint. The group’s temporary drummer for the FWX tour was Spock’s Beard drummer/vocalist Nick D’Virgilio.

Rating: out of 5

Related Reviews:
Fates Warning - Disconnected

-- Jay Roberts