Arch/Matheos

All Fates Warning fans who long for the salad days of early classics The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian have always dreamed that a full-length reunion of founding members John Arch and Jim Matheos would come in their lifetimes (Arch's 2003's A Twist of Fate EP with Matheos was a mere teaser). After Arch was replaced by Ray Alder for 1988's MTV-lauded No Exit, Fates Warning became the progressive pioneers that influenced Dream Theater, Zero Hour and the like. When Matheos was demo-ing new Fates material and Alder couldn't commit to the record, he called Arch to reignite their working relationship. Adding long-time guitarist Frank Aresti, bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint) and drummer Bobby Jarzombek (Spastic Ink) into the fold, Arch/Matheos were born. Sympathetic Resonance features six songs: three ten-minute-plus epics and three shorter prog workouts. After an acoustic intro, opening track "Neurotically Wired" reveals Arch's golden warble amidst a dense tapestry of rhythms, with Jarzombek matching Matheos's every guitar lick with an equally complex drum fill. "Midnight Serenade" sounds like a radio-friendly Dream Theater track, while the marathon "Stained Glass Sky" is a heavier version of material Matheos could've written with prog super-group OSI. Resplendent with Opeth-esque, textured riffage, both "Incense and Myrrh" and "On the Fence" are two more reasons why Arch's incredible falsetto range makes the first three Fates Warning albums cult faves. These two tech titans ― Arch, with his gilded pipes, and Matheos, with his guitar wizardry ― have teamed up after long last to record one of the year's greatest prog-metal albums.