Fate's Warning

Awaken The Guardian

An overlooked progressive power gem.

Review Score:

(10/10)
Apparently, this is described by many as being either one of the best or one of the worst metal LPs of all times. I don't know how you can't like it, as it features some truly awesome guitar solos, crunching rhythm work, and mind-blowing vocals from John Arch. Unfortunately, this was Arch's last album with the band. Songs like "Guardian" are revered by the few people out there with a copy of this record (PARALLELS, the band's best-selling album, sold a scant 150,000 copies in the U.S.)as genuine classics. It took me a while to appreciate that particular song, but I now feel it is indeed remarkable. The lyrics, besides Arch's vocals and the guitar team of Jim Matheos and Frank Aresti, are the true standout here. John Arch seemed to have a thing for the mystical and mythical, and his brilliant lyrics showcase this. "Prelude to Ruin," for example, just may be about King Arthur with its "palace is wild for lusting/when the forest is wild for hunting" lines, but this is a personal opinion. My favorite song here is "Exodus," a stupefyingly complex song with elements sounding like anyone from Mercyful Fate (on the whole, a band similar in sound to early FW) to Queensryche. Although I feel that THE SPECTRE WITHIN was slightly better (I've not yet bought NIGHT ON BROCKEN), AWAKEN THE GUARDIAN has some very inspired and technically amazing moments from one of the original progressive metal bands.

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