Arch / Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance

28 minutes on Side D has me a little leery. Can anyone vouch for how it sounds?

28 minutes on Side D has me a little leery. Can anyone vouch for how it sounds?

28 minutes on Side D has me a little leery. Can anyone vouch for how it sounds?

One of the most eagerly-anticipated albums in the progressive metal genre this year (and that's saying something in a season that also saw releases from Dream Theater and Opeth) is the return of former Fates Warning vocalist John Arch alongside his former bandmate Jim Matheos. Their last collaboration was the well-received, if all too brief, 2003 John Arch EP A Twist of Fate. Now under the name Arch/Matheos, they're back - with fellow Fates Warning alum Joey Vera and Frank Aresti, plus drummer Bobby Jarzombek - with the full-length album Sympathetic Resonance, which is probably the best Fates Warning album in a long time.

Obviously Ray Alder is still Fates Warning's vocalist, and it probably wouldn't have been right to call this a Fates Warning album, but as soon as you hear it there's no way not to think of it as a Fates Warning release, even as the long-delayed follow-up to Awaken the Guardian. John Arch has a voice like no other, and while it may be an acquired taste, it's instantly recognizable and was a key component of the early Fates Warning sound. He hasn't lost a step here, and it helps that Matheos brought some truly mind-bending guitar work to the project. There are moments on Sympathetic Resonance where you want to stop the music, go back, and experience a age or time change or other bit of instrumental prowess again.

Beyond the sheer technicality of the musicians, and beyond Arch's stratospheric vocals, there's a fantastic energy and chemistry at work on Sympathetic Resonance that really makes each song part of a cohesive whole. It's just an amazing album and an amazing experience overall, and it goes without saying that for fans of the Arch-era Fates Warning albums, Sympathetic Resonance isn't even an optional purchase. It's a must-have. Unless you absolutely can't handle the high-pitched vocals, it ought to please nearly all Fates Warning fans as well as just about anyone into progressive metal.

At any other time, Sympathetic Resonance would be the progressive metal album of the year, but 2011 has seen some truly remarkable releases. It's definitely in the top five, keeping company with Leprous's Bilateral, Voyager's The Meaning Of I, Anubis Gate's self-titled release and Symphony X's Iconoclast.