CD Review: New Live Albums From Metal Blade Artists Fates Warning And Between The Buried And Me

The legendary progressive metal band Fates Warning is celebrating 35 years together as a band this year. Another milestone the band recently celebrated was the 30th anniversary of their break-through album "Awaken The Guardian." It was the last Fates Warning album to feature founding vocalist John Arch and their first album to enter the Billboard album chart. In honor of this album's achievement, Fates Warning assembled the album's original line-up and performed the complete album live in Germany last year at the Keep It True festival. On April 28th, Metal Blade Records is releasing "Awaken The Guardian Live," a new live recording of the album from that festival. 

 

The classic line-up injects a renewed energy into the music as the show begins, the same way as the album with "The Sorceress." The music sounds timeless as Fates Warning motors through "Valley Of The Dolls" and still take you down the heavy metal rabbit hole with the eight-minute musical journey of "Prelude To Ruin." They close out their album portion of the show with the nine-minute juggernaut "Exodus" as the crowd helps out with the chorus. They finish their show with a flashback to their first two albums as the songs "The Apparition" and "Epitaph" continue to showcase how great this band has evolved over the last 35 years. 

 

Fates Warning are hitting the road in June with a homecoming date on June 30th at the Webster Theater in Hartford, CT. Their new live album will be released on CD, DVD, Blu-ray and double gatefold vinyl. To find out more about "Awaken The Guardian Live," please visit fateswarning.com.

 

Fellow progressive metal band Between The Buried And Me are also releasing a new live album titled "Coma Ecliptic: Live." It features the band performing their most recent studio album "Coma Ecliptic" in its entirety. It was filmed and recorded live at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, CA last October and will be released on CD, DVD and Blu-ray.

 

The new 11-song release mirrors the same song list as the studio album, but you can certainly feel the extra shot of energy that Between The Buried And Me put into their live presentation. Songs like "The Coma Machine" and "Famine Wolf" make the most of their time as the band works its way between thrash and hardcore metal movements. The energy builds during the seven-minutes of "King Redeem/Queen Serene," while the band showcases their skills during the eight minute jam of "Turn On The Darkness." Their new live album wraps up with the back to back epic musical journeys of "Rabid Calm" and "Memory Place," before closing with the mainstream alt-rock of "Life In Velvet." To find out more about Between The Buried And Me and their latest release "Coma Ecliptic: Live," please visit betweentheburiedandme.com.