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Album Details
- Artist: Fate Arising
- Album: Reflections Of A Lost Reality
- Label: N/A
- Year of Release: 2007
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2008-05-15
RecommendMichigan may be a musical hotbed, especially around the Detroit area, but it's hard to tell if Fates Arising are adding to the heat or just burning it up. They're unsigned, which is hardly a proper critique for any band but there seems to be a few missing ingredients here. I sense the core of a strong band stumbling through growing as songwriters on Reflections of a Lost Reality, which dropped in November of last year.
The things that hurt them are the vocals and the general flow of most of these songs; the first four come and go and don't do much besides flash some impressive guitar and bass work. The bass in particular seems to be the band's strongest point. The drummer sounds as if he's having trouble keeping time, at times. About those vocals...I don't know what it is but the guy sounds better when he's shouting. Otherwise, the nasally clean parts iritate more than a little, especially when combined with the rather average lyrics. With titles like "Let Me Go", "I Don't Care" and "She's The One", you get the idea. The 2nd half of the album is a 4-part "suite" that barely shows any cohesiveness, and appears more like the band's grasp at something progressive or theme-oriented. Personally, it's sounding like 4 more so-so songs.
The instrumental skills are present and, for the most part, sharp and sound. I would suggest someone else try their luck at singing, perhaps the fella who provides the back-up vocals. There's something to enjoy here, but the cons tend to distract too much from the pros to really recommend it. If one song was their best, it's the balladeering "She's The One" by far, so start there if you're still interested. The comparisons made in the "Try if you like" section are very loose; think of a combination of all four, but nowhere near as prolific and powerful as any.
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Log In or Register to Rate Albumson 2008-08-05 SolitaryMan Said:
soccerguy: I have no issue with criticism, and can admit I am not the best reviewer going. But I do a damn fine job of giving each record I hear the proper attention and my knowledge of multiple genres, mainly rock and metal, is more than proficient. I don't need to attest to my skills as a reviewer; frankly, you're either making money off of this band or are stuck so far up their asses, you're forgetting how much their crap can stink. I judged this album fair and square, and as I recall spun it at least 5 times. I never, ever review an album without listening to it, and I'd appreciate it if you'd keep such opinions to yourself or message me directly.
To think, you have a right to call me biased, and then to underplay your own blatantly obvious bias towards this band. What's my bias, pal? That my tastes don't align like a piece in a puzzle to yours? Think before you spout such ridiculous crap.
One more thing: this line summarizes the entire review, and if you failed to pick that up (and can't understand that with so many rock bands out there, not everyone is doing something worth telling people to listen to), that's your problem.
"There's something to enjoy here, but the cons tend to distract too much from the pros to really recommend it."
Not Rated
Review:
on 2008-08-05 fbcrc Said:
This is a great album with many key elements. Excluding the vocals. They definitely could have thought that problem out. He sounds constipated through most of the album. The reviewer above was 100% correct. They should have handed the mic over to the person that does backing vocals. The guitarist is brilliant. The bass is flawless. The drummer is obviously very skilled. The tempo problems are small and with a little practice they can be fixed. Give this album a try. You can get past the singer if you appreciate great writing and musicianship. I would like to add that whoever writes the lyrics is very good at that aspect. The lyrics are deep and meaningful. I don't want to go too deep into what each song brings to the table or this review would go on for days. Lets just say that both of their albums do stay in my constant rotation.
Also, I recommend checking our their first album, A Past Left Behind. In my opinion it's a little more splashed out through different types of rock, but I find it to be better than the 2nd album. Fair warning, expect the same level of vocals.
Check the band out though!
Their best songs include-
"A Reason to Live" "Back Home" "Get Away" "Closer Look" "A Perfect Memory" "First Step" (from A Past Left Behind)
"Let Me Go" "I Don't Care" "She's The One" "Beyond My Reach" "Reminiscence" "The Great Ascent" (from Reflections of a Lost Reality)
Rating: 10/10
on 2008-05-20 soccerguy Said:
Wow! I just received a link to this and what a bad review of a pretty solid album. Okay, I admit I don't think it's the greatest album ever but it's definitely a good one and worthy of at least a 4/5 rating. This guy doesnt appear to have even listened to it in its entirety. All he does it bash the vocals, three song names that he doesn't like and claim that the concept portion doesn't have cohesiveness. Ha! And in the midst of everything, he doesn't go into a detail about a single song except to say that the strongest track is She's the One (nice reviewing skills...heh).
The funny thing is that I have this album and She's the One is probably my least favorite track because of its simplicity. Most of the others offer a lot of fresh and complex sounding parts and ideas (beyond my reach, misfortune, ivory tower, reminiscence, great ascent). I don't feel strongly about every track, but nothing is bad and a lot is good. And the concept is very cohesive down to songs incorporating similar parts, lyrics of the songs connecting, all songs with a similar tone, feel and mood, and each song starting on the same note that the previously song ended on. The cohesiveness is something that I was actually impressed by (I don't know what this guy is talking about - he should probably listen to it again or listen to it all). And if the first four tracks are so average with poor vocals, then why are they getting radio play in MI by the two main rock stations? I guess there are songs on the radio that I don't like and it's a matter of his opinion, but I think this guy should at least give the album a complete listen before writing a review. I was just disappointed in reading it. I thought it was a good album overall and a great piece of work coming from a local Indie band. Kudos to the guys in Fate Arising.
If you want to judge Fate Arising's music then don't listen to this reviewer or even myself for that matter (I guess I can be biased as well). Click the link to the side of the page and check out the songs on their myspace and decide for yourself. Or if you are from the MI area, then check them out live (they put on a decent show).
Rating: 10/10
