7.5/10
Long Day Good Night is the grammatically incorrect album from grammatically incorrect rockers Fates Warning. The lack of punctuation was going to piss me off if I didn’t address it. Anyways, November 6th marks the release of the thirteenth studio album for these prog metal giants. Clocking in a little over an hour, Long Day Good Night is thirteen theatrical tracks that hit in or around the same ballpark as bands like Queensrÿche or even a softer Dream Theater.
Long Day Good Night opens with “The Destination Onward,” a slow starter that eventually blossoms into an extravagant, shreddy tune. Fates Warning covers many bases on this opener, with dynamic changes, diverse vocals, and precision playing throughout. Some other noteworthy tracks are the pummeling lead single “Scars” and the groovy tune “Begin Again.” The latter has a bit of a grungy feel to it, with the low-gain guitar playing and Ray Adler’s soulful vocals gently carrying the song before it hits its over-the-top chorus. There are no bad songs on Long Day Good Night, but there isn’t a single track I can point to as exceptional.
There’s a lot to unpack with a song like “The Longest Shadow of the Day.” This nearly twelve-minute tune packs in jazzy fretless bass riffage, blistering guitar work, generally thrashing instrumentation and soaring, melodic vocals. Despite how diverse Fates Warning prove to be on “The Longest Shadow of the Day,” and the remainder of Long Day Good Night for that matter, I can’t help but feel like I’ve heard it before.
Thirteen albums in and I don’t know what Fates Warning are doing on this release to really set themselves apart from other progressive rock and metal acts. Don’t get me wrong, the band is on point with this release. But, I don’t think Long Day Good Night moves the goal post.
Written by Justin Bruce
*Edited by Dominic Abate
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