FATES WARNING: No Exit CD Metal Blade. 1987 Queensryche. Check videos Anarchy Divine, Silent Cries.

Description

FATES WARNING – No exit….commentary on the album: http://chirb.it/K4ekaq   

SAMPLES: www.allmusic.com/album/no-exit-mw0000195458

Track listing:
“No Exit” (Matheos) 0:41
“Anarchy Divine” (Aresti/Matheos) 3:46
“Silent Cries” (Aresti/DiBiase/Matheos/Zimmerman) 3:17
“In a Word” (Aresti) 4:25
“Shades of Heavenly Death” (Aresti/DiBiase/Matheos/Zimmerman) 5:57
“The Ivory Gate of Dreams” (Matheos) 21:58
“Innocence” – 1:13
“Cold Daze” – 2:15
“Daylight Dreamers” – 3:06
“Quietus” – 4:25
“Ivory Tower” – 3:17
“Whispers on the Wind” – 2:24
“Acquiescence” – 4:24
“Retrospect” – 1:01
…..Playing time: 40 min.
Producer: Roger Probert

Fates Warning:
Ray Alder (vocals)(Engine, Redemption);
Jim Matheos [Guitars] (OSI, Gordian Knot, Arch),
Frank Aresti (guitar); (Dragonspoon)
Joe DiBiase (bass);
Steve Zimmerman (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel:
Mark Castiglione (keyboards).

Recorded at Carriage House, Stamford, Connecticut between October & December 1987.
Recording information: Carriage House, CT (10/1987-12/1987).

Usually regarded as the finest release from Fates Warnings early years, when their progressive leanings were tempered with no small amount of classic metal riffing, No Exit is a typically difficult album to come to grips with. As was often the case on prior releases, the band has a hard time reconciling its ruthless experimentation with the need to construct coherent songs, leading to any number of awkward passages in which melodies and riffs are recklessly spliced together. Still, the album is another step forward, and tracks like “Anarchy Divine,” “Shades of Heavenly Death,” and “In a Word” rank among the best of their career thus far. The daunting “The Ivory Gate of Dreams” at over 20 minutes and eight separate parts, finds the band in its most extreme and complex progressive metal mode. Like his predecessor, new vocalist Ray Alders piercing screams are something of an acquired taste (coming off like a less disciplined version of Queensrÿches Geoff Tate), but the rest of the band perform to their usual high technical standards.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Giving No Exit some proper praise…,
No Exit began the Ray Alder era…now the history…when Jim was auditioning singers…Ray inquired about the job and Jim sent him the melody section to “Quietus” from ‘ivory gate,’ and basically what you hear on the finished cd is the audition tape Ray sent him…so I guess he was hired instantly.

I like the changes of tone…the intro part to the cd…to the tense screams of “Anarchy Divine” both “Silent Cries” and “In a Word” are strong passion plays, deep with emotion strong and guitar crunches.

But you buy this disc for “Ivory Gate.” A fantastic foray into a seemingly mythologic look…I was told that Jim based it roughly on Homers “Odyssey.” “Ivory Gate” has such a great flow to it… What I like about “Ivory Gate” and the rest of Fates longer tracks (i.e. APSOG, Something from Nothing, Still Remains) the songs take on an epic story feel…and there is a tense build-up to a powerful dramatic ending feel to the song…on this disc you can feel it with “Acquiesence,” when Ray sings the final lines..”Hope leads to final destination/ when reality obscures the dream/ makes the mind a grave of memories/ that wanders like the lonely breeze/ whose whispers echo through ruins rust/ of towers torn and dreams turned to dust…” The feel of that last movement still sends chills through me when I listen to it…some 20 years since I’ve heard it the first time.

So I say buy this CD for the progressive roots that it sprouts…the vocals of Ray Alder…his beginnings…and the impressive group that is Fates Warning…
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5.0 out of 5 stars Sheer perfection,
There are only 6 songs on this album, but this album rocks harder than any I’ve ever heard. There are some terrifyingly good guitar riffs on this CD and the vocals, bass and drums are top notch. Jim Matheos is a God when it comes to guitar! He has an excellent sense of melody, but also can rip face melting solos and riffs. He writes most of the music and lyrics of No Exit, and he single-handedly wrote ‘The Ivory Gates of Dreams’. And let me tell you, that song rocks. Chock full of every guitarists best dream, 20 minutes of pure shred but also great acoustic playing and some great piano playing.
Ray Alders vocals are very unique, and very good. I had never heard him until buying No Exit, but I must say: he is one of the, if not THE, best progressive metal vocalist I’ve ever heard. His voice is very powerful and he has incredible range (he can hit notes higher that Tate or Halford easily.) His vocals add a powerful presence to the music and it really “opens” it up.

In closing, if you haven’t bought this album already go get it immediately. This CD is worth ‘Ivory Gate of Dreams’ alone, but yet you get 4 more killer songs on the CD. The song no exit isn’t really a song. More of an intro.

It rocks. Buy it!!
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5.0 out of 5 stars This Album has staying power….and sounds amazing!,
I bought this album way back in ’87. It was amazing back then, and perhaps more amazing now. The production is very powerful. I can’t believe how strong the bass drums sound on all of my stereos(car, personal, home) The guitars, vocals, and bass blend together so well. The songs are very well written. The Balance between Heavy and progressive is just right.
Do yourself a favor……BUY THIS CD if you are into 80s or 90s metal. Great vocals, and great music make this album a well added piece to anyone’s collection.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The loudest, heaviest, most thunderous oF Fates’ albums. Great!!!,
I can still remember when I heard this one for the first time, I was so excited. I could feel the power. No Exit is perhaps THE best power metal album of the whole 80s, a milestone in the complete meaning of the word. Sheer metal perfection. Song by song the guys put together one hell of a musical experience. You only have to listen once to The Ivory Tower of Dreams to recognized it as pure art. Is one of the best metal recordings ever, if you don’t have had the pleasure of listening to this album do yourself a favor and buy it right now.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Ray Alders Debut is a Winner.,
This is the first album for their second singer, Ray Alder, who is a world-class metal singer! This is his first Fates effort and it really kicks butt!!!
The album is heavy instrumentally, so if your not spooked by very heavy, progressive metalmaniaisms, then this album will suit you. If you are a fan of REAL singers, you MUST buy this album….

The vocals are young, high, powerful, dynamic, and breaching genius levels.
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5.0 out of 5 stars New fan loves the CD,
This is the only Fates Warning CD I have as of now, and this has got to be one of the greatest from any power metal band I’ve ever heard. Unfortunately I am too young to have ever remembered seeing their videos from No Exit on MTV, I had just been recommended this CD from numerous people on the Internet. It is also amazing how bands earlier CDs are also there creepiest, especially if there were recorded in the 70s or 80s. The bands 21 minute “The Ivory Gate of Dreams” makes me wonder “what happened to the energy of the 80s?”. Well I’m babbling, so I better shut up. So buy this CD!
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5.0 out of 5 stars How did I miss this band in the 80s?, These guys are great at surprising you with interesting musical tangents. Their sound and production is amazing too.
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5.0 out of 5 stars An undiscovered metal classic,
In 1988, Fates Warning left the rest of the metal pack behind them with No Exit. From the brief and creepy title to the last phrase of The Ivory Gate of Dreams this disc is for the true metal fanatic.This was the first disc to feature vocalist Ray Alder who didn’t think he had a shot at making it into Fates Warning. Musically, this disc goes from extreme quiet to extreme heaviness seamlessly and shows the intelligence of Jim Matheos’ lyrics and the tastefulness of his leads.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Roots of Progressive Rock were never stronger….,
What can i say about an album that is close to brilliant. These guys go back a few years and i still listen to this album like it was released yesterday. If you like progressive rock then this is an album you want to check out. The solid composition of technical sound blended with lyrics that describe and feel thoughts of genius musical writing, push you through an Odyssey of rock and ballad…As i said, these guys are old and this is one of the bands that paved the way to progressive rock. I recommend this to the young and upcoming progressive fans as well. If you like Dream Theater or any other Fates Warning album…get this one, you won’t be disappointed.