In progressive metal circles, the names of guitarist Jim Matheos and vocalist John Arch are spoken with due reverence. With the former having been a driving force in Fates Warning for thirty-five years, and the latter the original front-man of that band, they also have a single seminal work under the Arch / Matheos banner, 2011’s ‘Sympathetic Resonance’ .
In 2019, they have reunited to follow that record up with ‘Winter Ethereal’ , a more stylistically varied and perhaps deeper collection that explores a lot of sonic territory over the course of nine immersive tracks. “This stems from both of us trying to step out of our comfort zones a bit, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes being pushed,” states Matheos. “Having worked together so many times, it would be easy to fall into the same way of doing things, and I think we were both interested in exploring some new areas.” Arch concurs and adds: “Each song is notably different from the next, and nothing sounds repetitive. It is not a concept album, but somehow after a full listen from start to finish, there does seem to be continuity between the songs that I can’t describe. At over an hour long, I think the fans will agree that it is a full listening experience.”
‘Winter Ethereal’ will be released May 10th on Metal Blade Records.
Tracklist:
- Vermilion Moons
- Wanderlust
- Solitary Man
- Wrath of the Universe
- Tethered
- Straight and Narrow
- Pitch Black Prism
- Never in Your Hands
- Kindred Spirits
Markus' Heavy Music Blog 