Band:	Fates Warning
Album:	Long Day Good Night
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	November 2020

01. The Destination Onward
02. Shuttered World
03. Alone We Walk
04. Now Comes The Rain
05. The Way Home
06. Under The Sun
07. Scars
08. Begin Again
09. When Snow Falls
10. Liar
11. Glass Houses
12. The Longest Shadow Of The Day
13. The Last Song

"I think Jim no longer wants to write new music for Fates Warning. I think this may be our last album. And this was a kind of way to say that. We all still want to tour, but as far as new music, I think it's done." - Ray Alder, 2020.

I can't find a more fitting way to end this year than a review of what appears to be Fates Warning's final album.

Long Day Good Night is the longest and, at the same time, the most ambitious and versatile record that the progressive metal pioneers have ever released. It adopts various styles and incorporates different sounds, it shifts and changes constantly from song to song and often within the same song, but these transitions are not abrupt and most of the time you really have to pay attention to notice them.

The first couple of tracks are setting the tone, being adequately proggy but also very ear-pleasing, with choruses and melodies that stay with you. "Alone We Walk" is playing with time signatures and is a great example of what I said in the previous paragraph about seamless transitions. The same applies to "The Way Home" that begins as a straightforward ballad but soon turns into this prog/jazz-fusion improvisation courtesy of Joey Vera's funky bass playing, and then morphs into something far heavier. And it would be a crime to not mention "When Snow Falls" with its trip hop vibes accentuated by the drumming of Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) who appears as guest on this track.

There is also more instantly accessible stuff like "Now Comes The Rain" which is one of the band's most radio friendly tracks ever, and also one of my most played songs of the year. Another one is the - admittedly sugary - ballad "Under The Sun", which features a full string section. "Scars", on the contrary, is quite a heavy cut and boasts one of the most memorable riffs of the album, while "Begin Again" is oddly enjoyable, with a bass line that reminisces Monster Magnet's "Space Lord". "Liar" is the only blatantly skippable track here but, thankfully, Fates Warning saved the best for last.

"The Longest Shadow Of The Day" is a divine song. It is progressive metal by Jim Matheos at his most inspired. I would need another review to describe it so I will just say that it is the type of song that bands play when they are performing live so that the singer can present every member, and each one has a share of the spotlight with their instrument. And Alder's vocals are very emotionally charged on this track in particular.

There is obvious symbolism in Long Day Good Night. 'Long day' as in 'long career' and 'good night' as in 'good ending'. The cover art colours are ones of dusk. The lyrics are introspective, often exuding a feeling of aloneness and of looking back at one's life, reflecting on the past. The closer is called "The Last Song". Everything points at this being the last Fates Warning record, even if there hadn't been that quote by Alder mentioned in the introduction. But it is a fine way to exit.

I will be sad to not hear anything new from Fates Warning in the future but it is some consolation to know that all members will remain active with their other projects. And there will always be thirteen Fates Warning records to listen to again and again. They will never become boring.

Thank you for the incredible music.

"The curtain falls
Upon a darkened stage
Voices fade like words across
Some worn out ending page
The writer writes his final wrong
This is the last song"