Sinkadotentree This is my favourite FATES WARNING album with "Perfect Symmetry" and "Awaken The Guardian" the runnerups. These three albums are so different from one another it isn't funny. This one deals with the topic of being disconnected. And that can be in society or relationships. So with loneliness being the thread that runs through this record we do get a lot of atmosphere and melancholy. It's fairly dark and at times quite heavy. Kevin Moore is back helping out on keyboards and the final track "Disconnected (Part 2)" reminds me of his song "Space Dye Vest" with his former band DREAM THEATER. Terry Brown co-produced this recording with the band. This is one of my all-time favourite Prog-Metal albums and for me it's a masterpiece.

Sheavy I am very picky when it comes to music, and within any given genre I tend to have different views for some reason on some albums that generally are held to be really good or bad. Unfortunately this album falls under the "the general populace thinks its an excellent album" category. I have to say not having heard anything from this band and deciding to pick an album that was highly rated on here, I really was not that impressed. It is not bad, but i can not seem to get all excited over it. I find myself liking the more mellower parts over the metal parts. They just do not go anywhere for me, I do not know why, but I find myself wanting the song to go back to one of the mellower/synthy parts. Some of the lyrics I do not like at all either, especially One and Pieces Of Me and to an extent So. I really wish they were more interesting, but the theme of being "Disconnected" from other people is a horse that is being beaten to much, by too many bands from almost every genre of music thinkable. The keyboards and the ambience goes along with this but the metal really does not for me. I would not really mind if there was only a song or two about this, but the whole album being about that is a bit much, and if it was presented differently i might like it more, but it do not care for it. It is not that it is dark that makes me not like it, but I really do not know but it annoys me on this album for some reason. Anyhow, One and Pieces Of Me are the two songs on here that really make the difference between a 4 star and a 3 star album. They just do not seem to have much importance and they do not really do anything for me on the album. I unfortunately have to say that they are two star songs for me. So is a little better, I think lyrically it could have been better, and it drags a little longer than I wish, but it is decent with a nice beginning. Still Remains, Disconnected Pt. One and Two, and Something From Nothing are the best from this album. Still Remains I wish would have been more around the eleven/ten minute mark, but it has a lot of nice mellow, ambient parts, so it is pretty enjoyable, the same also goes for Something From Nothing with a beginning that I really like. The Disconnected tracks, however are my favorites from this album, I love the wailing guitar and it might have been this extremely good beginning that let me down more than I wish. Disconnected Pt. two is my favorite song off the album. I love that guitar and the ambient washings and rumblings, the piano and everything.

I have given this album try and try again, but it only makes me like the tracks I like from the first spin more and the tracks that I did not care for from the first spin less. It has two star moments and four star moments so, for me this falls on a It's-okay-but-not-great three.

Time Signature Something from nothing...

Genre: progressive metal with alt. influences

"Disconnected" is groovy yet progressive effort from Fates Warning which contains both melody and high energy hardrocking metal - although a lot of the tracks are actually quite dark and gloomy.

There are lots of tricky and energetic one-string riffs here as well as some strong power chord-based riffs. Some riffs are slightly reminiscent of "Perfect Symmetry" while others remind the listener of "A Pleasant Shade of Gray" - now, that's not a problem, because those are great albums. And, "Disconnected" goes beyond just being a clone of those albums, and it goes beyond just being a mixture of them. It is, in my opinion, like most other Fates Warning albums, quite original.

That being said, I think that the guitar sounds a bit thin, and, compared to previous releases, I must admit that I find "Disconnected" less inspiring - this may have something to do with its quasi-industrial sound and other use of electronic effects which, for some reason, does not work well for me on this album.

Anyhow, I think that fans of alternative metal may like this album, and more open-minded progressive metal fans may also like it, and perhaps those who are interested in industrial light (very light) may also appreciate it.

ydewata I don’t know why, but the gloomy and mostly slow tempo of Fates Warning music always amuses me. It seems that whatever my mood there is for the day, I always find it enjoyable when listening to Fates Warning. The same case stands for 2000’s effort, Disconnected. Not that I loved it the first time I started listening to the album. This is not their best effort –well, to be honest…which one is their best? Each of their effort stands on its own in terms of uniqueness and style, and of course there is a red line where you can find the connection among those albums.

The album starts with 1 minute plus of long guitar sound which sounds like a crying whale. Then kicking off with “One”, a mixture of progressive metal with techno-elements. It surprised me as they never did anything like that before. Track number 3, “So” is a typical Fates Warning song, with a mid-tempo which lasts about 8 minutes or so. It is so Fates Warning. Another exploration is found in “Pieces of Me” with another so-called techno-thing. But I think it is more intense than “One”. Well, please try no to sleep when “Something From Nothing” starts off. The first few minutes were slow and dark then kicking off with a mixture of progressive rhythm section beat from bassist Joey Vera and drummer Mark Zonder. Watch out for another 16 minutes dark song of “Still Remains”. Is that all? No. Wait until approximately 2:44th when the music starts to get so intense and tight, without losing its dark sense feeling with the acrobatic voices of Ray Alder. The album is closed with the instrumental “Disconnected Part II”, similar as what they have started in the beginning of the album except that it’s much darker. My conclusion is, this is an album that will please many Fates Warning fans but they will find it hard to win new fans with this album.

Valarius After the success of ‘A Pleasant Shade of Grey’, it appears Fates Warning chose to further develop their sound with more ambience and more attention to riffs based around one guitar and a keyboard. As you would expect when most bands change their sound, some people love it, some people hate it.

I personally think this is a great sound, and helps Fates Warning sound a lot more 'modern'. The group sound a lot tighter and the production is great, making everything sound so powerful and beefy.

As for the music? Ok, I admit this isn't quite as essential as APSOG or ‘Parallels’, and total shred-heads will not be impressed by the lack of guitar solos. But musically there are some really good ideas here. The first few songs like 'One', 'So' and 'Pieces of Me' sound very mainstream and modern, and the following songs, in particular 'Still Remains' are great epic pieces, at fifteen minutes long, it shows the song doesn't need plenty of instrumental solos to make it interesting.

The musicianship (as you would expect) is great as ever. Jim Matheos unique guitar riffs are always fun to listen to, and Mark Zonder's drums have never sounded so great. Kevin Moore (best known for being Dream Theater's first keyboard player) makes his presence known for the third time on a Fates Warning album, and his ambience and unique keyboard playing skills are felt throughout the record.

As said before, this is by no means Fates Warning's best album, and if you're new to the band then it's probably best to start elsewhere. But this is still a great album worth checking out if you like your Progressive music, and if you're not totally into Metal, then the ambient elements might just appeal to the more old-school Prog Rock fan.