Fates Warning & Kill Ritual @Count’s Vamp’d 1-11-18

Fates Warning w/ KILL RITUAL, TYRANTS BY NIGHT

Count’s Vamp’d

By: Steven Troy

Photos by: Leah Burlington

    Fates Warning… the very name conjures up dark, foreboding images… sinister… evil… well, the reality is a bit different. These guys are one of the forefathers of one of my fave Metal genres, Progressive Metal. Not quite as intense and extreme as the other progenitor, Queensryche, to whom they are closely linked by many people. More laid back, introverted, nerd Metal… kinda. I’m a nerd, so I dig it! But let’s start at the beginning.

    Now, I thought for SURE this was gonna be a sold out show… nope. I was disappointed at the turnout, not bad, but not what I expected. Guess there ain’t enough geeks like me out there, but the Metal faithful were definitely out in force, if not in the numbers I had hoped for. TYRANTS BY NIGHT opened up… and I missed ‘em. I was really looking forward to seeing them, I had been crankin’ the tunes I found online, this is a kick ass band, so I was bummed. Check ‘em out on You Tube and all the usual media. KILL RITUAL was next, more kick ass local Metal, and they tore the place up. Front man David Reed Watson is a seasoned pro that knows how to work a stage, and a good, strong singer, too. Shreddin’ guitars, killer rhythm section, yeah, give it a listen, you can find ‘em on all the usual outlets. They’re hittin’ the road later this month with Iced Earth and Sanctuary… and NOT coming here. You gotta be kidding me! SOMEBODY needs to book this tour!

   On to the main event! It’s been 15 years since they’ve been here. The curtain closed, the intro goin’, the crowd getting’ fired up. FATES WARNING rolled onstage to From the Rooftops, off their latest album, “Theories of Flight.” This tune starts slow, then starts kickin’… did I mention they’re a bit more introverted than what you might expect from a Metal band? It’s all good though, the crowd got JUST what they wanted. Vocalist Ray Alder, often compared to Geoff Tate, has lost nothing over the years. Deep music, tight band, with excellent musicianship. Just what everybody wanted to hear from what truly is, and deservedly so, a legendary band. How about much less than 15 years before you come back, ok guys? Again, another awesome night at Vamp’d! 

 

  • Client: Fates Warning
  • Year: 2018
  • Agency: Photography of Leah Burlington