Hartford metal! Does it get more real? Prog metal is so 860, and Fates Warning has been bashing out riffs, messing with your sense of dynamics and metrical time feel for 35 years now. They formed in 1982. The band’s Wikipedia page contains the somewhat cruel but probably fitting subsection called “Lineup Changes and Rise to Near Fame (1987-1993).” But lasting this long, touring the world and reaching generations of fans is certainly a form of success as meaningful as fame.
The band released its 12th studio album, “Theories of Flight,” last year. This year, the band celebrated the 20-year anniversary of its landmark 1986 album “Awaken the Guardian” with a live recording played in its in entirety. From their beginning, Fates Warning was in the ambitious camp of bands like Iron Maiden, with soaring vocals and dramatic musical settings, less fixated on relentless heaviness than in a kind of mythic complexity.
Fans of Queensryche and Dream Theater will find plenty to connect with in this music. Connecticut metalheads should be on hand to honor some of the state’s founding fathers of prog metal. There are eight bands on this bill.
Fates Warning performs at Webster Theater at Webster Theater, 31 Webster St., Hartford, Friday, June 30, doors for the main stage open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $22 to $25. 860-525-5553 and webstertheater.com.
