Fates Warning - Parallels

Another Parallel to Rush here, as Fates Warning enlist longtime Rush producer Terry Brown to once again try and produce an album which will appeal to both sides of the fence. To my ears, Brown always tend to make a more "human" recording, a little more warm and usually in analog (see Voivod's anomalous Angel Rat album. Alder's voice is a little more in the earthly James LaBrie range (who guests on Life in Still Water), which balances the complexity of the music in terms of accessibility. Interesting addition of electronic percussion (Zonder played in Animotion) on a couple tracks (Life in Still Water) spices up the zaniness even more. Several "epics" here (The Eleventh Hour is pretty impressive) which would become staples of the band's set, but maybe just a tad too commercial for my tastes, as I've bought, sold and re-bought this numerous times. A good album that's easy to find and worth hearing to see how a band can bridge the gap which resides between creativity and popularity.