Two years after Metal Blade issued a deluxe 3-CD reissue of Fates Warning’s 1991 CD Parallels, the label has followed this up with a three-disc reissue of 1994’s Inside Out.

On the bonus CD are five tracks that were recorded live in Germany when the band was opening for Dream Theater along with seven demos/unreleased tracks. The live show consists of three tracks from Inside Out and two tracks from Parallels. The demos present early versions of five of the studio disc’s ten tracks along with a rough mix of “Monument” and the previously unreleased track “Circles”. The demos are great as they show a rawer edge to the songs than what ended up on the final studio disc. Particularly delectable is the instrumental version of "Face the Fear" and this demo version runs almost two minutes longer than the studio version. "Circles" is a solid track and it sounds completely produced so this song would have been a welcome addition to the original issue of Inside Out. On a humerous note, there is a 20 second snippet of an aborted take at the end of "Circles". (Note: For any completists out there – three of the five demos were previously released on a 2006 reissue of Inside Out).

Review copies of bonus DVDs rarely seem to circulate for review so I haven’t seen “Inside Out Live”. Based on the track list, I’m assuming these are various live tracks from different shows (in comparison – the bonus live DVD included in the Parallels reissue was a complete show). What is interesting is that “Island in the Stream” appears to be from the Parallels-lineup reunion tour in 2010.

Kudos to Metal Blade for keeping this reissue affordable as Amazon is selling the 3-disc set new for $15.92.

CD2 – LIVE in DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY February 11th 1995
Outside Looking In
Down to the Wire
The Eleventh Hour
Point Of View
Face The Fear

DEMOS/UNRELEASED
Outside Looking In (demo)
Pale Fire (demo)
Shelter Me (demo)
Island In the Stream (demo)
Face The Fear (demo)
Monument (rough mix)
Circles (unreleased)

DVD – INSIDE OUT LIVE
Outside Looking In 1994/95
Pale Fire 1993/94
The Strand 1994
Shelter Me 1993
Island In The Stream 2010
Down To The Wire 1994/95
Face The Fear 1994/95
Monument 1994/95
Afterglow Slide Show
Extras
Live In Still Water 1994
Through Different Eyes 1995
Guardian (Mike Portnoy drums) 1994
Shades of Heavenly Death 1995
MTV Europe Interview 1995
Eye to Eye 1994/95
Face The Face Of Fear 1994
Don't Follow Me 1994
Shortest Fates Warning Show Ever. 1994
Guardian (Arch/ Alder duet) 1994



There are days that I can be too much of a purist as, while this is a great package at an affordable price point, there are some aspects of this reissue that I was disappointed with. To start – Fates Warning was playing seven-eight song sets when opening for Dream Theater. I don’t know whether this was just a short set or songs were cut from this reissue – I’m guessing the later as the band seemed to consistently close their set with “Monument” for this run of shows. Here is the set list from another night on the German tour:

1. Life in Still Water
2. Outside Looking in
3. Down to the Wire
4. The Eleventh Hour
5. Point of View
6. Face the Fear
7. Eye to Eye
8. Monument

When reviewing reissues, I generally don’t attempt to review the original studio album but…I don’t think I heard this disc when it originally came out. This is a decent disc but it is quickly noticeable that it is missing the “wow” factor that made Parallels great. “Face the Fear”, “Monument” and “Down to the Wire” are memorable and strong tracks but the rest of the disc goes by in a pleasant blur without leaving a lasting impression. You have to wonder if the band was suffering from fatigue as guitarist Frank Aresti and bassist Joe DiBiase left the band after this disc’s release. In a 2001 interview with FatesWarning.com, DiBiase said “Parallels…was our peak as far as being a cohesive unit, musically and personally. For what ever reason after that album it started to become more like a job and not as much fun.”

Links:
Fates Warning