Awaken the Guardian

Awaken the Guardian has been reissued several times. The first was as part of a double album with No Exit in 1992,^[2] followed by a remastered edition in 1994,^[3] and once again as a deluxe Digipak edition on June 28, 2005.^[4] The latter includes a bonus disc containing demos and live tracks, as well as a DVD of a concert from December 28, 1986, at the Sundance Club in Long Island, New York; this being the only known video footage of the Awaken the Guardian line-up performing live.^{[citation needed]}

Awaken the Guardian further develops the sound established on The Spectre Within by employing a greater sense of attention to detail. Decibel characterized the album's sound as "arcane, literate, doom-laden metal," and called the album's guitar riffs "bewitching knots of magic code."^[5] Music journalist Martin Popoff described the sound on Awaken the Guardian as "a serpentine and doomy metallic journey through prog soundscapes." He described the album's instrumentation as "persistently powerful but basic," and further characterized the album as melodically "mournful [and] doomy."^[6] Robert Taylor of AllMusic stated that "the song structures are too rudimentary to be called progressive."^[7]

The album's lyrical content explores themes such as witchcraft and the devil.^[7] The lyrics are allegorical.^[5]

Robert Taylor at AllMusic gave Awaken the Guardian three stars out of five, calling it "a closet classic from the underground metal years of the '80s" and the song "Guardian" being noted as a highlight. As with Fates Warning's previous album The Spectre Within (1985), Taylor recommended it more for fans of heavy metal than progressive metal, remarking that "the song structures are too rudimentary to be called progressive."^[8]

Jeff Wagner at Decibel magazine ranked the album at number 134 in the Decibel Hall of Fame, saying it was "one of the celebrated masterworks of the genre."^[11] Adrien Begrand at PopMatters, reviewing the 2005 reissue, called it the best of Fates Warning's catalog, adding that "such a stirring combination of traditional metal and progressive sounds would never be duplicated by the band", and concluding that "Awaken the Guardian still resonates with life today" and it "solidifies Fates Warning's place in metal history."^[9]

Loudwire named it in #4 on its list "Top 25 Progressive Metal Albums of All Time."^[12]

In the 2003 book The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time, music journalist Martin Popoff wrote: "Awaken the Guardian not only ages well, it perhaps improves with time."^[6]

In 2016, the album was inducted into the Decibel Hall of Fame. Staff writer Jeff Wagner said it was "one of the celebrated masterworks of the genre."^[13]

In 2017, the band reunited with its 1986 lineup to play two festival appearances, playing the album live. The performance was released as a live album. Original singer John Arch said: "It was truly a surreal experience being able to share the spirit of Awaken The Guardian at these shows. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fans that have given back so much over the 30-year span since the album's release. To all our family and friends, much gratitude."^[14]

Blind Guardian took inspiration from Awaken the Guardian when renaming themselves from their earlier name Lucifer's Heritage.^[15] Blind Guardian guitarist Marcus Siepen also listed the album among ten that changed his life, calling it "still [his] very favorite album of all time".^[16]

Summarize Fact Check

Fates Warning

• John Arch – vocals, producer
• Frank Aresti – guitar, producer
• Jim Matheos – guitar, producer
• Jim Archambault – keyboard
• Steve Zimmerman – drums, production
• Joe DiBiase – bass, production

Production

• Bill Metoyer – engineer
• Scott Campbell, Steve Himelfarb, Kevin Beauchamp, Dave Obrizzo – assistant engineers
• Eddy Schreyer – mastering, remastering (reissue)