FATES WARNING's RAY ALDER Finds High-Pitched Screaming 'Really Silly'

November 20, 2014

Stormbringer webzine conducted an interview with vocalist Ray Alder of American progressive metallers FATES WARNING on November 6 in Innsbruck, Austria. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about how his vocal approach has changed over the years, Alder said: "Yeah, [when I first joined FATES WARNING] I was young and everybody was doing the screaming and I thought that was cool. As I got older and progressed as a singer and realized what I wanted to do, I found it really silly. And then, even [singing] live in the old days, I tried not to do it as much. It just seemed silly to me. It doesn't make any sense. But as I grew as a singer, I knew what I wanted to do, and I realized that, I think, soul is more important than range. And it seems as though my voice just said, 'Yeah, I agree with you. Fuck it!' And it just kind of changed on its own. But, I mean, I like my voice where it is now. I have no problem… Again, I like where I am. Some people wanna hear the high screams, but… sorry! [Laughs]"

Asked if FATES WARNING has had to change the instrumental parts of some of the band's older songs in order to better suit his new vocal style, Alder said: "You've gotta work around different things where the high parts are, and a lot of the times I think it sounds much better the way it is, lowering certain things and [hitting] different notes. In hindsight, I wish I'd done what I'm doing now back then. [But] it was a thing at the time. Geoff [Tate] isn't really doing those anymore either… That's what we get for smoking and singing too much."

Regarding how he keeps his voice in shape when he is on tour, Alder said: "My main thing is I try not to smoke as much and definitely try not to drink as… It's not like the old days anymore. Of course when we were younger, we would party every night, and then I would really lose my voice. But now it's casual; [I have] a couple of glasses of wine and relax with everybody."

FATES WARNING's eleventh studio album, "Darkness In A Different Light", sold around 2,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD was issued in North America on October 1, 2013 via InsideOut Music.

Featuring founding guitarist Jim Matheos alongside classic-lineup members Ray Alder (vocals) and Frank Aresti (guitar),longtime bassist Joey Vera and drummer Bobby Jarzombek, "Darkness In A Different Light" was produced by Matheos and mixed by longtime FATES WARNING engineer Phil Magnotti. The effort was mastered by Maor Appelbaum (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, SEPULTURA, ANVIL) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in California. The cover artwork was designed by Conte di San Pietro.

In addition to the standard CD jewel case and the digital download format, "Darkness In A Different Light" was made available in Europe as 2CD mediabook edition and as gatefold 2LP version (180-gram vinyl in black, red or white vinyl) with four bonus tracks.

Interview:

Performance clips (November 9 performance at Circolo Colony in Brescia, Italy):

Find more on Fates warning
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).