✦✦✧✧ More like Long Album Good Night, am I right?! 31 years after “Nothing Left To Say,” Fates’ thirteenth album of thirteen songs is 72 minutes long (about 20 minutes too many). The songs don’t feel particularly related to each other (and this is somewhat of an aberration in the band’s catalog of albums with unifying themes).

✦✦✦✧ The band’s crazy time signature changes are a little more restrained (relatively speaking; the opening track is largely in 9/4), and their latent power metal side is more nuanced than ever. I’m also detecting stronger undertones of Porcupine Tree and Rush, alongside their signature prog stylings. If you’re already a Fates fan, you’re gonna dig this.

★★☆☆ It’s been a long time since I actually cared about a Fates Warning album, but this one is a pretty good one to come back for. Don’t be fooled by the first 20 minutes, which are marred by hints of Parallels-era weakness, and definitely don’t miss the three-song prog powerhouse of “I Am,” “Lighthouse,” and “Into The Black”; these old boys still have some energetic surprises in them yet.