Album Review: Arch/Matheos - Winter Ethereal

John Arch is a polarizing figure, for sure. That's rather funny, considering that he's known for being the original voice of Fates Warning, but the band didn't take off until he was gone. So he's remembered for being the singer on albums that weren't popular, and for having a voice that can fairly be compared to a cat getting caught in a car engine. I remember listening to "Sympathetic Resonance", where he re-teamed with Jim Matheos for a full-length for the first time in decades, wondering the whole time how in the world anyone liked the guy. I've gotten in several arguments on forums over the years on that subject, as his voice is truly one of the most uncomfortable sounds I've ever heard come out of the human body. And yet there are people who say he's one of the greatest singers in metal history.

Yeah, not a chance. Before I get to discussing this album in particular, let me explain why I believe John Arch is a terrible singer. I'm not talking about the tone of his voice, which will be personal preference. I'm talking about an objective take on why he is awful.

The role of a singer is to use the melody to deliver the lyric. If you are a singer (we'll leave screaming/growling out of this, but it still applies), your job is to sing the song so the audience can hear it, and can connect to it. If you are so mealy-mouthed, or lazy, in your deliver that the listener can't understand the words you are singing, you have outright failed. This isn't like on "South Park", where Kenny's dialogue is intentionally obscured as part of the joke. John Arch is indecipherable far too often. About half of the lyrics he pens go unheard under his caterwauling. His own (presumably) hard work utterly wasted because of his performance.

Now we can talk about this record. "Vermilion Moons" opens with a lot of promise. There are some interesting guitar chords, and Arch delivers a roller-coaster melody that has real bounce to it. The song then gets bogged down, however, with several sectional tone shifts, including a bridge where Arch is completely incomprehensible. There are some good ideas, for sure, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

"Wanderlust" is the best song I've heard out of this project. It has energy, and an uplifting sense about the music. The downside is that Arch writes very long melodies filled with words, so the song is so crammed with his vocals it feels much longer than its six minute running time. That feeling extends throughout the record, as Arch's voice begins to wear thinner and thinner with each song, so my patience is all but exhausted by the time we hit the thirteen minute closer.

The main takeaway is this; Jim Matheos has put together an album that is, musically, more interesting than the recent Fates Warning albums. This isn't as downbeat as that band has largely become, and the extra energy we get at times buoys things incredibly well. From that perspective, this is an intriguing album. However, we have to deal with the main man John Arch, and his polarizing voice. I'm not going to sugar-coat things; he ruins what could have been a very good album. I simply cannot listen to him sing these songs without putting my hands together in a silent prayer that he is going to get better on the next song. But that never happens.

If you like John Arch, "Winter Ethereal" is a better album than "Sympathetic Resonance" was. If you don't like John Arch, you're in the majority, and this album isn't going to do anything to win you over. Like marmite, you have to have grown up with John Arch to think he's good.