A pioneer of the progressive metal movement, Fates Warning has been referred to as one of the "Big Three" of the genre, creating and popularizing the style along with Queensrÿche and Dream Theater. Their early work, influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal, is also important in the development of American power metal. Fates Warning has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, one VHS cassette, three DVDs (each featuring live concerts) and four demo tapes. The band experienced its first commercial success with the 1986 release of their third studio album, Awaken the Guardian, which peaked at No. 191 on the Billboard 200 and became the first album released on Metal Blade to enter that chart. Their next three albums—No Exit (1988), Perfect Symmetry (1989) and Parallels (1991)—were also successful; the first two peaked at No. 111 and No. 141 on the Billboard 200, respectively. By 2001, Fates Warning had sold over a million albums worldwide. Their thirteenth studio album, Long Day Good Night, was released on November 6, 2020.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fates_Warning
Studio albums
Night on Bröcken (1984)
The Spectre Within (1985)
Awaken the Guardian (1986)
No Exit (1988)
Perfect Symmetry (1989)
Parallels (1991)
Inside Out (1994)
A Pleasant Shade of Gray (1997)
Disconnected (2000)
FWX (2004)
Darkness in a Different Light (2013)
Theories of Flight (2016)
Long Day Good Night (2020)
The Arena
Fates Warning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Shining stunning.
Men of grandeur
Blinding, numbing
With winsome wiles in specious styles.
Speeches etching,
Rhyming, wrenching.
Stumble fetching
For words that maze, to clear their daze.
Calm in disarray
Sinking day by day
Hopeless never see
Save what they believe.
Choices weakening,
Ever sinking.
Men are poisoned into thinking
That they've a voice above their noise.
Spheres of disarray
Worsened by the day
Sadly led and fooled
Without thoughts to rule.
The opening stanza of Fates Warning's "The Arena" speaks to the power of language, specifically how those who can use it wittily, persuasively, and even deceitfully can dazzle and confuse those who do not have a firm grasp on rhetoric or who are not equipped with critical thinking skills. The words used to describe such people are cleverly chosen themselves; "words of cunning" and "winsome wiles in specious styles." The use of alliteration adds to the wordplay and serves to emphasize the charm that these men with their silver tongues possess. However, the second half of the stanza begins to turn the tide, as the men are seen as "men so shallow," and their speeches are described as "words that maze to clear their daze." The implication is that while they may have a way with words, they don't actually have anything of substance to say, and their words serve more to obscure the truth than to reveal it. And so the people who listen to them are "calm in disarray, sinking day by day."
The second stanza paints a bleaker picture. The "men are poisoned into thinking" that their voices matter, "spheres of disarray worsened by the day." The people are "sadly led and fooled without thoughts to rule." The language becomes more direct and the sense of urgency palpable; the people are not just confused and unaware, but they are poisoned and being actively fooled. And yet, there is a glimmer of hope in the final stanza; "choices weakening, ever sinking," suggests that while things are bad, change is still possible. The people are not hopeless, and as long as they can believe in something, there is a chance for a better future. The song ends on this note of cautious optimism, hinting that though the arena may be a place of great confusion and chaos, there is always a chance for something better.
Line by Line Meaning
Words of cunning
Deceptive language and phrases
Shining stunning.
The language being used is impressive and mesmerizing
Men of grandeur
Influential and powerful people
Blinding, numbing
Their influence is so overpowering that it's impossible to discern the truth
With winsome wiles in specious styles.
They manipulate language in a charming, deceptive manner
Speeches etching,
Their words engrave an impression in people's minds
Rhyming, wrenching.
The language used is catchy and emotional
Men so shallow
These influential people lack depth or honesty
Stumble fetching
They struggle to find the right words to maintain their deception
For words that maze, to clear their daze.
They use confusing language to distract and mislead the masses
Calm in disarray
Despite the chaos around them, they are composed and in control
Sinking day by day
Their influence and credibility is continuously deteriorating
Hopeless never see
People have lost hope and cannot see a way out
Save what they believe.
People are blindly holding on to their beliefs, unable to see the truth
Choices weakening,
The people's ability to make choices is diminishing
Ever sinking.
Their situation keeps getting worse
Men are poisoned into thinking
The influential people are misleading the masses and controlling their thoughts
That they've a voice above their noise.
People are made to believe that they have a say in things, but it's just an illusion
Spheres of disarray
The world is in chaos and disorder
Worsened by the day
The situation is getting worse with time
Sadly led and fooled
People are being led astray and deceived
Without thoughts to rule.
People are not using their own judgement and are being mindlessly controlled
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ARESTI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Pervo the Clown
Frank Aresti gets credit for writing this gem , a Fates Warning masterpiece .
Mitchell Schleede
One of Ray's best vocal performances, for my ears.
mysocalledknife07
Always loved Frank's lyrics the best. "Static Acts" was another lyrical masterwork off of this album. Pure class.
Luka Sazdanovic
Just after the first two notes memories of my middle school days come flooding in. Amazing piece.
SikoneMX
The best band ever period.
Snow Dog
Favorite track from this album
The Sports Site
Love this song live!!!
LRN_News
Ray Alder used to kick major ass, right up there with the greats.
Mark Ahearne
first fates warning song I heard back in 2003. after that I fell in love with the spectre within.ah to be 15/16 again lol
mysocalledknife07
Just got done reading the Fates Warning book "Destination Onward" where Frank mentions that Jim and Max (producer) rearranged "The Arena" in post production, behind Frank's back. Frank's contention was that "The Arena" that ended up on the album sounded nothing like the version he wrote and the band originally recorded.
Listening to the demo vs. this version, I can see his point. It was either a case of a more expansive version of "The Arena" that got chopped up into a "verse-chorus" song (similar to "Static Acts"), or .... the demo was the version that was rearranged, and Frank's artistic stamp (if you will) was ignored, as he attempted to differentiate "The Arena" from his other writing credits on the album ("Static Acts", "At Fates Hands", & "A World Apart") to make it stand out more.
Either way, I wish they at least included Frank on the post-production decisions to have his input, and we may have had more writing output from him since, and maybe the rift wouldn't have forced him to leave the band. His lyrics & music were always my favorite part about Fates Warning.