After a near decade long hiatus, Fates Warning return with Darkness in a Different Light, their first studio album of new material since the release of FWX in 2004. This also marks the first release for the current lineup of Ray Alder, Jim Matheos, Frank Aresti, Joey Vera, and Bobby Jarzombek.
One element that remains consistent through all of Fates Warning's albums is a sense of darkness and melancholy. The new album, if anything, is a step away from the FWX sound. Matheos refuses to call the album back-to-the-roots, but he purposely kept the music guitar oriented; no keyboards, no samplers, no sequencing.