M E T A L . G A L L E R I E S
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Fates Warning 
ProgPower XVII Center Stage . Atlanta, GA, USA . 9/9/2016 Copyright/Taken By: Mark Cubbedge
See more of Mark's pics at these locations: [Website] : [Insta] @markcubbedge |
Last year, for the 31st anniversary of their masterwork 'Awaken the Guardian', Fates Warning officially released 'Awaken the Guardian Live' where the prior year, guitarist Jim Matheos reassembled the Awaken the Guardian-era lineup for two special festival appearances: Keep it True XIX in Lauda-Konigshofen, Germany and Prog Power USA XVII in Atlanta, GA. This release consists of both festival performances in their entirety and is available on CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and double gatefold vinyl.
Photographer Mark Cubbedge, who documented the entire Atlanta performance for the band, was willing to share a little bit about himself and some unpublished pics from the 'Live' Deluxe Book collector's edition.
Maximum Metal: Mark, we understand 'AtG' is a special album for you...
Mark: Awaken the Guardian, when it was originally released in 1986, impacted me unlike any music before or since. Quite honestly that album--and particularly the song "Guardian"--pulled me through the darkest and most difficult times of my life. As a teenager in the mid and late 1980s I had to learn about the fragility of human life at an age when most people have a sense of invulnerability. I watched way too many of my friends' parents bury their children before they really had a chance to live. So often music provides a safe haven for us through its lyrics, and for me "Guardian" brought with it light, hope and encouragement at a time when none seemed to exist.
"Entities pass in the night. Guardians and the reaper fight. The will to live shall win." Those lines from "Guardian" were exactly what I needed to hear and understand.
Maximum Metal: How were you able obtain the AtGL gig...
When I think about how this all unfolded over the years it's far more than fate (pardon the word choice), and really can only be described as a blessing. As I shared a moment ago, ATG was a life-changer for me. Even today I carry the significance of those lyrics with me. Some number of years ago I decided John Arch should know how powerful and significant his writing was to a young kid in Florida he never knew existed. So I made a concerted effort to locate him and wrote a good, old-fashioned letter telling him how grateful I was for the lyrics he penned. I had carried this need to say thank you with me for a long time and it was so cathartic to be able to finally let him know.
I guess John appreciated it because he wrote back and we began to strike up a friendship that I am so grateful to have today. Fast forward to 2015 and I was in Hartford, Conn. to see and photograph Fates Warning perform on the Darkness in a Different Light tour. John and I spent a little time together and he was telling me about a pair of performances for which the original ATG line-up was planning to reunite. As we all know today one of these was at Prog Power in Atlanta and John presented me with the opportunity to be able to document that performance for what would become the CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/vinyl and Deluxe Book packages.
Check out Mark's unpublished Fates Warning pics below...
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