{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox album | name = The Spectre Within | type = studio | artist = Fates Warning | cover = The spectre within (Fates Warning album - cover art).jpg | released = {{start date|1985|10}}<ref name=metalblade>[http://i.imgur.com/C5ijHpL.jpg ''The Best of Metal Blade: Volume 1''] (vinyl gatefold). p. 1. Metal Blade Records. Retrieved 2014-07-16.</ref> | recorded = | studio = {{hlist|Eldorado Recording, Burbank|Track Record, Los Angeles}} | genre = {{hlist|Heavy metal|progressive metal}} | length = 48:20 | label = Metal Blade | producer = Fates Warning, Brian Slagel | prev_title = Night on Bröcken | prev_year = 1984 | next_title = Awaken the Guardian | next_year = 1986 | misc = {{Extra album cover | header = Alternative cover | type = studio | cover = Fates Warning - 1985 - The Spectre Within (remaster).jpg | caption = 2002 remastered edition }} }}
'''''The Spectre Within''''' is the second studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in October 1985 through Metal Blade Records.<ref name=metalblade/> It has been reissued three times: first as a double album together with ''Night on Bröcken'' (1984) in 1992,<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/Fates-Warning-Night-On-Br%C3%B6cken-The-Spectre-Within/release/1098149 "Fates Warning – Night On Bröcken / The Spectre Within"]. Discogs. Retrieved 2015-03-17.</ref> followed by a remastered edition in 1994,<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/Fates-Warning-The-Spectre-Within/release/3615519 "Fates Warning – The Spectre Within"]. Discogs. Retrieved 2015-03-18.</ref> and again in 2002 with four bonus tracks as well as new cover art.<ref>[http://www.fateswarning.com/Discography/Albums/TheSpectreWithin.aspx "The Spectre Within"]. fateswarning.com. Retrieved 2015-03-18.</ref>
== Music and lyrics == The album's style is predominantly heavy metal, and does not feature the progressive music elements that following releases would have. The album makes heavy use of falsetto singing and harmonized guitar riffs.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Spectre Within - Fates Warning {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-spectre-within-mw0000196990 |access-date=2026-04-04 |language=en}}</ref> In the 2010 music history book ''Mean Deviation: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal'', journalist Jeff Wagner stated that the album's sound was "darker and more complex" than bands such as Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche. He said the album's instrumentation consisted of "ham-fisted, second-rate riffs". The album's lyricals explore fantasy-related subject matter such as magic and dragons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Jeff |title=Mean Deviation |publisher=Bazillion Points |publication-date=2010 |pages=56}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref name=allmusic>Taylor, Robert. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-spectre-within-mw0000196990 "The Spectre Within - Fates Warning"]. ''AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-07-16.</ref> | rev2 = Sputnikmusic | rev2score = 3.5/5<ref name=sputnik>Spencer, Trey (2008-07-17). [https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/15321/Fates-Warning-The-Spectre-Within/ "Review: Fates Warning - The Spectre Within"]. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2014-07-16.</ref> }}
Robert Taylor at AllMusic awarded ''The Spectre Within'' two stars out of five, saying that "Metal fans may enjoy this more than ''Night on Bröcken'', especially 'Pirates of the Underground' and 'The Apparition', but there is very little, if anything, for the progressive fan."<ref name=allmusic/> Trey Spencer at Sputnikmusic gave the album a similarly indifferent review, deeming it "for die-hard fans only". Some criticism was directed at John Arch's vocals, that were described as "slightly irritating due to the unchanging high-pitched nature of his voice", as well as the dated riffs and production. For new fans of Fates Warning, Spencer instead recommended their 1986 follow-up ''Awaken the Guardian'' as a better starting point.<ref name=sputnik/>
In contrast, Jeff Wagner in his ''Mean Deviation'' (2010: 56) book wrote that ''The Spectre Within'' "set Fates Warning apart from just about everyone else in the metal underground, although parallels could be drawn to Danish band Mercyful Fate, an early influence on [guitarist Jim Matheos]".<ref name=":0" />
==Track listing== {{Track listing | title1 = Traveler in Time | writer1 = Jim Matheos, Victor Arduini, John Arch | length1 = 7:13 | title2 = Orphan Gypsy | writer2 = Arduini, Arch | length2 = 5:59 | title3 = Without a Trace | writer3 = Arduini, Arch | length3 = 4:49 | title4 = Pirates of the Underground | writer4 = Matheos, Arduini, Arch | length4 = 7:07 | title5 = The Apparition | writer5 = Matheos, Arch | length5 = 5:50 | title6 = Kyrie Eleison | writer6 = Matheos, Arch | length6 = 5:25 | title7 = Epitaph | writer7 = Matheos, Arch | length7 = 11:57 | total_length = 48:20 }} {{Track listing | headline = 2002 reissue bonus tracks | title8 = Radio Underground (Live Underground) | length8 = 6:57 | title9 = The Apparition (Rehearsal 1985) | length9 = 5:54 | title10 = Kyrie Eleison (Demo 1985) | length10 = 5:50 | title11 = Epitaph (Demo 1985) | length11 = 11:54 }}
==Personnel== *John Arch – vocals, arrangement, producer *Victor Arduini – guitar, arrangement, producer *Jim Matheos – guitar, arrangement, producer *Jim Arch – keyboard, arrangement *Steve Zimmerman – drums, arrangement, producer *Joe DiBiase – bass, arrangement, producter
'''Production''' *Brian Slagel – producer *Bill Metoyer – engineering *Carmine Rizzo – engineering *Brad Vance – remastering (reissue) *Third Image – artwork
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.metalreviews.com/reviews/detail.php3?id=4930 Fates Warning - Spectre Within] at Metal Reviews
{{Fates Warning}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spectre Within, The}} Category:Fates Warning albums Category:1985 albums Category:Metal Blade Records albums