Night on Bröcken is the first studio album by the American progressive metal band

Fates Warning Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman. There have been numerous lineup ...

, released on September 9, 1984 through

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

. The title of the album is apparently a reference to the

Brocken The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak in the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak in Northern Germany; it is near Schierke in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt between the rivers Weser and Elbe. ...

, a mountain in

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, Germany, which is traditionally associated with witches (

Walpurgis Night Walpurgis Night (), an abbreviation of Saint Walpurgis Night (from the German ), also known as Saint Walpurga's Eve (alternatively spelled Saint Walburga's Eve), is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess in ...

), most famously in

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

's '' Faust'' (1806–1831). The reference becomes apparent on two original album covers that "were scrapped prior to major distribution"."Night On Bröcken"
fateswarning.com. Archived fro
the original
on April 17, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2020. The spelling is a typical example of a " metal umlaut".

Reissues

''Night on Bröcken'' has been reissued several times. The first edition, featuring the original cover art, was released only on vinyl and

cassette Cassette may refer to: Technology * Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback ** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in the ...

. A CD edition with new cover art was released in 1988. A double compilation album, packaged together with ''

The Spectre Within ''The Spectre Within'' is the second studio album by progressive metal band Fates Warning, released in October 1985 through Metal Blade Records. It has been reissued three times: first as a double album together with ''Night on Bröcken'' (1984) ...

'' (1985), was released in 1992. A

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

ed edition of ''Night on Bröcken'' was released in 1994, followed by another in 2002; the latter containing four bonus tracks and restoring the original cover art, albeit with a different font."Fates Warning – Night On Bröcken"

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

. Retrieved March 17, 2015.

Critical reception

Robert Taylor at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded ''Night on Bröcken'' two stars out of five, calling it "A very humble beginning for this excellent progressive band" but stopping short of actually recommending it for fans of progressive metal: "Metal fans will find this too close to

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

, and progressive fans should skip this altogether."

Track listing

Personnel

Fates Warning *

John Arch John Arch (born John Maurice Archambault; May 15, 1959) is an American singer most well known for his work with the progressive metal band Fates Warning. Fates Warning Arch co-wrote the majority of the band's songs with guitarist Jim Mathe ...

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Jim Matheos Jim Matheos (born November 22, 1962) is an American guitarist and the primary songwriter for the progressive metal band Fates Warning, in which he has been the only consistent member since the group's beginning. Matheos also plays in OSI alongsi ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, production *Victor Arduini –

, production *Joe DiBiase –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, production *Steve Zimmerman –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, production Additional credits *mixed at Track Record, Los Angeles * Bill Metoyer,

Brian Slagel Brian Slagel (born February 14, 1961) is an American music executive. He is the founder and CEO of the independent record label Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for having initiated the ''Metal Massacre'' series of compilation albums in 1982 ...

– mixing *Doug Clark –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Night On Brocken Fates Warning albums 1984 debut albums Metal Blade Records albums