A progressive metal group built around the considerable talents of Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos and former Fates Warning vocalist John Arch, the aptly named Arch/Matheos employ an immersive blend of power, virtuosity, and melody. Arch, who founded Fates Warning, left the group in 1987 to retire from music. In 2011 Matheos, who has been with Fates Warning since 1982, asked Arch to collaborate on a collection of new material, some of which was intended for an upcoming Fates Warning LP. With the latter album delayed, Arch and Matheos, with help from some Fates Warning members, decided to release the well-received Sympathetic Resonance under their own banner. The duo had no plans to produce a follow-up, nor did they brush the project off as a one-time thing, so when their schedules opened up again in 2017, they reunited for a sophomore effort. The resulting Winter Ethereal, which was recorded with a variety of contributing musicians, including Sean Malone (Cynic) Steve Di Giorgio (Death), and Thomas Lang (Stork), arrived in 2019. ~ James Christopher Monger