North Sea Echoes, the duo helmed by Fates Warning members Ray Alder and Jim Matheos, has released a new animated music video for “The Mission” from their debut album, Really Good Terrible Things.

On the lyrical narrative for “The Mission”, Alder shares:

A man experiences a psychotic episode in which he hears voices. I think this is pretty obvious. This was the last song written for the album. It almost didn’t make it. Jim thought the album was a bit too short so we added it last minute. I‘m glad we did. It‘s one of my favorites.

Ray Alder and Jim Matheos’ musical legacy is substantial, both as collaborators and individuals. Alder has been the vocalist and main co-writer for Prog Metal band Fates Warning for the past 35 years. With them, he has recorded 10 albums between 1988 and 2020. Further rounding out his discography are seven albums with Redemption, two solo albums, and the band A-Z with Mark Zonder, which debuted in 2022.

Prolific and pioneering guitarist/Producer Matheos is a co-founder of Fates Warning, the lineup debuting with 1984’s Night on Bröcken on Metal Blade. In addition to 13 albums with Fates Warning, Matheos’ other work includes several solo albums, four albums alongside former Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore, under the name OSI, and new band, Kings of Mercia, a lineup that’s been termed “a hybrid; it’s heavy, but not metal.”