A Pleasant Shade of Gray A Pleasant Shade of Gray A Pleasant Shade of Gray is a concept album by the progressive metal group Fates Warning, released in 1997. It contains one song divided into twelve parts and is noted for its darker mood and more progressive style. "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray" is a single song that is divided into twelve tracks. The album is notable for its darker mood and mixture of progressive rock and metal with hints of industrial, classical, and psychedelia. Jim Matheos wrote the album following Fates Warning's 1994 tour in support of "Inside Out", with Matheos mailing tapes to
A Whiter Shade of Pale reached number 5 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies. It also peaked at number 22 on the soul charts there. The song was included on the US release of the "Procol Harum" album, in September 1967, but not on the subsequent UK version. In the Netherlands, the single entered the chart at number 1 in June 1967 and reached number 1 again in July 1972. A May 1972 re-release on Fly Records peaked at number 13 in the UK. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has continued to receive critical acclaim. Along with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody",