Queensryche - Empire (1990)

This is Seattle band Queensryche's fourth album, and this is the album that brought them to the mainstream. Mainly because of one song - you probably know it. But we'll get there in a minute. First off - the packaging.

 Here we have the tri-ryche again, this time in pixelated glory, it soars over the word "Empire" designed like a tower. In terms of graphic design, it is very basic and kinda rubbishy. They could have done better. Let's hope the music makes up for it!

The album opens with the melodic progressive chords of "Best I Can". A radio-friendly song with decent rhythm and the occasional triumphant soaring of keyboards. A little anaemic, however, sanitised and sterile.

We blast into "The Thin Line" in which Geoff Tate starts with his lower, (slightly) deeper vocals. Low tenor, perchance? Some nice guitar interludes and a gentle bridge into the rockier chorus.

A distant shadow of "Revolution: Calling" - "Jet City Woman" starts with similar chords, but fades into a somewhat bland, exsanguinated number. Entirely too accessible and rather lacking in passion.

"Della Brown" is another gentle number. The vocals are quite nice, soothing, good rhythm.

Finally, something with a bit of spirit to it. "Another Rainy Night", the second single, starts with a more dramatic flourish. The vocals have a little more emotion, touched with pain and building to a powerful chorus. Bittersweet lyrics:

"...Strange how laughing looks like crying with no sound..."

 Starting with an answerphone message, we have "Empire", one of the strongest and more energetic tracks on the album. Lyrics are political, and more in the "Operation Mindcrime" league. It builds strong, has nicely echoey chorus, and Tate has a bitter knife-edge to his vocals.

"Resistance" is also pleasingly powerful, building to a strong chorus and again installs memories of OMC. Tate sounds rather more passionate when singing politics rather than love.

The glorious lullaby, "Silent Lucidity" remains the 'ryche's most well known - and probably their best - track. Ever. The use of orchaestral elements gives it majesty and power, and Tate's lower tenor is deeply soothing, slightly sexy and laden with emotion. This track, alone, deserves 10/10. The whispered "help me" sends a shiver down my spine.

"Hand on Heart" tries to be a powerful piece, but "Silent" is a hard act to follow. Tate's voice is smooth and flowing, like a creamy hot chocolate. Some passion, still a bit commercial, however.

Another somewhat sterile, but still appealing piece "One and Only".

The mournful "Anybody Listening?" seems a desperate, anguished plea for someone, anyone, to listen, to realise. The music is strong, thick, laden with guilt and social conscience. Tate's voice tempered with dedicaation and desperation. Deliciously low, thick, melancholic. A fine conclusion.

Something of a santised, polished and radio friendly album from Queensryche. It does contain the one song that made their names known - and is pretty much the only Queensryche song I've ever heard on the radio, outside of specialised "metal" shows (when I used to request a different track from them every 2-3 weeks). The album starts weak, builds to its climax, peaking at "Silent Lucidity", although the songs that follow are still more spirited than the opening. The first four almost had me giving this a lousy 5/10, but I now feel more comfortable lifting it to a 7/10.

Queensryche - Rage for Order (1986)

Queensryche are probably the finest band to come from Seattle, Washington. Sure, some would argue that it was Nirvana, or Pearl Jam, or maybe even Nevermore; but for technical prowess and musical competence, Queensryche have stolen my vote.

This is their second ful length studio album, and one of my favourites. It displays a creativity and intricity that was lacking somewhat from their debut album, along with an added dose of intriguing menace.

The cover is pretty plain - the band and the album names written in a ring, surrounding the tri-ryche symbol, overlaid across a fairly crude, lineary map of the world and coloured in what could well be blood red clouds. Inside the lyrics are printed in a bold, san serif font. I found the band photo particularly amusing:

Loving the widow's peak Geoff! The permed hair is particularly entertaining too.

The album starts with the catchy "Walk in the Shadows". Tate's voice is in fine fettle, high and melodic in pitch and power.

The rhythms slow, taking on a dreamlike quality, the guitars plucking gentle melodies as "I Dream in Infrared". Desperation bleeds from the vocals, surging into power and determination.

"The Whisper" is anything but. A solid beat, soaring vocals and a somewhat eerie edge to it. Great chorus, and harsh whispering voices. It has a technical aura to it, making me think of the voice in the computer, calling to the unsuspecting, controlling them.

"Please take my hand, don't be afraid. I am your master, you are my slave..."

Keeping with the creepiness, the eerie openings of "Gonna Get Close to You." The guitars create a dark and gloomy mood, shadows creeping in like fog, hiding all manner of secrets. The lyrics are pure stalkerism:

"I wait by your door til you're asleep at night and when you're alone I know when you turn out the light..."

Another with a menacing edge, "The Killing Words" bring with them a touch of frost, dancing across the drums and guitars. Chorus is filled with desperate anguish.

"Surgical Strike" hits with precision and power. Sharp, determined; Tate's voice is a spear. LYrics related to war.

Echoing, otherwordly, "Neue Regal" brings with it a hint of exotic. Vocals are high, bell-like, looming menace clustering in their shadows. Almost industrial sounds. Towers looming, darking the sky with their acrid smoke.

"Eternal Youth (We Are Rebellion)" strikes me as being a dystopian song, the sort that  makes you think of the general public rising up against the Government, waving banners, shaking fists. Combining shouting, breaking glass and general anarchy with Tate's vocals and a gallopin', rockin' chorus.

Following this is the hauntingly melancholic "London". It sounds like a love song - or to be precise, a loss song. The vocals are melodious, yet tortured, thrumming with loss and loneliness and abandonment.

"Screaming in Digital" is like a soul, trapped inside a computer, technologically imprisoned and crying for help. The vocals have a polished, technical edge to them. The instruments thrumming with pent up emotion.

Another haunting, lost and bittersweet piece, "I Will Remember" is heart-felt and forlorn. Tate's voice feels as fragile as a broken heart, the music playing a slow and solemn counterpoint.

 In a time when pants were tight and hair was permed, and lyrics were all about sex and love (but not necessarily both), Queensryche stomped onto the scene - with the hair and the pants, but they brought with them dark shadows and their own special blend of menace. This would have to be one of their finest albums: 9/10.

Queensryche - The Warning (1984)

This is Queensryche's very first full length album, following on from their "Queen of the Reich" EP. It in inspired by world events of the time and also by the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

On a random aside - Geoff Tate was fired from Queensryche in 2012 - but due to legal issues both the line-up he left behind, now with the ex-vocalist  of Crimson Glory, and he with a "new" line-up including another ex-member, are both legally allowed to use the name "Queensryche". If both manage to get an album out in that time, it could make for an interesting aural battle.

But, in 1984 the wide world of progressive rock stood before Queensryche  - this album achieved modest success but never charted in the US of A, although "Take hold of the flame" became popular in Japan. The Japanese are known for having excellent taste in melodic metal (although I have only one Japanese metal band's album in my collection).

The cover is simple but makes a statement. It depicts a card - like a tarot card, inscribed with the words "The Warning" held in a gloved, and frankly rather unhealthy looking, hand, whilst green lasers shoot from the card like eyes or headlights, behind it is Earth. The message is clear - things are going wrong with our planet.

Here in his younger days (he's 24/25), Geoff Tate has a high and clear voice that rings out strong and clear with an almost bell-like clarity. The album opens with "The Warning", a song of simple structure with rhythmic guitar and drums. It is Tate's voice that gives it the power and emotional impact it implores - powerful, with a hint of desperation. He sure can hold his notes well!
"En Force" gets into a somewhat more dramatic start with tolling bells (their voices relatively high and drum-like) and surging into the vocals. Again, Tate's voice is a fine force and it is easy to see why his is considered one of the best in the genre. The higher notes are sweet and pure, but with the occasional harsher, raw edge. There is an innocence in it as well. The lyrics have a definite dystopia/sci fi edge:

"Light tracers follow me farther into the depths of unknown. The blackness surrounding the borders of hope. We're alone"

  The ghostly drumming and spectral and ethereal vocals give the final verse an eerie and unnerving edge. It feels lost, and haunted.

Before we soar into "Deliverance" a rather faster paced and energetic piece, similar to what we consider the classic Queensryche sound.

Ghostly and slow, feeling distant and haunted, "No Sanctuary" follows. This is not precisely a ballad, but definitely a slower, and softer song - again with an edge of desperation.

Following on from this is another dystopia-inspired song, "NM 156", this one possibly more inspired by the book. The vocals start with computer voices, then Tate's desperate high notes soar over them.

"Microchip logic, have we no more thought?
"Is this wrong" I enter, answers sought"

 The future is  before us, and it is not a pleasant place. Decent and somewhat complex guitar solo, soaring vocals compete with faster, harder, rawer and desperate. Tate can certainly wail.

Now, I believe it is time for a Power Ballad. And "Take Hold of the Flame" certainly fits the bill. The vocals are as bright and clear as the fire themselves, flickering into a gloriously high howl. The chorus is delightfully anthemic:

"So take hold of the flame. Don't you see life's a game?"

 I can almost see those lighters held high! (Of course, nowadays everyone uses cellphones instead - far less likely to cause accidents or fire alarms anyway).

The somewhat heavier "Before the Storm" follows this up with its echoed chorus and more involved guitar structures, the whirling guitar solo imitating a grey sky broiling with clouds.

"Child of Fire" is another song of loss and desolation, heavy with desperation as Tate wails:

"Look around. Is this the end you've foreseen?
The pain? The misery in us all?
What was it that you knew?
Will we someday learn it too?"

 Finally we conclude with "Road to Madness" in which Tate drops half an octave, or maybe a wee bit more and forlorn strings echo his words. His words are tinged with hints of loss and desolation. Like the soundtrack to a lost man, walking forlorn along an endless highway. It turns faster and more urgent as it marches towards its conclusion.

A very fine debut album, with hints at what Queensryche will become. The songs are nicely variable, contrasting with one another to take on personalities of their own. Haunting and memorable but possibly a bit dark and serious to earn it much acclaim at the time of its release - a time when Iron Maiden ("Powerslave") and Judas Priest ("Defenders of the Faith") were having their day and glam metal had laid its roots.  It had a lot of steep competition.

I'm going to give it 7.5/10.

(Note: Yes I posted R and Q around the wrong way, I DO know which way the alphabet works, that was just the way I happened to listen to them, okay?)

Queensryche - Promised Land (1994)

Queensryche  formed in Bellevue, Seattle 1981 and released twelve studio albums before finally parting ways in 2012.They are probably my favourite band to hail from Seattle, birth of Grunge music, and are most well known for their song "Silent Lucidity." Their earlier albums were more strongly metal, with operatic vocals (vocalist Geoff Tate is opera trained) and heavy riffs. As their albums progressed, their sound became more mature, and a little darker (in the case of this album), but ultimately their more recent releases (ie: this century) lacked the originality and energy of the earlier ones.

I selected this one, "Promised Land" released in the mid-point of their career.

It is a beautiful looking album - the simple, starkness and gloomy brownish-red hues help create the mood. The cover depicts the Tri-Reich (which is based on the falcon, no wonder I like it!) carved from wood, looking rather tribal. It is in fact a totem pole, and the CD cover folds out into a poster. And there is a vaguely tribal feel to some of the songs on this album.

Overall the sound is somewhat more personal than the earlier albums, with a dose more atmosphere and a little more experimentation with instruments and darker stylings. It is not especially heavy, relying more on dark atmospheres and haunting melodies, along with the raw emotion in Geoff Tate's voice to create a moody album - the result of burnout after the commercial success of "Empire". Whilst it did eventually go platinum in the States, it never achieved major mainstream success and was somewhat superceded by the growing Grunge music of the time.

"9:28 am" starts with a death and a birth.

"I am I" is a declaration of Self.

As far as songs go, "Damage" is not particularly remarkable. It's typical rock.

"Out of Mind" opens with a slow and moving intro, merging into the haunting lyrics. Tate's low singing voice complements this perfectly, and the accompanying guitar creates a mood that sens a shiver down the spine of anyone who is also paying heed to the lyrics which describe the forgotten people - the mentally lost and confused, kept separate from society, alienated from reality.  There is an atmosphere of menace here:

"They can't leave. You've left them here ... for me."

Acoustic guitar and vocals lead us in to the equally haunting "Bridge". The chorus of this song is particularly noteworthy - as a father tries to mend the "...bridge that's been blown apart..." from his son, but "...you never built them dad." It is also very catchy.

Title track, "Promised Land" is one of the most atmospheric and experimental of the songs on this album (also one of my favourites). The music radiates with mood and weighs one day with the grief of being left behind, becoming one of the forgotten ones. The lyrics ask "... where did it all go wrong?" It is a story of abandoning one's dreams, of failing to even try and reach the "promised land" and instead dropping into the angst-fueled world of apathy and alcohol.

This leads, quite neatly, into "Dis Con Nect Ted" which continues the themes of madness and loss, of separating oneself from reality. The slightly discordent edge to the opening chords lends to the feeling of confusion and dislocation. The vocals are low and dripping with personal loathing. There is a slight echoing going on, that makes Tate sound somewhat less than himself.

There is something faintly menacing about the children chanting at play as "Lady Jane" opens. The vocals are low, creepy, the lyrics unnerving. Something is very wrong in the life of Lady Jane.

"It's quite a scary, scary ride we take, Lady Jane."

 There are violins in this song too. I'm not sure if this is a song about abuse or a haunting, or if Lady Jane is slowly but surely slipping into the clutches of insanity. Whichever it is, this is an emotional and oddly disconcerting and disturbing song. It is also one of my favourites on this album.

With its politcal lyrics, "My Global Mind" brings us back into the heavier rock, but no less melancholic.

"One more Time" begs for a second chance, with a hint of desperation and no small measure of despair.

Piano leads us into the last, heartbroken ballad, "Someone Else".

"I feel like I did, before the magic wore thin..."

With few instruments, except the piano, it feels like Tate is (vocally) ripping out his heart and throwing it on the floor. The raw emotion cannot help but seer the soul. It draws to a very abrupt close, leaving me feel almost like I've been severed from it.

This is a fine album - it is deeper and darker and rather more melancholic than earlier albums and clearly marks a point of tumoil in the history of the band. The lyrics are rife with messages of disconnections from reality; of sacrifices and loss of self (and no small measure of bitterness). Despite this misery, there is no laying of blame, no accusations - it is not an album about love lost, or arguements - instead it is an album about feeling as though you're fractured inside of losing your sense of identity. Of needing something more to help redeem the drudgery of your life.

It is a beautiful, haunting and utterly poignant and defintely deserves a rating of 9/10,