The (former?) Queensryche drummer who seems dedicated to chaos just opened his own RycheShop.com selling crap artwork. This is not to be confused with the official Queensryche store.
Bonus: If you spend $250 or more, Scott will give you a personal phone call.
What would you ask Scott? I have a few ideas. Maybe ask about that sweet new neck tat.
(Former?) Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield has, shall we say, been a bit of a drama queen these last couple years. In 2021 he announced his own version of Queensryche seemingly separate from the current version. His supposedly included Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson, but not singer Todd LaTorre. Scott released a 2014 demo called “Days O’ Deth” as his only musical output so far, which ironically included LaTorre on vocals. Scott’s dislike for LaTorre has been quite public in his social media. The legit Queensryche have largely ignored Scott’s statements.
Today Rockenfield is announcing something in 2023 called “SuperHuman” with someone called Damien Krane. The artwork recycles the album cover for the 2013 self-titled Queensryche CD.
Who knows what the hell is actually going on, but the possibility of two Queensryches has once again reared its ugly head. Stay tuned in 2023 for more drama.
In late 1987 and early 1988, Queensrÿche were at frigid Morin Heights in Quebec, recording what would become their most important album. Their first true concept album (although you could make good arguments for Rage for Order) was in fact partially inspired by the perennial Quebec separatist movement. Singer Geoff Tate envisioned the story and characters, with guitarist Chris DeGarmo joining him on the lion’s share of the writing. Still, it was Tate and guitarist Michael Wilton who came up with “Revolution Calling”, the third track but in all fairness, the first song on Operation: Mindcrime. Wilton co-write a huge chunk of side one.
The eerie thing about “Revolution Calling” is how it still applies today. Direct references to characters like the evil Dr. X aside, so much of this song is relevant to current events.
“I used to trust the media to tell me the truth, tell us the truth.”
“Well, I’m tired of all this bullshit they keep selling me on T.V., about the communist plan.”
“I used to think that only America’s way, way was right. But now the holy dollar rules everybody’s lives, gotta make a million, doesn’t matter who dies.
I have criticised the Operation: Mindcrime for being too “comic-book-y”, a critique also levelled at the album by revisionist reviewers in the 1990s. Now, I’m not so sure. As the world teeters on the brink, a song like “Revolution Calling” impacts harder than it did in 1988. How many Nikkis are out there ready to start their own revolutions?
As we look forward to the new Queensryche album Digital Noise Alliance, let’s also look back at one of their strongest songs from Mindcrime, “Revolution Calling”, on the Sunday Song Spotlight.
REVOLUTION CALLING (Tate/Wilton)
QUEENSRŸCHE – “Days O Deth” (2014 demo, released 2021 online by Scott Rockenfield)
If any rock band has had the #1 weirdest drama going on in their history, Queensryche must be considered a front runner. First there was the “spitting incident” and 2012 split with Geoff Tate. This drama was swiftly followed by the existence of two completely different bands touring and releasing albums as “Queensryche”. The Queensryche brand issue was settled in a 2014 lawsuit, with original members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield winning the rights to the name for their version of the group. A year after, Scott Rockenfield took a six-month touring leave from the band, and never returned. It appears Scott was finally fired from Queensryche in 2018 due to non-participation. He has not been active with the group since their excellent 2015 Condition Hüman album, the last to feature the drummer in any regard. Queensryche carried on with vocalist Todd La Torre playing drums in the studio, and Kamelot’s Casey Grillo drumming live.
Then suddenly in 2021, Scott Rockenfield came out breaking the silence! Presenting a new (now defunct) “Queensryche2021” website, Rockenfield essentially declared his own version of Queensryche. Pictures on his site were Wilton and Jackson, but not La Torre, for whom he spared no ire. Calling La Torre a “subcontracted employee”, he unilaterally declared the current active Queensryche illegitimate.
Proclaiming “Welcome to the New World” on his site, he posted “R ya READY TO F***in’ ROCK !!!?? ….I AM !!!!!!!” [sic]
You can always tell how serious a press release is by the number of exclamation points, question marks, and ellipsis are used.
Aside from a lot of sniping, Rockenfield promised new music in 2021, but only offered one old demo. Ironically this demo from 2014 features his nemesis Todd La Torre on lead vocals! For 99 cents, you could download “Days O Deth” from his now-defunct website. With the website gone, so now too is the track.
“Days O Deth” is a shorter demo version of what became “Toxic Remedy” on 2015’s Condition Hüman. Missing is the opening guitar harmony, as it goes into a riff that was refined for the final version. Instead of the very ‘Ryche-ian guitar harmonies that “Toxic Remedy” opens with, this one focuses on the pounding of the riff. It’s quite cool that way. The verses are pretty much intact as is the chorus. While the final “Toxic Remedy” sounds more Queensryche, this demo is rougher, heavier and perhaps a touch more unique as to how it treats the riff section.
One can be certain that the legitimate members of Queensryche never saw a penny of the 99 cents paid for this download. Therefore it is understandable if a fan chose not to pay for a demo track that Queensryche certainly deserved compensation for. Until events unfold further, perhaps in courts, we can have no real idea what is going on with Scott Rockenfield’s role in Queensryche. Which is unfortunate, as diehard fans no doubt would very much want and enjoy this demo. Will it ever see an official release? See above. Events will unfold as they will.
4/5 stars
(Photo by Brill/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
QUEENSRŸCHE – Operation: Mindcrime (1988, 2003 EMI remaster)
After Pink Floyd made history by releasing The Wall in 1979, concept albums fell out of fashion. Almost a decade later, two heavy metal albums brought the artform of the full-length story back: Iron Maiden’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche. Of the two, Mindcrime had the more coherent linear story, but both remain high water marks for each band.
The Queensryche album sold slowly at first, as the band refused to make music videos to let the album speak for itself. They changed course in 1989 when “Eyes of a Stranger” made it to MTV and MuchMusic. Fortunes changed dramatically for Operation: Mindcrime. The album eventually went platinum.
The reason Mindcrime was better suited as an album than music videos was the connected storyline running through each song. Employing a classic frame technique, we begin at the end with “I Remember Now”.
“I remember now. I remember how it started. I can’t remember yesterday. I just remember doing what they told me…”
The anti-hero Nikki is an angry, aimless addict who fell in with a radical political group called Operation: Mindcrime. He is a disheartened young American. “The rich control the government, the media, the law.” Mindcrime’s modus operandi? Using drugs and brainwashing, would-be assassins are sent out to kill strategic political targets, building to revolution. Inequality, corruption and the media have made the country an ugly place. Dr. X, the mastermind behind Mindcrime, has total control over Nikki. He also uses the nun Mary, a former prostitute, to feed Nikki’s needs. Nikki and Mary grow closer until he receives the order: “Kill her.” She knows too much.
The first two tracks are just setup before you get to the meat. “I Remember Now” and “Anarchy-X” create a powerful set of images, with anthemic guitars and the sound of massive crowds rallying to a cause. “Revolution Calling”, the first real song, begins the narrative. “Then I heard of Dr. X, the man with the cure, just watch the television, yeah you’ll see there’s something going on.”
Nikki is indoctrinated on the title track, an ominous riffy behemoth of a song. Dr. X uses Nikki’s drug addiction to control him. With nothing to lose, Nikki falls for the doctor’s words. “There’s a job for you in the system boy, with nothing to sign.” Nikki has no use for the government or politicians. It all sounds good to him. On “Speak” he receives his first assignment. “I’m the new messiah, death angel with a gun.” On a blazing fast track with a thick chorus, Nikki falls into his new life. “Eradicate the fascists, revolution will grow.” On “Spreading the Disease”, another kickass track with a chorus that goes on for miles, Nikki tells the story of Mary and his distaste for the church. “Religion and sex are power plays, manipulate the people for the money they pay. Selling skin, selling God, the numbers look the same on the credit cards.”
Queensryche take it slower (though not soft) on “The Mission”, as Nikki starts to feel disillusionment. “I look around, my room is filled with candles, each one a story but they end the same.” He keeps telling himself that he’s doing what’s right. “My mission saved the world, and I stood proud.” But then he is given the order he dreads: Kill Mary. This instruction opens album epic “Suite Sister Mary”, 10 full minutes of riffs, choir and orchestra (by Michael Kamen). The riff alone stands like a monolith. Vocalist Pamela Moore sings a duet with Geoff Tate as the character of Sister Mary. As for that riff? Chris DeGarmo was the master riff composer in this band, a hole they have never quite filled.
The second half of the story commences with “The Needle Lies”. Nikki wants out, but finds that it doesn’t work that way. There is no “out”. Meanwhile Queensryche strafe the speakers with a thrashy blitzkrieg. Drummer Scott Rockenfield cannot be contained. Then on the quiet filler track “Electric Requiem”, Nikki discovers that Mary had made his choice to disobey orders irrelevant. Dead by her own hand, Nikki is broken and tailspins into a mad depression. This is portrayed on “Breaking the Silence”, another stone cold winner of a song with a mighty chorus. The chunky guitar riff is to die for.
With his memory failing him, Nikki doesn’t even know if he killed Mary himself or not. He questions everything on the ever-cool single “I Don’t Believe in Love”, one of the most remarkable of all Queensryche songs. Once again the writing partnership of Tate and DeGarmo struck heavy musical gold. Two shorter tracks (“Waiting for 22” and “My Empty Room”) fill in some story points, and Nikki is eventually caught.
Operation: Mindcrime’s biggest song is its final track and first single, “Eyes of a Stranger”. Memories are but fragments. “I raise my head and stare into the eyes of a stranger.” It’s one of Queensryche’s most incredible recordings, a perfect storm of guitars, vocals and melody. It’s neck deep in drama, with Geoff Tate at his most emotive. The story ends with some questions left unanswered. At least until 2006’s unnecessary Mindcrime II….
Operation: Mindcrime took Queensryche to an artistic level that fans and critics always knew they could achieve. Their debut EP showed promise. They didn’t live up to that potential until Mindcrime. Though good, The Warning album wasn’t a stunner like Mindcrime. Rage For Order was brilliant but alienating. Even when it was first released, Mindcrime did not blow all the critics away. Only after it had been digested slowly over time did the masses realize they were sitting on something very special. Queensryche had done conceptual work before, but more abstract. Nothing as well-hewn as Mindcrime. Musically it was like they distilled everything they had accomplished thus far, and concentrated it into pure rock majesty.
The 2003 CD reissue had two live B-sides as bonus tracks. “The Mission” was originally released in 1991 on the B-side to “Silent Lucidity”. It is a different recording from that on the live album Operation: LIVEcrime. “My Empty Room” is a later acoustic recording, released in 1995 as a B-side to “Bridge”. It’s interesting for its acoustic setting and percussion, but is best heard in the context of the “Bridge” single with its other acoustic counterparts.
Is Operation: Mindcrime a masterpiece? The story is a bit Hollywood and a tad juvenile, but the broad strokes are remarkably still valid today. Mindcrime is rivalled by only a few. It’s a worthy, nay, important addition to any metal collection.
5/5 stars
Part I of a Queensryche two-parter.
QUEENSRŸCHE – Queensrÿche (1983 EP/2003 EMI remaster)
Sometimes a reissue is done so right you just gotta “Take Hold of the Flame”.
The 1984 debut EP by Queensryche is one such release. The original vinyl runs shy of 18 minutes, leaving plenty of space for bonus tracks. For this, they included the audio for all 10 songs from their first home video, Live in Tokyo. Wishes fulfilled.
The original four track EP put the quintet from Seattle on the map. Opening with “Queen of the Reich”, the young band showcased their knack for riffs and screaming vocals. Geoff Tate’s opening scream cannot be touched. Tate seemed embarrassed of these songs later on (all written by Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo with one lyric by Geoff). Though the songs are clearly a starting point, they’re nothing to be embarrassed by. “Queen of the Reich” remains simple, majestic and powerful.
The “Nightrider” sails away but the riffs go on with pneumatic precision. Early Queensryche were not that dissimilar from early Iron Maiden, but at least they were doing that sound well. Curiously enough this self-produced EP was not recorded with the intention to release it. Queensrÿche is actually just a demo, but the band were starting to make waves on the live scene and so the four songs were released as an EP. It eventually went gold; very rare for an EP.
Flipping over to side two, “Blinded” is screamy and raw. Not one of the bands’ most memorable tunes, but soon arrives “The Lady Wore Black”. This is a metal ballad in the classic vein of “Beyond the Realms of Death” or “Remember Tomorrow”. Tate’s voice cascades while the band weave a backing track of guitar thunder. Along with “Queen of the Reich”, it still turns up on live setlists.
The live set in Tokyo, recorded in 1984, contains all the tracks from the EP, a non-album song called “Prophecy”, and several from the debut full-length album The Warning. Opening with the “Nightrider”, Queensryche don’t let up through a generally fast and heavy set. “Prophecy” keeps up the brisk pace, with a chorus that is miles ahead of “Nightrider”. And this DeGarmo-penned smoker was a non-album track! “Deliverance” from The Warning follows in its ashy footsteps. It’s an onslaught of Warning tracks: “Child of Fire” and “En Force” rolled out in heavy fashion. This trio of Warning songs might be considered the slow part of the set. They have a soundalike vibe as they steamroll the ears.
“The Lady Wore Black” brings a slower, dark atmosphere. Tate’s sustain is unbelievable! Then it’s a blast of classics to close the set: “Warning”, “Take Hold of the Flame” and “Queen of the Reich”. Magnificent metal through and through, with “Take Hold” being an unequivocal high point. From Tate’s vocal to the exalted riffing, Queensryche nail it.
Don’t just get the EP. Make sure to get the 2003 CD reissue with the glorious Tokyo show included. You’ll be happy you did.
4/5 stars
QUEENSRŸCHE – The Verdict (2019 Century Media 2 CD “Masterpiece Edition”)
The Todd La Torre era of Queensryche is now three albums deep. There’s no more mucking around. When drummer Scott Rockenfield went on personal leave, they didn’t let that stop them from writing and recording The Verdict. La Torre, a capable drummer in his own right, took on the challenge quite seamlessly.
So what’s the verdict on The Verdict?
The first Todd album (2013’s Queensrÿche) was safe and too brief. The second (2015’s Condition Hüman) was a lot to digest. The Verdict may have struck a better balance. They’re still exploring their own brand of metal, bringing in a few new sounds without departing from their core direction. They sound more comfortable in their own shoes. Don’t expect a progression into new musical territory. That’s not what The Verdict is. It’s a full-force metal album with nuance, complexity, and plenty of guitar harmonies. That’s what Queensryche do now. The writing is sharpened, and the songs sound assembled with care.
The album requires a few listens to sink in. The immediate standout here is a track called “Light-Years”, a song written by bassist Eddie Jackson who seems to come up with amazing songs out of the blue. Regal, riff-laden metal with bravery and hooks. This song should surely go down as a future Ryche classic. (Jackson also wrote “Propaganda Fashion” and co-wrote a bunch of others.) Another impressive song is the ballady “Dark Reverie” contributed by Parker Lundgren. Todd really kicks it in the ass with his outstanding vocals. The longest track “Bent” is dark and epic. The only real weakness on this album is a lack of diversity, which they seem to be trying to avoid lest they end up with another Dedicated to Chaos.
The balance is clear. The complexity of Condition Hüman is tempered by sharper hooks and melodies on The Verdict. They’ve cranked out a lot of music over the last six years and they’re sounding more confident today. Speaking of “a lot of music”, the consumer has choose between the standard single 10 track CD or the double “Masterpiece Edition” with rarities and new recordings.
For many fans, this will be their first chance to own the songs “46° North”, “Mercury Rising”, and “Espiritu Muerto”. To get those, you had to buy the (previously reviewed) vinyl box set version of Condition Hüman. Fans will also be thrilled by the four live songs from 2013’s Queensrÿche. One of them, “Eyes of a Stranger”, could only be found on the (previously reviewed) Japanese version. These, of course, all feature Scott Rockenfield on drums, his only appearances in this set.
The percussion on the two new recordings is handled by touring drummer Casey Grillo. If he ends up a permanent member one day, nobody can say, but these are his very first recordings with Queensryche. They are acoustic versions of “I Dream in Infrared” (from Rage for Order) and “Open Road” from (Queensrÿche). Both are quite excellent. It would be cool to get more of these acoustic renderings. (Geoff Tate did four on his Queensryche’s Frequency Unknown album.)
The “Masterpiece Edition” (9000 copies) comes packed in a nice big box similar to the one from 2013’s Queensrÿche. Additional goodies inside include an iron-on patch, a Verdict fridge magnet, and bottle opener. Now your kitchen can finally be complete. Just extra fluff, really — buy it for the songs.
4/5 stars
As we gear up for this year’s release of the next Queensryche album The Verdict, let’s look back at a different edition of their last album Condition Hüman. For our original 2015 review of Condition Hüman, click here!
QUEENSRŸCHE – Condition Hüman (2015 Century Media 2 LP, + 7″ single coloured vinyl box set)
It is almost customary now. When a band comes out with a new album, there has to be a crazy deluxe edition with vinyl and CD. The best of these editions are the ones that include exclusive music. In the end, all the posters and booklets in the world add up to only paper. Exclusive music is the thing of real value.
Queensryche did well with their Condition Hüman deluxe. It was available in a variety of colours. This one is yellow, number 659/1000. There’s a cool turntable mat inside, and a double sided poster. For music, the album is split onto two coloured 180 gram vinyl records, including the Japanese bonus track “Espiritu Muerto” on Side D. (The D-side is also etched with the Queensryche logo in the empty space.) For your convenience, the entire album including Japanese bonus track is duplicated on the CD inside. Then for the diehards comes the true exclusive: two more songs on a 7″ single, not on any other version of the album. This is the real reward for spending the extra money on the deluxe.
“Espiritu Muerto” chugs heavily along, punishing the skulls of unbelievers. On the 7″ record, the two exclusive songs are fairly non-descript. “46° North” is B-side-ish, like a leftover written for Empire but dropped in favour of something more commercial. “Mercury Rising” is on the other side, with a vaguely psychedelic metal vibe and science fiction lyrics.
Condition Hüman itself is a strong metallic album, though with hindsight perhaps too “metal” for its own good. There was a time, not so long ago, when fans would have begged and pleaded with Queensryche to write just one new song in the vein of Condition Hüman. Now that we have two albums solidly back in the metal genre, it would be nice to hear real diversity in Queensryche again.
That said, Condition Hüman is a damn fine album for what it is. The Queensryche of today, fronted by Todd La Torre, has been determined to retain trademark elements from Queensryche’s 80s heyday. That includes strong riffs, dual harmony solos, and screamin’ vocals. These are all delivered with gravy on top.
The vinyl experience of Condition Hüman is actually superior to that of CD. It was always a long album, with the standard edition being 53 minutes of pretty relentless stomping. On vinyl, you’re forced to pause and flip the record three times before even getting to the single. These brief respites allow you to breath and absorb. What I’ve absorbed is that Condition Hüman is still a damn fine collection of songs, if a bit too single-minded. One gets the impression from this album that, though good, Queensryche can still do better.
4/5 stars
LP-A1 Arrow Of Time
LP-A2 Guardian
LP-A3 Hellfire
LP-A4 Toxic Remedy
LP-B1 Selfish Lives
LP-B2 Eye 9
LP-B3 Bulletproof
LP-B4 Hourglass
LP-C1 Just Us
LP-C2 All There Was
LP-C3 The Aftermath
LP-C4 Condition Hüman
LP-D1 Espiritu Muerto
7″-A 46° North
7″-B Mercury Rising
QUEENSRYCHE – Rage For Order (originally 1986, 2003 EMI remastered edition)
Every fan has their favourite Queensryche album. Whether it be The Warning, Mindcrime, Promised Land or Empire, there are plenty of great albums in their back catalogue. I used to seek the warm high of Promised Land when looking to chill with my favourite Queensryche. Now I look for refuge in the cold, technological sheen of their 1986 album Rage For Order.
Rage For Order was a challenging album in its time and today it is still complex. In 1986, fans questioned the gothy makeup and hair, not to mention the excessive samples and synths. Today you can look back and almost call Rage For Order the first progressive industrial metal album. It certainly has qualities from all three of those genres. Geoff Tate beat Trent Reznor to the punch by years. Rage seems to have a vague futuristic concept about a world of technology, revolution, and disconnection.
Although Rage For Order is certainly not an immediate listen, certain key tracks are commercial enough to keep you coming back. The first is “Walk in the Shadows”, one of the few songs to be played live fairly consistently over the years. “Walk in the Shadows” could pass as a hard rocking hit. For the first time Queensryche really proved they were more than a simple metal band. The slick production was completely different from their first two records, with the edge taken off the guitars and instead given to the computers and sequencers. They give the whole album a precise, punchy tech sound that is its own form of heavy. No wonder: Dave “Rave” Ogilvie was an engineer.
A dense ballad called “I Dream in Infrared” has sorrow, but flowing through the veins of a computer. Geoff Tate blows minds with his incredible voice and singing ability, layered for maximum effect. In 1991 it was remixed acoustically for a single B-side, and that version is a bonus track on the remastered edition. The original was perfect for what it was, but the acoustic mix is more accessible to outsiders. It ends suddenly and the metallic guitars of “The Whisper” enter, accompanied by clock-like percussion. Rage For Order has many songs with layered, overlapping vocals and you can hear that on the chorus. It is a cold, sterile but powerful track.
The strangest song was actually the lead single, “Gonna Get Close to You”. It was the only cover Queensryche ever put on one of their studio albums, a track by Canadian songstress Lisa DalBello. In the hands of Geoff Tate, it becomes a creepy song of a stalker with a strangely rousing pre-chorus. “You think I’m a fool or maybe some kind of lunatic? You say I’m wasting my time but I know what to do with it. It’s as plain as black and white. I’m gonna get close to you.” Cree-hee-eepy! Which is the point. The bizarre samples and synths only deepen the macabre. DalBello’s original is perhaps even creepier, but Tate’s pompous bravado adds its own slant. “If you knew my infinite charm, there’d be no reason to be so alarmed…”
As an added bonus, a 12″ extended version of “Gonna Get Close to You” is included in the bonus tracks, but like most extended versions from the 1980s, it’s very choppy and awkward.
Along with the technology, there is a theme of loneliness on Rage For Order, and “Gonna Get Close to You” plays into that. “The Killing Words” contains more heartbreak on the album’s second ballad (third if you count “Gonna Get Close to You”). Tate’s voice is drenched in pain. A 1994 acoustic version from the “Bridge” CD single is included as a bonus track.
“Surgical Strike” is a brilliant track, fast and heavy, and working with the technology. The lyrics are brilliant and quite prescient.
It’s lonely in the field,
that we send our fighters to wander.
They leave with minds of steel,
It’s their training solution.
We’ve programmed the way,
It leads us to Order.
There’s no turning back.
A Surgical Strike.
We’ve taught them not to feel.
performance is their task,
A Surgical Strike,
Its time is arriving now for you.
The plan for the day,
will be swift as the lightning they harness.
The atom display,
It’s not mindless illusion,
At master control, assessment will not,
Be by humans.
There’s no turning back…
It feels like this future is not very far off.
One of the most techy tracks is “Neue Regel”. Clockwork percussion, strangely computerized lead vocals, and intelligently used samples paint a scene of a future battlefield, complete with bomb-like drum sounds. The multi-layered chorus is one of Queensryche’s most perfect. Respect to Geoff Tate. When the man was at his peak, nobody could touch him, both vocally and as a songwriter. Of course one must also remember the other side of the equation, which was guitarist Chris DeGarmo. He has more songwriting credits on this album than Geoff Tate, including two solo credits (“The Whisper” and “I Will Remember”).
The future continues to look cold and dark on “Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)”. “Our religion is technology” is one line, and if only Tate knew how right he was! There is a still a spark of hope and that is the young. “Chemical Youth” is one of the heaviest tracks on the album, and sonically very interesting too. The next ballad “London” fades in with a synthy bass line. Loneliness returns. “There’s some things in life I could never face. The worst is being alone.”
The technology slant hits its peak on the brilliant “Screaming in Digital”. Describing this song can do it no justice. It is like listening to Queensryche within the gleaming sterile walls of the dystopian sci-fi classic THX-1138. There is far too much going on underneath it all to absorb in just a few listens. You will hear new sounds you never noticed before even 30 years later. Artificial intelligence has never rocked so heavy.
I am the beat of your pulse,
The computer word made flesh,
We are one you and I,
We are versions of the same,
When you can see what I feel,
Don’t turn your back on me,
Or you might find that your dreams,
Are only program cards.
Fucking chilling!
“Screaming in Digital” must be counted on any list of Queensryche’s best music. It is sheer genius, far beyond what their hard rock peers were peddling. It was also years ahead of its time. By crossing digital techniques with heavy metal in such an intelligent way, Queensryche truly were breaking new ground.
“I Will Remember” is the final song, a ballad that seems to tie it all together. It has the feel of a lonely ballad, while lyrically tying up the technology concept. “And we wonder how machines can steal each other’s dreams.” Another Queensryche classic, including a genius DeGarmo acoustic guitar solo. Shades of the future “Silent Lucidity” too (also written by DeGarmo).
There are four bonus tracks including the three discussed above. The last one is a 1991 live version of “Walk in the Shadows”, which appears to be a mix of two different performances judging by the credits. Whatever the case may be, it’s cool to get a live version of this incredible song as a coda to the album.
Queensryche took the conceptual approach to its logical apex next time out with Operation: Mindcrime. They ditched the technology and went back to guitars and even added an orchestra. For that reason, Rage For Order is very unique in the collection. It was a sound they have never repeated. Operation: Mindcrime had a sequel, but Rage For Order never will.
5/5 stars
QUEENSRYCHE – American Soldier (2009 Rhino)
There is no doubt that a decade and a half of war has dramatically changed the United States. In 2009, Queensryche decided to deal with their feelings by writing a concept album on the subject. It’s something that they do very well, and American Soldier, the finished product, was another ambitious piece of work. Although the album was mostly written by Geoff Tate and his friends Jason Slater and Kelly Gray, in reality it’s the last good album the band made with Tate.
The band interviewed soldiers for this album, and their words are a huge part of the record. The track “Unafraid” opens like this, creating a hauntingly serious atmosphere. At times, the music is toned down, allowing the dialogue to speak. It’s an interesting effect and certainly it works in creating the mood that the band were going for. I think it is also a token of appreciation to the soldiers who defended the country. They had a chance to speak their minds, and be immortalized in music. That’s pretty cool.
The end result is a good album that is not necessarily easy to listen to. There is no “fun” in this music, it is dead serious the whole way through. The intensity burns and you can hear that Tate was focused like a laser on this project. The songs are fine; not Mindcrime quality but I don’t think that anthemic progressive rock would have fit American Soldier. The single misstep is the vocal by Tate’s daughter Emily on “Home Again”. What was meant to be a dramatic, emotional focal point is instead distracting.
Among the best tracks are “Sliver”, a cool opener featuring an actual soldier (A.J. Fratto, a 14 year vet) barking orders with the music. Fratto ended up touring with the band in support of this album. Well done, sir! “Hundred Mile Stare” is slow and intense. The hundred mile stare in the song is a variation of the thousand yard stare — a distant look in the eyes a soldier gets after they’ve been in the field too long. “A Dead Man’s Words” is another complex highlight, middle-eastern in style and clearly about conflict in that region. This one is perhaps the most “Queensryche” of the songs, in the sense that you can hear their classic sound at play. This includes a Tate sax solo, something I wished he did more of with the band. Then, for choruses, I have to go with “The Killer”. For sheer intensity, it’s the soldier’s story on “If I Were King”. If you want heavy ‘Ryche, then “Man Down!” is the track for you.
One disappointing factor in American Soldier only hits you when you open the booklet. Great artwork aside, it’s really too bad that Tate relied so heavily on his buddies to make this album rather than his band. Drummer Scott Rockenfield has two co-writes, and that’s it. Damon Johnson from Brother Cane has just as many co-writes. The rest of the credits are variations of Tate, and producers Jason Slater and Kelly Gray. Queensryche were down to four members at this point, so Johnson and Gray subbed on guitars.
Although Promised Land was probably the most deeply personal Queensryche album, American Soldier is likely the runner up. At least for Tate and his collaborators, there is obviously a lot of their hearts and souls invested in this. Unsurprisingly, it is not an immediate album. It requires time, but it also requires space between listens. There’s no glory here, just stark reality, so take your time.
3.5/5 stars
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