Queensryche - "Promised Land"

Queensryche - Promised Land
1994/2003, EMI

1. 9:28 AM
2. I Am I
3. Damaged
4. Out of Mind
5. Bridge
6. Promised Land
7. Dis Con Nec Ted
8. Lady Jane
9. My Global Mind
10. One More Time
11. Someone Else?
Bonus Tracks:
12. Real World
13. Someone Else? (Band version)
14. Damaged (Live)
15. Real World (Live)

Queensryche has always been kind of pretentious. I think most of that's due to Geoff Tate. Well, since ol' Geoffy took the reins on this one the pretentiousness kind of went into overdrive and it hasn't abated. They had all this success with Empire so what do they do? Turn around and write a song like "Promised Land" about how fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Puh-lease. Give me a break. Would you like some cheese with your whine Geoff? You didn't have to be famous! But anyway... about the music. They slowed it down quite a bit here. This isn't power metal or hard rock, it's sort of a mish-mash of hard rock, alternative rock, and some Pink Floyd-esque experimentalism. Does it work? Eh... sometimes. "Damaged" actually sounds like the Queensryche we know and love and I like "Bridge" and even the introspective "Out of Mind." Oh, "Dis Con Nec Ted" is pretty interesting too. However, "Promised Land" as I said, is a bloated, boring examination of fame and "Someone Else?" is a "meh"-tastic piano ballad. The bonus tracks here are similarly forgettable. I pretty much lost all interest in anything Queensryche after this and I came to the party pretty late so that's saying something.

Useless Fact: "Real World" was on the Last Action Hero soundtrack. Yeah, I don't care either.