Queensryche - "Condition Human"

Queensryche - Condition Human
2015, Century

1. Arrow of Time
2. Guardian
3. Hellfire
4. Toxic Remedy
5. Selfish Lives
6. Eye9
7. Bulletproof
8. Hourglass
9. Just Us
10. All There Was
11. The Aftermath
12. Condition Human

Let me start this review by first saying, THANK YOU TODD LA TORRE! His addition to the band following Geoff Tate's ouster has reinvigorated these guys. They are full of passion and fire now - it's obvious they are glad to be Queensryche again. The real Queensryche - writing real Queensryche songs, instead of being Tate's mediocre vanity project. This fire was apparent on the self-titled release from 2013, but that album - while enjoyable- was rushed and light. This one however... for me it's the best album since Empire. The band is on point here and the album is much more substantial than the previous offering. It's full of great instrumentation and strong hooks. Just one listen to the blistering opener, "Arrow of Time" and you just know - Queensryche is back. Some people say that this album sounds a little like Empire or Promised Land but I disagree. I don't think it sounds like the previous albums (save for shades of "Anybody Listening?" in the title track). I think it sounds fresh, new, and modern. It's like we got an album from an alternate universe where the Hear in the Now Frontier and later never happened. I particularly like tracks like "Bulletproof" where La Torre just belts it out with all of his heart.

I don't think the album is perfect, though. I do think the lyrics aren't quite to the quality standards of the heyday of Queensryche. At times they seem a little generic and don't quite pack the punch that one might be used to from the classic albums. Also, the cover are and liner notes are really dark and a bit hard to read (a nitpicky gripe to be sure). Still, while I don't think this is quite a "classic" it shows a definite upward direction for the band. Honestly, I think the next one is going to be the definitive La Torre-era album and I heartily look forward to it. Until then I will enjoy this album secure in the knowledge that Queensryche's name and legacy is in good hands.

Useless Fact: Fear not, Tate fans! Tate still has a mediocre vanity project. It's called Operation: Mindcrime and the debut album, The Key, should come out... at some point. Don't ask me when because I neither know nor care.

Queensryche - "Queensryche"

Queensryche - Queensryche
2013, Century

1. X2
2. Where Dreams Go To Die
3. Spore
4. In This Light
5. Redemption
6. Vindication
7. Midnight Lullaby
8. A World Without
9. Don't Look Back
10. Fallout
11. Open Road
BONUS TRACKS
12. Queen of the Reich (Live)
13. En Force (Live)
14. Prophecy (Live)

Queensryche is back. For reals. Frequency Unknown does not count. This new album, featuring three original members and new vocalist Todd LaTorre, is more passionate than the band has sounded since Promised Land. While it does return to the more metallic style of the first five QR albums, it really does have its own identity. Tracks like "Redemption" and "Vindication" are great metal tunes while others, like "A World Without," are slower and more melodic. Each song has a monster hook and the entire album just vibrates with an intensity I haven't heard in a long time. Todd LaTorre's vocals are stellar. He does a better Geoff Tate than Geoff Tate does. The deluxe edition features three extra live tracks (similar to Frequency Unknown's rerecords) which rock. While the extra tracks on Tate's album showcase just how flaccid his voice has become, the live tracks here do the exact opposite. The band is tight and LaTorre just owns the material. However, there are a couple of things that annoy me. Both "X2" and "Midnight Lullaby" aren't songs but noisy "interludes." I don't think they add anything to album - they are the very definition of filler. I would have preferred something more along the lines of "Waiting For 22" or something but I think that was Chris DeGarmo's department. The other problem with this album, it's too short! Not counting the interludes the album has nine tracks making the album clock in at about a half an hour. That seems a bit light for a band whose albums have always been very substantial. These are minor quibbles though. Overall, I think Queenryche has knocked it out of the park and if the judge doesn't award them the QR name in November it will be a miscarriage in justice (sort of... I know there's more important things out there).

Useless Fact: The deluxe edition also comes with a patch, guitar pick, buttons, and a sticker in addition to the extra live tracks. It also comes in a fancy big box.

Queensryche (Tate Version) - "Frequency Unknown"

Queensryche - Frequency Unknown
2013, Deadline

1. Cold
2. Dare
3. Give It To You
4. Slave
5. In The Hands of God
6. Running Backwards
7. Life Without You
8. Everything
9. Fallen
10. The Weight Of The World
11. I Don't Believe In Love (Re-recorded)
12. Empire (Re-recorded)
13. Jet City Woman (Re-recorded)
14. Silent Lucidity (Re-recorded)

So I guess there are two Queensryches now. One of them features most of the original musicians and new singer Todd LaTorre and is releasing an album in June. The other one features vocalist Geoff Tate and whoever can stand to be around Geoff Tate long enough to release an album. Tate's version, Tatesryche recorded Frequency Unknown in six weeks or so and shoehorned it onto shelves. I guess Geoff just had to beat the other guys to the punch. I picked this up because I was kind of hopeful. I was hopeful that Geoff would really bring his A-game. I was hoping he'd give us this dark, progressive album that truly tested his own mettle and challenged the boundaries of music like he's always claiming. I was hoping he would totally rock this and out of all the feuding and nonsense we'd get two awesome Queensryche albums. Unfortunately, that is not what happened...

See, if you're going to show up your former band-mates  I would think you would want your absolute best songs. I would think you'd want to wait for the competition to go first, giving you the edge. I would also think you would make an album that was...y'know... really good. Frequency Unknown isn't awful but it's just so full of wasted potential. While I like quite a few of the tracks, nothing really rises above "average." "In The Hands Of God" and "The Weight of the World" are two exceptions that could have been really awesome if more time would have been taken. But who am I kidding? That's pretty much the story of this album - a complete rush job using the Queensryche name to spite Geoff's former band-mates. "Dare" is quite clearly aimed at the other guys. It's all kind of juvenile if you ask me. Especially since Queensryche has always been known as an intellectual band.  Also, Geoff's voice has not aged well. He sounds shaky and strained throughout the disc. This is not the album you put out if you're trying to lay claim to the true 'Ryche throne.

And as if that wasn't enough, the album includes a few re-recorded versions of 'Ryche classics. Naturally, all this does is to showcase how flaccid the preceding material really is. It also pretty much puts to rest any notion that Geoff can still sing rock. During "I Don't Believe In Love" as the song builds up to the rippin' chorus, Geoff can't even be bothered to sing it. The vocals just drop out into background vox. Lame. Totally lame.

Useless Fact: I think the other band was originally going to let Tate keep the name. They were known as Rising West for awhile. Also, in case anyone missed it: Frequency Unknown.... F.U.... yeah... you stay classy Geoff. *rolls eyes*

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.

Queensryche - "Empire"

Queensryche - Empire

1990/2003, EMI

1. Best I Can

2. The Thin Line

3. Jet City Woman

4. Della Brown

5. Another Rainy Night

6. Empire

7. Resistance

8. Silent Lucidity

9. Hand on Heart

10. One and Only

11. Anybody Listening?

Bonus Tracks:

12. Last Time in Paris

13. Scarborough Fair

14. Dirty Lil' Secret

Queensryche makes no attempt to compete with the success of Mindcrime. Empire has no theme, no concept, it's just an album full of solid stand alone songs which ended up being the most commercially viable music they'd ever made. MTV played "Silent Lucidity" and "Jet City Woman" constantly - enough to make someone hate those songs. In fact usually if someone says their favorite Queensryche song is "Silent Lucidity" I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes. That's not to say this is a bad album...far from it! I don't quite listen to this one as much but it's still a good commercial hard rock disc. Empire also boasts the finest bonus tracks of any of the reissues. So good, in fact, that they could have been on the album originally and you'd never know the difference. I especially love the moody take on Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair."

Useless Fact: "Last Time in Paris" was on the Ford Fairlane soundtrack. The band also made a home video around this time called Building Empires which I have. It's a good collection of the band's videos up until that point though it's definitely heavy on Empire material naturally.

Queensryche - "Operation: Mindcrime"

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime

1988/2003, EMI

1. I Remember Now

2. Anarchy - X

3. Revolution Calling

4. Operation: Mindcrime

5. Speak

6. Spreading the Disease

7. The Mission

8. Suite Sister Mary

9. The Needle Lies

10. Electric Requiem

11. Breaking the Silence

12. I Don't Believe in Love

13. Waiting For 22

14. My Empty Room

15. Eyes of a Stranger

Bonus Tracks:

16. The Mission (Live)

17. My Empty Room (Live)

So I hear this is the album that finally broke the band into the mainstream. MTV played 'em. They were featured in magazines. Man, wish I could have been there for that. Operation: Mindcrime is probably one of the finest concept albums this side of Ayreon. It succeeds in doing one important thing - tells an engrossing and compelling story. At the end you'll feel like you've been on a roller coaster ride. For those completely unfamiliar, the story is about a drug addict named Niki. He gets mixed up with an anarchist movement and falls in love with a nun. There's more detail of course but I don't want to spoil it. I want you to go out right now and buy yourself a copy. Then you are to sit in your smoking room in your smoking jacket with a nice cigar and glass of wine and enjoy an hour or so of complete awesomeness. Aside from the story this disc also has some rippin' tunes with hooks big enough to catch Jonah's whale. Back in the day "I Don't Believe in Love" was my jam... before I got married. This is my second favorite just behind Rage and it occasionally changes places with it depending on what mood I'm in.

I'm going to take a minute to do you a favor. Don't bother with Operation: Mindcrime II. It's not that good. It was supposed to answer the question "Who Killed Mary?" but I never got the answer to that through the lyrics. Also, the music is nowhere near as interesting and the story completely unravels at the end. I'm not even sure what the point of the thing was other than to sucker old fans to check out Queensryche's new sound. Newsflash guys: there's a reason we don't listen to your new stuff.

Useless Fact: The band made a video for "Eyes of a Stranger." It's pretty cool. It sums up the story quite nicely.

Queensryche - "Rage For Order"

Queensryche - Rage For Order

1986/2003, EMI

1. Walk in the Shadows

2. I Dream in Infared

3. The Whisper

4. Gonna Get Close To You

5. The Killing Words

6. Surgical Strike

7. Neue Regel

8. Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)

9. London

10. Screaming in Digital

11. I Will Remember

Bonus Tracks:

12. Gonna Get Close To You (12" version)

13. The Killing Words (Live)

14. I Dream in Infared (Remix)

15. Walk in the Shadows (Live)

This remains my favorite Queensryche platter. The band isn't quite as heavy on this one and they've left behind all the soldier/war/fantasy lyrics and traded them in for a darker, gothic sound. The lyrics this time deal with order in the government and for more than a few songs - vampires. I think this is the one CD where they really starting to come into their own in terms of writing hooks. I can sing just about every song on here from memory and Tate's voice is just mind bogglingly powerful. The soaring choruses of songs like "Neue Regel" and "London" never fail to move me. "Screaming in Digital" is amazing (ever so slightly industrial) as is the album closer "I Will Remember" which I think is the best ballad they've ever done (not "Silent Lucidity"). The bonus tracks on this one are pretty cool. "The Killing Words (Live)" is from MTV's Queensryche Unplugged I believe. The only one that's kind of crap is the 12" version of "Gonna Get Close To You." Basically it's the same song with a few choppy edits in there.

Useless Fact: This disc has a cover variant featuring the banners in a blue marble color. If you just can't sleep tonight without seeing it head over to Scott Waters' (Ultimatum) site, nolifetilmetal.com and peruse his Queensryche page. I think he's still got it up there.

Queensryche - "The Warning"

Queensryche - The Warning

1984/2003, EMI

1. Warning

2. En Force

3. Deliverance

4. No Sanctuary

5. NM 156

6. Take Hold of the Flame

7. Before the Storm

8. Child of Fire

9. Roads to Madness

Bonus Tracks:

10. Prophecy

11. The Lady Wore Black (Live)

12. Take Hold of the Flame (Live)

Sometimes I wish I could have been born a little bit earlier. I first heard this album around 2003 or so when this reisuue came out and I really wished I would have been able to hear it when it first came out. It would have been so different from what was out there before - especially considering what most bands were singing about at the time. Granted, it's not too terribly different - swords and sorcery and war. There's a little electronica in "NM 156" about a robot and emotions which foreshadows "Screaming in Digital." Geoff Tate's voice is on point here - heck, he practically invented a style that's been copied by numerous bands (especially Christian ones) like Deliverance, Sacred Warrior, and Veni Domine. While I don't go back to this one as much as some of the others I still believe it is a smokin' metal album. Not quite as heavy as their debut EP, but good all the same.

When I got this I was showing it to a college friend of mine and made a remark about Tate's facial expression in the artwork - puckered up like he was either a) a tough dude or b) going to kiss his grandmother. He dubbed it "The Pucker of Justice."

Useless Fact: This reissue contains "Prophecy" which I don't believe was ever on any official album that I know of - only the Live in Tokyo video.