By Avinash Mittur
The last few months have been a trying time for Queensrÿche fans. There are of course, two bands currently operating under the name: one led by world renowned singer Geoff Tate, and another armed with the new vocal powerhouse that is Todd La Torre. Last month, Tate released Frequency Unknown with his lineup of Queensrÿche; the version of Queensrÿche with La Torre on the mic, and original members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield in tow, are set to release an album of their own on June 25th. This self-titled album is a tough record to offer a fair critique on. It’s an album that attempts to appeal to several disparate audiences, and finds a mixed level of success as a result.
Let’s get this out of the way right now- Queensrÿche is quite easily the best album to bear the name of the band since Tribe, if not the nearly two-decade old Promised Land. Now it’s not like these guys had a very high standard to beat, the Queensryche albums since the latter record have been patchy at best and comically awful at worst. After the throwaway instrumental intro ‘X2’ passes by, the first full track ‘Where Dreams Go to Die’ opens the door in earnest with an epic sense of ambition that hasn’t been heard from Queensrÿche in years. Jackson’s growling bass is back in a big way, and Wilton and his young foil Parker Lundgren delight with a tasty harmonized solo near the track’s end. That being said, ‘Where Dreams Go to Die’ builds to huge climax that just never happens. As a result, it ends up sounding like a four and a half minute long intro, rather than a fully fleshed out song. It’s a flawed song, but this track alone sounds more like Queensrÿche than anything the band has released in years, and it boasts more effort and conviction from the band than anything off of Dedicated to Chaos.
Thanks to a restrained yet powerful performance, La Torre lays any concerns about his abilities to rest. The man gives a wonderful show all throughout Queensrÿche, with the highlight being a passionate vocal for ‘A World Without’, a song that completely nails the heavy yet melodic sound that the band defined on Rage For Order. La Torre thankfully avoids a Geoff Tate imitation, opting instead to sing in his natural voice and register. The guy sounds relaxed, comfortable and confident throughout the album as a result- as far as I’m concerned, La Torre has given fans one hell of a first impression with his singing on this record. What is unfortunate about the vocals on Queensrÿche certainly isn’t the performance however, it’s the layers of digital effects that La Torre is under. This processing hurts what are otherwise outstanding vocals, with the biggest offender being ‘Redemption’. The effects and processing during the chorus of this track make me cringe every time it’s played- the chorus’ attempt at a huge poppy melody unfortunately induces a similar reaction. This track and ‘In This Light’ see Queensrÿche trying a bit too hard to appeal to a broader crowd, and are the biggest misfires on this record.
The vocal effects are unfortunately not the only issue with the production. Though it’s nice to have Jackson very audible in the mix, he nearly always drowns out Wilton and Lundgren’s guitars. That leaves their high melodies to take the lead, and more often than not, the songs sound weaker as a result. Sadly, the most obvious example of this is the best song on the record, ‘Don’t Look Back’. One can hear Wilton and Lundgren’s driving riffs hiding under the bass, just waiting to pop out and take control. Luckily, the sheer quality of the track wins over the production. On this song, La Torre lets out a rare and astonishing scream before a genuinely badass dual lead from Wilton and Lundgren. This is the moment that fans of Queensrÿche the heavy metal band have been longing for- for a few short minutes, the blazing guitars and soaring vocals we fell in love with on Queensrÿche’s classic records are back. The momentum continues with ‘Fallout’, an up-tempo rocker that perfectly updates the heavier side of Queensrÿche to the 21st century. ‘Fallout’ is an all-around killer modern metal take on the Queensrÿche sound- a lightning quick solo from Wilton and a popping performance from Rockenfield are merely icing on the cake for this great track. Rockenfield shines all throughout Queensrÿche; he propels ‘Vindication’ with an active and busy performance, in spite of a chorus that sounds too upbeat for the biting lyrics and aggressive guitars. Rockenfield’s drum parts on Queensryche are frequently creative and dynamic, his toms jabbing the listener out of nowhere Muhammad Ali-style. The guy is an endless pleasure to listen to, and winds up being the unexpected MVP on Queensrÿche.
Queensrÿche is a very flawed record, but it’s easy to forget that the band has really gotten so much right this time around. Wilton and Lundgren have written some of the coolest and most tasteful dual solos in the Queensrÿche catalog for this record, while the great songs are the best the band has written in twenty years. ‘Don’t Look Back’ and ‘Fallout’ are easily the most kickass tracks Queensryche have laid down since the 1980’s, while ‘Open Road’ and ‘A World Without’ absolutely succeed in capturing the mature and emotionally resonant facet of the band. Queensrÿche is the closest these guys have come to recapturing their former glory in the studio in forever (they’re already back on their game live, that much is certain). However the short length, problematic production and polarizing tracks may result in fans finding just a couple songs that they enjoy out the nine full ones offered. In other words, this record comes off as unfocused when the intent may have been for it to have been all-encompassing. In a way, Queensrÿche was damned no matter what. Too many heavy hitters and they would be accused of regression, and too many dramatic ballads would put the denim and leather crowd to sleep. It was the balance of heavy metal, progressive ambition and emotion that Queensrÿche nailed in spades on Operation: Mindcrime, Rage For Order and The Warning, and it’s that balance that this band needs to find before they can knock out another truly classic record.
Queensrÿche is a massive step in the right direction, but it may not be enough to fully win back the audience that they want, whomever that may be. For the readers of this site, for fans of heavy metal music, maybe a Judas Priest analogy would work best. We were hoping for a Painkiller, an intensely focused, no-bullshit restatement of purpose. Instead what we’ve got here is a Point Of Entry, a record that hints at greatness but suffers from a lack of consistent direction. Queensrÿche certainly isn’t a bad album, but it isn’t the all guns blazing comeback some of us so badly wanted either. For the first time in forever though, I can sincerely say that I look forward to seeing where these guys go next- I’d call that a victory.
Rating: 7/10
Record Label: Century Media
Release Dates:
June 24th 2013 (Europe)
June 25th 2013 (US/Canada)
Track Listing:
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
Deluxe Edition Exclusive Tracks:
12. Queen of the Reich (Live)
13. En Force (Live)
14. Prophecy (LIve)
15. Eyes of a Stranger (Live) (Japanese-exclusive bonus track)
Links:
queensrycheofficial.com
facebook.com/QueensrycheOfficial
twitter.com/queensryche