-- Queensryche --

[naturalsciences101]

Queensryche, at its best, was a band tailor made for fans of classic Heavy Prog and Psychedelia, a la Rush and Pink Floyd. There just happened to be the unfortunate coincidence that this band rose to prominence during the dreaded Kokk Rokk era. So, those who never looked any deeper than just the 'hair' and a few hit singles really did believe this group to be lumped in with the other trash outfits dominating the charts at the time. I've mentioned Q in passing conversation and had people reply, "Were they something like Poison or Skid Row?".

 

Nothing could be further than the truth. Albums like Rage For Order and Operation: Mindcrime are works meant to win the hearts and minds of the believers. The next recording, Empire, is the document used to evangelize their cause to the masses....Why the religious analogy here? Because, Queensryche's music was seen as such by me during that painful Kokk Rokk era when concepts like 'quality' and musical 'integrity' were unused currency in the popular culture. Most newer bands were absolutely bankrupt when it came to conjuring up a little innovation, depth and intensity.

 

Guitar work had become so weak with the mainstream Metal acts by the end of the 80's that groups had all but given up trying to compose a decent song. As long as a great 'guitar solo' could be found somewhere amidst each three and a half minute song, most bands felt like they had done their job. I couldn't believe what I was hearing from most bands. I remember how much more satisfied I was listening to the guitar work evidenced on things like The Cure's Disintegration and The Cult's Sonic Temple than anything coming from so-called Heavy Metal.

 

But, then there was Queensryche. Their music seemed to be completely unphased and untarnished by the influence of mainstream Rock and Metal acts. Their compositions truly sounded at odds with everything going on at the time. They were heretical, while still having an instant accessibility to them, insuring that their audience would swell with each release. And, the emotional and intellectual content of the songs were much stronger and deeper than anything else out there. But, then again, that wasn't too difficult to surpass at at time when you had tunes like 'Funky Cold Medina' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' all over the airwaves. lol. Queensryche were being dubbed the "Thinking Man's Metal Band' by the music press.

 

Queensryche weren't a band to cave in to commercial pressures. Nope. No way, man. Not Metallica, not them either....Yeaaah, right. Well, they did. And, just like with Metallica, I believe that they initially did it with some class, and a large degree of personal integrity. But, just like with Metallica, their next, really BIG album happened to be delivered on the heels of a really lengthy, really progressive piece of ART. Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime has come to be known as one of the significant and truly enduring pieces of art in Heavy Metal's huge arsenal. Like a few other worthy titles from the era, such as Metallica's "...And Justice For All" and Megadeth's "Rust In Peace", Q's O:M is totally uncompromising in every way...But, that was way back in 1988, and that's a long way off.

 

The band gave us 'Empire' next and displayed to everyone that they could do an equally significant number on the charts as they did with our minds. The album spawned hits like the title track, Jet City Woman and Silent Lucidity. But, this recording was much more than just its hit singles. And the highly nuanced production techniques that went into the making of it had a lot of industry folks taking notice and speakng about this group's great potential for a long and satisfying future.

 

That future never happened for the band because 'Grunge' and 'Alt-Rock' moved in and changed the entire landscape for everyone. Not only did Q NOT reinvent themselves into something which could compete in this new music scene, like contemporaries like Anthrax did , but they actualy decided to move more towards that dying form of balladeering which was the bread and butter of the KOKK ROKK bands...those groups whom Q always stood out in contrast against. The next title, Promised Land, another concept album with potential, had a handful of good songs, but then it also had tunes like, 'Bridge' and 'Lady Jane' which just weren't going to fly alongside songs by Prodigy, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie and The Offspring.

 

Queensryche tried played catch-up on their next title, 'Hear in the Now Frontier'. Instead of reinventing themselves, they took the easy route and just emulated a bunch of similar styles heard on modern, American radio. This is where I jumped ship. They continued to suck outright for the next several years. Each subsequent release saw the band get lighter and lighter in their approach, mimicking each and every move made on the Pop charts. Until, finally, they were forced to ask themselves that famous existential question, is there "Anybody Listening?", which was answered only by the chirp of crickets. Just like Metallica, they had disappointed far too consistently to be deserving of any faithfulness/loyalty.

 

But, they completely astonished me with the news of, and then the reality of - Operation: Mindcrime 2. The original release is such a fundamental piece of who I am and my total worldview that it's hard not to mention its name without crossing myself with the sign of the holy trinity. It's regarded by me as a work of God. Let me just say that when my childhood buddy and I heard the news that Q was going to tackle this O:M 2 project, and that the direction for the project was going to be far more progressive than anything they'd ever attempted before, we were both of the same opinion...that the band should have directed their attention and efforts to a totally new concept, a new endeavor, leaving to rest the storyline of O:M.

 

We both concurred that the directional shift was an awesome idea, but we couldn't understand why they hadn't charted this path a long time ago, back in the early 90's, after Empire. If they had, they would have been as tight as Rush or Dream Theater by now. So, they F'ed up bigtime, and they're probably regretful themselves over the bad career decisions which have probably cost them a significant portion of their fan base and a bunch of money. But, it really seems that a bunch of folks were pumped for the O:M 2 project because my local Best Buy had stocked rack upon rack of copies of the new release. It sold well and was also a critical success. I truly hope that everyone here has a copy of both the original and the sequel.

 

And, I don't think it was until I actually opened the packaging that I discovered that DeGarmo was not a part of the equation. That totally bummed me out for a while, because if there was ever a project for him to come back on board for, this was it...But, despite his absence, I thought the album flat out smoked...Oh, not on the first spin, nor even on the fourth. But, eventually, when the whole thing came into focus, and I was able to seperate this project from the epic, original which spawned it. When I was able to see things objectively, and not in the shadow of anything else, nor with any unreal expectations, I then began to feel that the band had truly nailed it. Plus, of equal importance, Queensryche had totally recaptured the essential sound/tone of the original. There's a distinctive style of production used on the first record and they recaptured that sound. With almost twenty years separating the two, that's no small feat.

 

In my estimation, 'Ryche had made up for all past disappointments and failures with the release of O:M 2. I thought that they had really nailed it...Well, apart from the miserable three track introduction, and, of course, almost the entire last 1/3 of the piece. lol. This might make it seem like I only really dug a portion of the thing, but, it was a significant portion. I guess that I was really only impressed with the real core of the album. I believe, Tracks 4 through 10 to be every bit as intense and well-written as the original. The pacing and flow is almost immaculate during this seven song sequence...

 

This sequence, if detached and lifted from the larger piece, builds tension on par with the orginal release, with each smaller sub-section just naturally giving rise to the next. This portion of the album is 'progressive' in a totally non-contrived way. What's stinks for Tate and Co. is that they didn't let the piece ebb and breathe just a little bit after the Tate/Dio climax at the end of The Chase...Then, rebuild the tension and intensity one more time for another climax at the end of the album. Because, the way it stands now, everything seems rather anticlamactic after the Tate/Dio peak. The last third of the album is rather uninspired sounding, and it loses it's alignment to the storytelling structure as set forth on the original Mindcrime album. This portion of the piece sounds more like Q2K or Tribe than a portion of O:M 2.

 

If the band stays within the parameters of their O:M 2 sound/direction on the upcoming 'American Soldier'release, then I'm confident that the overall effect will be just as coherent and compelling as their last successful concept album, Operation: Mindcrime 2. If they lose bearing and make another directional drift back towards their Q2K or Tribe sound, then all bets are off...and, I wash my hands of these guys once again. I sincerely doubt that I'd waste time coming out to see them live again if they did make that move. I'll tell ya one other thing for sure...I've had enough of both O:M 1 and 2 live at this point...and, I'm sure that the band feels the same. On the 'American Soldier' tour, I'd like to hear everything but Mindcrime. I guess that even means being ok with some of the 'Hear in the Now Frontier' material...Aw, heck, bring on some "spOOl" and "Chasing Blue Sky". Whynot.

 

Sorry about the size of this post. It's probably the longest in TRF history. I just began writing about a band I once truly believed in, and, well, I kinda lost control. lol. I haven't heard anything from this 'American Soldier' project yet. Has anyone? If so, please tell us about it. Also, please direct me to a site where I can catch a listen.

 

 

[thesweetscience]

Not the longest ever........

 

Queensryche gets alot of love here especially all the material from Empire on back. Mindcrime was/is a masterpiece.

[Xanadoood]

They were very much a great band who went against what was going on at the time.

 

They DID go with the big hair look , and thats why i believe everyone lumped them in with all the silly stuff coming out of the Sunset Strip. I remember trying to convince the early 90s crowd that ....NOOOO, THEY ARENT LIKE MOTLEY CRUE!!!....But it never worked.

 

 

[ozzy85]

I've listened to them on and off since their first EP. I went to a few of their tours in the '90's. Promised Land was an excellent show and album. They kinda lost me on Q2K.

[Rushman14]

I couldnt get through the topic creator's original post but a good friend of mine works at their label and has heard the new record. She said it's amazing, their best work in years.

 

I'm looking forward to it.

[WCFIELDS]

Loved their early stuff........but kinda like Rush they keep slowly declining......

[metaldad]

RAGE FOR ORDER is my fav

[Drumnut]

QUOTE (thesweetscience @ Feb 24 2009, 06:35 PM)

Not the longest ever........ Queensryche gets alot of love here especially all the material from Empire on back.  Mindcrime was/is a masterpiece.

Ditto that on "Mindcrime". Everytime I listen to Mindcrime, it's like hearing it for the first time all over again. When it first came out, it was in the car CD player for about 3 weeks.

[naturalsciences101]

Oh, snap, kids. You actually did read my Q2K Manifesto. Thanks, brethren. If this was an awards ceremony speech, I'd be forced to say, "You like me, you really, really like me...and my measly two cents." Queensryche was truly a positive force for good...in a bad, bad, mean and malevolent era. I really feel that there was an overarching conspiracy to break my spirit and my will to live during that timeframe...but, happily, I can attest now that they failed. When I thought that things just couldn't get any worser than that Bon Jovi, they came up with just brutal weapons like Warrant and Cinderella.

 

I know now that it was just a test. And a long 'un too. A test of our resilency and of our faith, and a test of our sense of humour. And, God wanted us to win out against the forces of evil. But, in order to do so, we had to take a long, deep breath around 1986 and hold that sucka until 1992. See, most folks thought Slayer and Venom were the devil's music. But, in retrospect it's so easy to see that it was Poison and Jon Jovi.

 

Anyone here feeling good about this new project? Like I said in paragraph 143 above, I do think that this band should have went with a totally new concept before tackling the sequel to O:M. Just because to go with an old, hugely-succesful idea makes it look like you only have one good trick up your sleeve. Ya know what I'm saying? Not that I didn't want the O:M sequel, because it really is solid. It's just rather sad to be forced to reach back in time before looking forward. So, I think that this new project will be a big test for them...Similiar to the test I was forced to endure in the 80's. If they can pull off another largescale concept album, then I think they'll be remembered on a different, higher level....Anyone hear any of the material yet?

 

 

[Rushman14]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Feb 24 2009, 05:15 PM)

RAGE FOR ORDER is my fav

Warning, Rage and Mindcrime, their "Holy Trinity".

 

 

[metaldad]

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Feb 24 2009, 07:23 PM)

QUOTE (metaldad @ Feb 24 2009, 05:15 PM) RAGE FOR ORDER is my fav Warning, Rage and Mindcrime, their "Holy Trinity".     and the E.P that started it all

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Feb 24 2009, 07:23 PM)

QUOTE (metaldad @ Feb 24 2009, 05:15 PM) RAGE FOR ORDER is my fav Warning, Rage and Mindcrime, their "Holy Trinity".     It's a funny, funny, strange little thing, but I just could never get into WARNING. I've given the thing a multitude of spins too. It has much more to do with the production than any of the material. It just has the absolute worst production, man. As wrong as that thing sounds to me, the next guy, Neil Kernon, got it absolutely right. The mix given to 'Rage For Order' was truly innovative. He gave the band somewhat of a futuristic spin that no one else would have thought of giving to a Metal recording.   This guy Kernon has worked with everyone from Hall & Oates to Cannibal Corpse. But, of significance, he once again delivered a project and a production that was truly innovative. When I heard the one and only Spiral Architect album for the first time I got the same feeling as I did back when I first heard Rage For Order. The music of SA is far more progressive than anything by Q, probably the most progressive album ever recorded, but the production has a very similar feel. It's hard to describe. You'd have to hear both together...If anyone knows of any other Kernon-produced titles that they really dig, please pass on that info.   Can't get into Warning, but have recently been giving attention to the EP. I love the raw sound of the fledgling band. Same goes for Anthrax's and Metallica's first efforts. Been listening to that stuff, and putting it up against material from Diamond Head and Angel Witch. You hear how the British NWOBHM thing came over here and how the American bands tweaked the formula and reinvented the wheel. The re-release of the Q EP gives us a bunch of early live versions of the Warning material.       01 - Queen of the Reich 02 - Nightrider 03 - Blinded 04 - The Lady Wore Black 05 - Nightrider (Live in Tokyo) 06 - Prophecy (Live in Tokyo) 07 - Deliverance (Live in Tokyo) 08 - Child of Fire (Live in Tokyo) 09 - En Force (Live in Tokyo) 10 - Blinded (Live in Tokyo) 11 - The Lady Wore Black (Live in Tokyo) 12 - Warning (Live in Tokyo) 13 - Take Hold of the Flame (Live in Tokyo) 14 - Queen of the Reich (Live in Tokyo)

[Fat Organ]

QUOTE (naturalsciences101 @ Feb 24 2009, 07:57 PM)

QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Feb 24 2009, 07:23 PM) QUOTE (metaldad @ Feb 24 2009, 05:15 PM) RAGE FOR ORDER is my fav Warning, Rage and Mindcrime, their "Holy Trinity".     It's a funny, funny, strange little thing, but I just could never get into WARNING. I've given the thing a multitude of spins too. It has much more to do with the production than any of the material. It just has the absolute worst production, man. As wrong as that thing sounds to me, the next guy, Neil Kernon, got it absolutely right. The mix given to 'Rage For Order' was truly innovative. He gave the band somewhat of a futuristic spin that no one else would have thought of giving to a Metal recording.   This guy Kernon has worked with everyone from Hall & Oates to Cannibal Corpse. But, of significance, he once again delivered a project and a production that was truly innovative. When I heard the one and only Spiral Architect album for the first time I got the same feeling as I did back when I first heard Rage For Order. The music of SA is far more progressive than anything by Q, probably the most progressive album ever recorded, but the production has a very similar feel. It's hard to describe. You'd have to hear both together...If anyone knows of any other Kernon-produced titles that they really dig, please pass on that info.   Can't get into Warning, but have recently been giving attention to the EP. I love the raw sound of the fledgling band. Same goes for Anthrax's and Metallica's first efforts. Been listening to that stuff, and putting it up against material from Diamond Head and Angel Witch. You hear how the British NWOBHM thing came over here and how the American bands tweaked the formula and reinvented the wheel. The re-release of the Q EP gives us a bunch of early live versions of the Warning material.       01 - Queen of the Reich 02 - Nightrider 03 - Blinded 04 - The Lady Wore Black 05 - Nightrider (Live in Tokyo) 06 - Prophecy (Live in Tokyo) 07 - Deliverance (Live in Tokyo) 08 - Child of Fire (Live in Tokyo) 09 - En Force (Live in Tokyo) 10 - Blinded (Live in Tokyo) 11 - The Lady Wore Black (Live in Tokyo) 12 - Warning (Live in Tokyo) 13 - Take Hold of the Flame (Live in Tokyo) 14 - Queen of the Reich (Live in Tokyo) I love the Warning but agree on the production. too much reverb on the guitars and the recording in general. I believe they used the guy that produced The Wall. It didnt really work. That being said, there is alot of killer stuff on The Warning.

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (Fat Organ @ Feb 24 2009, 08:05 PM)

I love the Warning but agree on the production. too much reverb on the guitars and the recording in general. I believe they used the guy that produced The Wall. It didnt really work. That being said, there is alot of killer stuff on The Warning.

Oh, snizza, you're telling me that Bob Ezrin was on board for (Global) Warning, as it was being called? I don't think he would have done such a crappy job. He's usually on the ball, that Ezrin cat.

 

 

[HemispheresserehpsimeH]

[metaldad]

QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Feb 25 2009, 08:50 AM)

Not to mention Geoff's voice. I mean, I didn't think he could sound worse than O:M2 but he does sound worse.

that is because he can't sing like he used too, at all. i have been going to see them live since THE WARNING tour. no more high notes for him. the only time they play the real classic old songs is when they do not have a choice. when they tour with MAIDEN and PRIEST they have no choice but to play songs from THE WARNING and the E.P. GEOFF has soooo many problems with these songs that he stops half way thru songs like TAKE HOLD OF THE FLAME so the crowd can sing. sad

[Necromancer]

Reich has always been one of my faves. I got ahold of The EP when I was in my freshman year of college. It was 83/4 and I was listening to Quiet Riot and Crue at the time. A guy down the hall let me borrow the ep and I was HOOKED. Been a huge fan ever since. I've seen them live a ton of times and have never been disappointed.

 

OM2 was not that good, but it was still neat to hear a few times. If it comes up on shuffle, I don't turn it off or anything, but I don't go out of my way to jam to it. I hope the new release restores them to some higher level of prominence.

[Rushman14]

QUOTE (Necromancer @ Feb 25 2009, 07:12 PM)

Reich has always been one of my faves. I got ahold of The EP when I was in my freshman year of college. It was 83/4 and I was listening to Quiet Riot and Crue at the time. A guy down the hall let me borrow the ep and I was HOOKED. Been a huge fan ever since. I've seen them live a ton of times and have never been disappointed. OM2 was not that good, but it was still neat to hear a few times. If it comes up on shuffle, I don't turn it off or anything, but I don't go out of my way to jam to it. I hope the new release restores them to some higher level of prominence.

The most disappointing thing about OM2 is the production.

[Rushman14]

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (metaldad @ Feb 25 2009, 10:07 AM)

QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Feb 25 2009, 08:50 AM) Not to mention Geoff's voice. I mean, I didn't think he could sound worse than O:M2 but he does sound worse. that is because he can't sing like he used too, at all. i have been going to see them live since THE WARNING tour. no more high notes for him. the only time they play the real classic old songs is when they do not have a choice. when they tour with MAIDEN and PRIEST they have no choice but to play songs from THE WARNING and the E.P. GEOFF has soooo many problems with these songs that he stops half way thru songs like TAKE HOLD OF THE FLAME so the crowd can sing. sad I don't know if I would say, "sad", like the guy had something and then went and blew it out of carelessness. Tate had one of those kind of voices which are very hard to maintain. He's definitely not an abuser of drink or drugs, so those things couldn't be blamed for any of the deterioration. His voice just changed, plain and simple.   And, I don't know what the band as a whole could have been thinking, but they all changed, and for the worse, around the time of Promised Land. Well, they went the mainstream route the album prior, but it was done with class at least. Things got real tired for them after Empire though. They didn't even attempt to do something different.   The mid-90's were real conformist though. Bands nowadays will just do what they want because they know the mainstream is just phuckin sad. So, that's why ya got Q going back and trying out some old clothes.   metaldad, do you think they did something of quality with the O:M 2 recording? Do you at least agree that the seven tracks from track 4 through 10 were on point? Plus, I really thought that Tate's voice was sounding the best it had been in several years on these 7 core tracks.   I STILL have not heard a damn single track from the new project. Every link is a dead end for me. If anyone has found a good link, please post it here.   Rushman 14, thanks for the backstory on the recording of Warning. Didn't know any of that stuff. Like I said in my intital posting for this thread, I really feel that Q were a band with great potential that made some bad decisions and wasted some of their most creative years assembling material that they though was going to fly with a mainstream audience...Now, ya got a situation where Tate is attempting to make up for lost time with some ambitious projects. Problem is that he lost one of his most important collaborators, and the other one has long past his peak. So, he's pretty much going it alone. I really like a big part of O:M 2 and I'm hoping and praying that they deliver something of similar quality again, at least once more.

[ozzy85]

1982-83 I was subjected to the EP for about a month straight in my buddie's pickup truck. (You shoulda seen the stereo in that damn thing.) That was my initiation. Fine music. Smart metal. From our neck of the woods, near Seattle. Yes, we were proud.

 

Voice deterioration? Well... age. People's voices thicken with age. Plus, Tate has been a cigarette smoker for quite awhile. That's just gonna affect things.

 

Production values in the '80's?... I didn't notice. That's the bands sounded back then.

 

Long live the 'Ryche!

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (ozzy85 @ Feb 26 2009, 11:20 PM)

1982-83 I was subjected to the EP for about a month straight in my buddie's pickup truck. (You shoulda seen the stereo in that damn thing.) That was my initiation. Fine music. Smart metal. From our neck of the woods, near Seattle. Yes, we were proud. Voice deterioration? Well... age. People's voices thicken with age. Plus, Tate has been a cigarette smoker for quite awhile. That's just gonna affect things. Production values in the '80's?... I didn't notice. That's the bands sounded back then. Long live the 'Ryche!

Ahaha. I remember taking the EP down with me to Daytona Beach, Spring Break 1988, still in H.S. Abused my young pal with that cassette, a couple Metallica titles, Sabbath's Mob Rules and a few hardcore punk titles like Crumbsuckers and Murphy's Law. Playing the same things over and over drove him nuts, bonkers. He wasn't into Metal at all, liked Springsteen for cripes sake. He's a heavy, robust fella with just a big, bellowing laugh when he gets too high on the pots.

 

So, we were just hanging out by some lake, drinking beers, smoking the pots, and upset because the girls that his young Aunt was trying to get to hang out with us never showed up. Unbeknownst to me, the young, fat lad had taken a Hall & Oates cassette out of his Aunt's car and placed the thing carefully into the deck of my boombox whilst I grabbed a beer, or maybe emptied one from my bladder.

 

He musta thought that I would approve of such a move, as a fair change of pace from all the heavy, rambunctious tunage. But, I was angered that we were now approaching the midnight hour and there wasn't a single female to be had, on this, on our very first Spring Break. How would we go home and face the other pimply lads without a good tale?

 

Alls a suddens we hear...Ya know, ya kiss, ya kiss, is on me list, ya kiss, ya kiss, I can't resist. My eyes widened, and, without hesitation, I grabbed the cassette out of the deck and whipped it with great force and fury across the lake, just like a common, skimming stone. Well, I guess this story loses most of it's impact when you don't know the guy of which I speak here.

 

But, let me tell ya this, the laugh which becamest and blasted forth from this rotund and merry young lad was literally enough to get some resident surrounding the lake to call Security on us. This friend's Stoner Laugh was so forceful and loud and persistent that it preceded him everywhere.

 

The laugh was so fierce and terrible that it literally used to rupture bloodvessels in his eyes. No joke, son. He would have to go to the doctor on occasion because of all the ruptured blood vessels. It gave him the scariest look. A single eye would be stained with blood. He looked demonic. But, he'd soon smoke more pots and do some more damage.

 

And, this was from laughter alone. Everyone should grow up with a cat like this fella. It made my teen years an absolute blast. Oh, and his aunt was schitt outta luck the next time that she went to put on her Hall & Oates cassette. H & A now sleep with the fishes now. Long Live 'Ryche.

 

 

[Rendclaw]

Without DeGarmo, they are not the same band. His skill set as a guitarist is too unique to be replaced by anyone.

 

OM2 should have been made at least ten years ago, after Empire or maybe even Promised Land. They waited too long. They had two monster albums, and a decent one with Promised Land. It should have been done then.

 

OM is I think their masterpiece. No matter what they did after that, anything else was not going to equal that pinnacle. Empire was a great album in its own right, but it was admitted by DeGarmo himself that they wrote the album the way they did because they didn't want to write OM2.

 

 

[naturalsciences101]

QUOTE (Rendclaw @ Feb 27 2009, 02:43 AM)

Without DeGarmo, they are not the same band. His skill set as a guitarist is too unique to be replaced by anyone. OM2 should have been made at least ten years ago, after Empire or maybe even Promised Land. They waited too long. They had two monster albums, and a decent one with Promised Land. It should have been done then. OM is I think their masterpiece. No matter what they did after that, anything else was not going to equal that pinnacle. Empire was a great album in its own right, but it was admitted by DeGarmo himself that they wrote the album the way they did because they didn't want to write OM2.

Quite a number of assertions are put forth here by our friend. Seven to be precise. I agree with five of them. One I flat out disagree with. The other I don't quite understand. 1. Without DeGarmo they certainly are not the same band. Wholeheartedly agreed upon. Much of who they are is because of him. 2. O:M 2 should have been made at least ten years ago. This would have ensured DeGarmo a place at the table. Tate's voice would have been in better shape. Rockenfeld would not be entirely bald....Sure, yeah, ten years ago or more would have been better for all parties involved.

 

3. They waited too long. Well, I guess this statement lets us know what you though about the O:M 2 project. I believe that it exceeded expectations. Especially that core block of 7 tracks in between track 4 and 10. I thought that an intensity level very similar to O:M 1 was established and maintained within the parameters of the tracks cited. I feel that the album was, overall, a success. FAR BETTER than everything after Empire. 4. They had two monster albums, and a decent one with Promised Land. This is the one I don't quite understand. I have to assume that you're saying that O:M 1 and Empire are the monster albums. I also then have to assume that no one has ever turned you on to the absolute majesty of Rage For Order. This recording is easily on par with the other two cited. RFO is what made me a fan. I was a teen who wanted nothing to do with modern music at all, let alone hair metal. RFO made me a total believer. I love O:M, but it would be a tough go to argue that it's much better than RFO. I think most 'Ryche fans would argue that the band maintained a really high level for three albums. It's just the matter of which is the third that folks would dispute. Some would argue for Empire, some for Warning.

 

5. O:M is their masterpiece. OK, sure, sounds good, agreed. 6. No matter what they did after that, anything else was not going to equal that pinnacle. Yes. Highly unlikely. 7. Empire was a great album in its own right, but it was admitted by DeGarmo himself that they wrote the album the way they did because they didn't want to write OM2. A factual tidbit which I can't confirm. Sounds about right though. The booklet which comes along with Empire states that they just wrote whatever came to mind at the time of the Empire sessions. The only difference was that when it came time to record, they did away with all of the progressive and interludy bits, leaving behind only the basic, core tracks.

 

1. Without DeGarmo, they are not the same band. His skill set as a guitarist is too unique to be replaced by anyone.

 

2. OM2 should have been made at least ten years ago, after Empire or maybe even Promised Land. 3. They waited too long. 4. They had two monster albums, and a decent one with Promised Land. It should have been done then.

 

5. OM is I think their masterpiece. 6. No matter what they did after that, anything else was not going to equal that pinnacle. 7. Empire was a great album in its own right, but it was admitted by DeGarmo himself that they wrote the album the way they did because they didn't want to write OM2.

 

[Prince Sphinc-Tor]

QUOTE (Drumnut @ Feb 24 2009, 07:22 PM)

QUOTE (thesweetscience @ Feb 24 2009, 06:35 PM) Not the longest ever........ Queensryche gets alot of love here especially all the material from Empire on back.  Mindcrime was/is a masterpiece. Ditto that on "Mindcrime". Everytime I listen to Mindcrime, it's like hearing it for the first time all over again. When it first came out, it was in the car CD player for about 3 weeks. I gotta agree as well, I had in my CD player 'till I knew practically note for note....LOVE IT!!!!