Monday, July 1, 2013

Back for More: A Tale of Two Queensryches

In this ongoing series, we catch up with artists who made their mark in the 80s. Many of them are still alive and kicking!

Queensryche is a progressive hard rock band that formed in 1982 and pounded out some classics in the genre throughout the 80s. They hit their stride and broke through to the mainstream as the decade closed with the phenomenally successful record, “Empire”. Never able to surpass this summit, the band has slowly slipped down the mountain into near obscurity where only the most dedicated fans dared to tread. There have been some moments of genius in those years and a fairly well-received sequel to their landmark “Operation: Mindcrime” epic, but the flashes of brilliance have been too few and far between for most. The band imploded in 2012 for reasons that are still coming to light, but the result was lead singer Geoff Tate leaving to form his own version of Queensryche. Meanwhile, most of the other founding members continued by replacing Tate with Todd La Torre (Crimson Glory) and calling themselves Queensryche. There’s plenty material available online if you want to read the dirt about the split resulting in two Queensryches – we’re just here to voice our take on their music.

Queensryche “Frequency Unknown”

First out of the gate was Geoff Tate’s Queensryche with their album “Frequency Unknown”. The first song showcased off the record as a single was “Cold”, which pretty much sums up the reception that greeted “Frequency Unknown”. The record was trashed for bland songs and a horrible mix, the latter of which Tate quickly moved to address. It also didn’t bode well that some of the musicians working with Tate bailed due to artistic differences. Listening to the record, Tate largely continues the sound of recent efforts by the band – in other words, gloomy and lumbering. If you enjoyed Queensryche for the last decade or so, this record should satisfy somewhat, but there is nothing here that comes close to the 80’s material. The record was a chore to listen to, but I did find some elements of “Cold” and “Everything” enjoyable. 



Queensryche “Queensryche”

Todd La Torre’s Queensryche begins their chapter with a self-titled record. As the record rips into a much more muscular single, “Where Dreams Go To Die”, three things are quickly evident: 1) La Torre is a dead-ringer for Tate, actually sounding more like a younger version of him. 2) This version of Queensryche is clearly more energized and inspired – the songs come at you hard and fast with blistering riffs and thunderous percussion. 3) There is a great deal more of the early Queensryche coming through in the songwriting, along with a heavier dose of the melodic elements that made “Empire” and some of the songs from “Hear in the Now Frontier” so great. In addition to the first single, some other great tracks include “Spore”, “Redemption”, and “Vindication”, some of the best songs I’ve heard out of Queensryche in a long time.

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