Queensryche - Empire
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Free Music Notes for Empire
Free Music Review: Queensryche
Hit: 5 Stars
Received the CD of Queensryche. It was in mint condition. Have been enjoying it since.Free Music Review: My first Queensryche album.
Hit: 4 Stars
If you already read my reviews you've probably seen I reviewed Mindcrime before this, but this is my first real Ryche album. When I first heard it I wasn't blown away. But now that I'm a huge Ryche fan I've decided to give this CD another shot and now I really like it. Although this is not as great as the phenomenal Operation: Mindcrime which by far I consider to be their best album and one of the best albums mever made by anyone, or even as Rage For Order this comes after those 2 as their 3rd best album in my book.
First off they didn't sell out here, they have just changed their sound. C'mon now, do you want them to make 20 copies of RFO with different titles? So they have here a few love ballads, it doesn't make this hair metal. The sound here is still great and as a matter of fact this is the last great Ryche album since everything without DeGarmo [stunk] and even Promised Land wasn't that great either. The keyboards here are a bit more prominent than in the previous stuff. Geoff still shows here why he's one of the best metal singers. Mike Wilton and Chris DeGarmo also did here a fine job, and maybe in some moments even better than in Mindcrime. Although this is still not very technical (Ryche has never gone in that way) but there is still a lotta great melody here.
Now to the songs. The album opens with a killer opener and with my favorite song on the album 'Best I Can', it starts with a weird intro but then it becomes awesome with an amazing chorus and it has also a great guitar solo. 'Jet City Woman' is another fan favorite and the biggest hit of the album. The title track and 'Anybody Listening?' are also great. As I said before there are also som ballads here like 'Another Rainy Night (Without You)'. All the tracks here are good, although I never really cared for 'Della Brown' and 'Silent Lucidity', but they're not horrible.
All in all though, this is another great performances by one of the finest metal bands. And it also shows that even if they go a bit mainstream they can still be very good (which is rare for a metal band, the only other metal band I can think that has done it is Megadeth). I would first recommend Mindcrime but if you're a fan already this is also a must have classic.
Free Music Review: Commercial breakthrough.
Hit: 4 Stars
Riding high on the creative wave of "Operation: Mindcrime", Queensryche returned to the studio to put together "Empire", what would be their commercial breakthrough.
Unlike most commercial breakthroughs though, this one doesn't have that feel nor the accusations of sellout-- in fact, the band simply kept developing along the lines of their own idiom, but after the massive encompassing storyline on Mindcrime, this was an album of songs, loosely based around themes of society and relationships. Musically, its similar in Mindcrime in that the metal backdrop has become largely a backdrop on which the menagerie of styles and sounds can be overlaid. As a whole, its a bit lighter in tone than Mindcrime was.
The strength of this album lies in its variety, there's great compulsive rock pieces on here ("Best I Can", "Jet City Woman"), some superb Queensryche styled metal (the title track), a few really breathtaking ballads (the album's hit, "Silent Lucidity", a piece deserving all the accolades it gets, homelessness ballad "Della Brown"), and at least one purely ecstatic love song with some great riffing ("One and Only"). As if that wasn't enough, album closer "Anybody Listening?" is in many ways the summation of the band's entire catalog (and history) and is one of the best they've ever done. Admittedly the album has its weak moments ("Resistence" is a step backwards and "Hand on Heart" is just awful), but its really quite an effort.
The remaster, again featuring crisp, clean sound as the rest of the series, is augmented by three bonus tracks-- the goofy "Last Time in Paris" is a lot of fun but admittedly a throwaway and "Dirty Lil Secret" was a b-side for good reason, but their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" is fantastic-- haunting, dark, and powerful.
This may not be the best thing Queensryche has ever done, but its awfully good, and its a great place to start with the band. Recommended.
Free Music Review: My introduction to Queensryche . Something Different and GREAT!
Hit: 4 Stars
Empire was my first exposure to this band. I was 16 and a typical teenager of the time but did not care for much of the Bon Jovi, Poison, and Warrant CRAP music which was ruling the airwaves. Queensryche offered something different. Intelligent lyrics, great intricate guitar work, a powerful rythm section and a vocalist who has a voice as distintive as a fingerprint. Resistance, Silent Lucidity, Empire, and Anybody Listening were then and are today still great pieces of music. Silent Lucidity really is Queensryche's best song taking a clear Pink Floyd influence and making it distinctive and truly their own.
I admit some of the songs sound a little too 80's generic love/relationship songs like Hand on Heart, The Thin Line, and Jet City Woman the latter having great Zeppelin style guitar in the begining of the song. Only One is a love song of the era but saved by great dual guitar work from Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton. Empire proved to be Queensryche's most mainstream album while keeping the classic Queensryche sound they found on Rage for Order and kept through the very dark and beautiful Promised Land. Empire truly is a great even though not quite classic album form a band that in 1990 was at the top of their game comming off their masterpiece landmark album Operation Mindcrime.
In conclusion Queensryche has always I think been just fine with the notion of being different from the typical norms of Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Alternative, and Pop Rock and while critics and many of their loyal fans seem divided about their albums they have continued to make music with emotional depth and a musical quality which will always have a loyal even if thin fan base. I do think the loss of the unique Queensryche sound on albums like Rage, Mindcrime, Empire, and Promised Land did hurt them with fans and critics however their latter work still has some good material and flashes of true brilliance. Empire is definately worth a purchase.
Free Music Review: Queensryche - The Band Hit Their Commercial Peak, But A Step Down From Mindcrime
Hit: 4 Stars
From a sales perspective "Empire" would be the band's biggest seller. Coming off the artistic and commercial success of "Operation Mindcrime" Queensryche were on a roll and "Empire" proved just the ticket. Personally I think it is a minor step down from "Mindcrime" as there are a few filler tracks to be found here, but overall it is a very good Queensryche album. The band scored an unlikely hit with it's Pink Floyd like "Silent Lucidity" ballad. This track is about as far from metal as you can get and once again displayed Queensryche's unique versatility. "Jet City Woman" and "Another Rainy Night" were also big hits, both decent songs but definitely cut in a more commercial mode. In addition to the hits there are several excellent album cuts to be found. The opening track "Best I Can", the almost jazzy "Della Brown, the politically charged title track "Empire", and the finale "Anybody Listening" all outstanding definitive Queensryche. The rest of the album is all ok, but leans in an unfortunate direction that the band would move down in the future. "Empire" was the band's commercial peak and the tour they did to support it was a full mega production that was an awesome spectacle to behold. This is not the band's best album, but it is certainly worth owning.