“Operation: Mindcrime” of course had been a hit, in many people’s eyes the zenith of the band’s career. The follow up “Empire” was not as bombastic overall but infused the maturity the band was progressing towards to create a collection of songs that somehow combined the quiet introspective with the hard and heavy outbursts into the one collective album. The tours to promote both of those albums continued to sell, and so it was some time before the band truly worked on the follow up. Writing and preparing had begun as far back as August 1992, but with burn out being a factor after almost ten years on the road and in the studio, the process took longer than expected.
Having had so much success with their heavier faster music, but also the success of the single “Silent Lucidity” from the “Empire” album, an acoustic and strings dominated song that reached top 10 in the US, the diection of this new album was always going to be of interest. Add to this the changing landscape of music in the early 1990’s and the fact that Queensryche WAS a Seattle band, along with the continual evolving of the band’s sound over their first four albums, and the most likely result was going to be an album that again changed course slightly from where they had been before. The end result was something more than probably anyone could have predicted.
"9:28 A.M." is a concoction of sounds and noises used as an intro to the album, recorded by drummer Scott Rockenfield to create an atmospheric opening into the first song proper. Most will have their own opinion as to whether it works or whether it just sucks a minute out before you finally move into that following track "I Am I". Perhaps that was necessary to prepare you, because this isn't the most interesting song Queensrÿche has ever recorded. Vocally it comes across fine, but as a song it still seems to be lacking something. The fact that Chris DeGarmo is using a cello and even a sitar during this song gives it a very middle eastern sound, the first inference that a change in the band’s musical stylising is underway. It’s a middling beginning. This segues immediately into "Damaged", which is by a long shot the best song on the album, though at this stage of the album that may be a talking point. It is the closest by far to a traditional Queensrÿche song, and really should have been a springboard for the rest of the album, the lead off to be followed by the strong middle section of up-tempo songs. Instead, we get "Out of Mind" which is a soft acoustically based ballad, with the lack of power immediately noticeable. This song is solely composed by de Garmo, who perhaps was looking for another “Silent Lucidity”, which this definitely isn’t. Then it is on to "Bridge" which provides more of the same, once again composed by de Garmo, with lyrics that are about his relationship with his father who passed away during the recording sessions for the album.
"Promised Land" and "Disconnected" are almost a throw back to the past, to the 1960's and 1970's when the progressive rock movement was taking shape, and was all about songs like this. It was once mentioned to me that the music here is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, with the big musical expanses with little occurring except the progressive-like freeform instrumental extensions. No doubt some members of this band use Pink Floyd as an inspiration. I am not a big fan of that band or those types of passages. Geoff Tate even contributes saxophone on both of these songs. At almost 8 minutes in length the title track feels far too long, while “Disconnected” is an apt title. It’s more about a collection of sounds like those gathered for the opening instrumental track, with that freeform style and Tate’s saxophone taking over. These are difficult songs to get on board with.
"Lady Jane" reintroduces the piano element and still misses the mark by a long way. It’s another de Garmo solo composition, and by this stage it is plainly obvious that he is heading in a different direction than what he had written for previous albums.
The closest the band comes to producing anything remotely interesting and like their earlier work (apart from "Damaged") is on a song such as "My Global Mind", where Tate's doubled harmony vocals are joined with a slightly more noticeable solid rhythm and then a brief spurt of the harmonic guitars. But even here we move along in a stagnant mood, hardly getting out of first gear, before having the reflecting middle section again. "One More Time" ends that journey as well, delving back into places that have some familiarity with past glories. Then we have "Someone Else" which is the album closer and is performed only by Tate on vocals and DeGarmo on piano. It is a hundred miles away from what you would expect. Compare it to the closer on the previous album, "Anybody Listening?" That had everything, and was such an uplifting song that you couldn't wait to play the album again. Here, with no band backing, only the piano, it is almost like signifying the end of a funeral. In many ways, looking back from this distance, perhaps that is exactly what it was doing.
By the time 1994 had arrived, Queensrÿche had made an indelible impression upon my music loves. Their first three albums had improved on each other, the latter of those which by now had reached legendary status, whilst its follow up had taken a little more time to grow on me, but before too long had also reached a status of invincibility. It had been four years since the release of “Empire”, and now finally the follow up was being released. Aware that I had put too much pressure on the last album early, expecting it to be a masterpiece like the album that had preceded it, I was adamant that “Promised Land” would not be judged too quickly or harshly by myself, that I would give it the time required to grow on me and no doubt become as indispensable as those other Queensrÿche albums had become.
To be honest, I am glad that I took this approach with this album, because on those first couple of listens when I first put the CD in my stereo, I could easily have taken it out, put it back in its cover and thrown it out the window, never to listen to it again. If not for Geoff Tate's distinctive vocals, I would barely have believed that this was a Queensrÿche album. To say it was a shock would be understating the disbelief that I had while first listening to the album. It wasn't a shock, it was SHOCKING! Where were the drums?! Where were the duelling guitars?! Where was ANYTHING that resembled the Queensrÿche I had come to love? Surely this was a mistake, that I had been given the wrong CD in the wrong cover? Yes, I could easily have put this back on the shelf never to be pulled out again, but I recalled my promise, my need to give this album time to grow on me like “Empire” had, and to then become as beloved to me as that album is. So, I kept giving it every chance - at work, in the car, at home. I gave it my best, and for a period of about two weeks I listened to this album at least once a day, more often at least three times a day. The result was that, despite my best efforts, I could find nothing on here that could draw me back to this album.
The power of the music has been eradicated from every song on this album. There is little to nothing remaining of the metal element that made their previous albums so enlightening, so unique and so listenable. Yes, they are a Seattle band, a city that harboured the majority of the grunge movement that had become so popularised over the past five years, but they pre-dated this movement, and had had success with what they were doing, so surely there is no point in trying to use this as a reason why the band's sound has changed so significantly on this release. It can only be surmised that the writing team of Tate and DeGarmo had decided this was the direction they had wanted to go in.
The production of this album is also credited to the band, along with James Barton, which means that they had the hands on the wheel in the way the album was recorded, the final proof if any was needed that this is exactly what the band wanted when it came to this album.
I have been through the painful and difficult task over the last two weeks of having this album on again, hoping against hope that this time around I would find something – ANYTHING – that would make this a joy to listen to. I have suffered for my art once again, as I have listened to this all the way through almost a dozen times, and each time it has been like being force fed a plateful of Brussel sprouts and cauliflower. This album reeks, and it always has. I can join the dots and see how this album eventuated, with the combination already discussed of writers changing their desire, of the music scene flipping on its head, and the changing nature of the band from album to album. It’s all there for you to see – in hindsight.
There must be fans out there who love this album, and I am happy for them for that to be the case. Personally, if I never have to listen to this album again, then I will be a slightly happier person overall.
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