In 1990, Queensryche had the onerous task ahead of them, to follow up arguably the greatest concept album of all time, Operation Mindcrime. It was one of those albums that you couldn't help looking forward to.
Did they pull it off? Everyone's opinion will differ, but I think they nailed it.
The entire mood of this album is so different from Mindcrime, and I remember that the first couple of times I listened to it I wasn't able to get past that nagging feeling that it was inferior. Once I got through the initial fear, and just let the album run through me, I found it was an amazing mixture of moods. From the opening of “Best I Can” to the slow sleepiness of “Della Brown”, from the brilliance of “Another Rainy Night (Without You)” to the deepness of the title track “Empire”, from the strains of the ballad “Silent Lucidity” to the power of the closing track “Is There Anybody Listening”, Empire is a gem of an album. Certainly, it is different from most of my other favourite albums, in that it is not an out-and-out heavy metal album. But the music and lyrics are superb, and makes no attempt to clone their success on their previous album.
Memories: Playing this album in the dark, laying on the floor of my bedroom, and letting the album sweep through me, back when it was first released. To me, this is the optimum position to be in when playing this album.
Rating: A sensational follow up to continue their success. Alas, it was also their last great album. 5/5.
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