One middle-aged headbanger goes where no man has gone before. This is an attempt to listen to and review every album I own, from A to Z. This could take a lifetime...
Given the output on the previous two
albums, I was beginning to ask myself where it was all heading for Black
Label Society, and whether or not I was going to continue on the ride.
While I wasn't looking for a clone of Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath
music, I certainly wasn't looking for a lot of the stuff that had been
prevalent in recent times either. Still, I was never going to find out
for myself unless I went out and bought the album, and so I did, and
prepared myself for what was to come.
You can't criticise people
when they look at performing in a different style or genre of music than
you would prefer to hear from them. Sometimes people change, or
sometimes their preferences change. Some people are just so talented on
more than one instrument that they want to be able to showcase that on
their albums. And there's no doubt that Zakk, apart from being a
wonderful and innovative guitarist, is also a talented piano player. So
when you start having piano based tracks coming onto Black Label Society
albums, it's not something you can be particularly surprised about. And
it's not as if I despise them either, because Zakk plays them well. But
it is difficult to put on an album that mixes the style of songs so
much that there is no cohesion. It messes with the mood you are in when
you are listening to it. I need to have a solid base around what music
I'm listening to depending on the mood I am in. That is practically
impossible when you listen to Mafia. There
is a bit of everything here, and while the hardcore fans of the band
will most probably love it, I find it too mixed to be completely in love
with it. The first half of the album (for the most part) restores my
faith a little in the capability of Black Label Society to put out a
great album. "Fire It Up" goes for the slow grind that is reminiscent of
some early BLS songs, and is followed by "Who's In You" which retains
the same mid-level tempo but removes the grunge from the guitars and
allows the song to play freer and with more space. "Suicide Messiah" is
an atypical BLS song, featuring Zakk's grating vocals over a slowish
tempo rhythm with his solo dominating over the top. "Forever Down" works
well in a similar way. "You Must Be Blind" fades into the song that has
already started, a great way to get going, but then it stops and starts
in tempo too much (as is Zakk's way in a lot of his songs) when to just
continue along would have improved it to no end. "Say What You Will" is
the shining light of the album. If the whole album had been more in
this direction it could have been a classic. The other songs are all
okay without showing anything outstanding. However, when the piano
creeps in it changes the whole mood of the album. "In This River" is
nothing but piano and a little guitar thrown in for good measure. And
let's repeat most of the lyrics over and over again. "Dirt on the Grave"
is more of the same, piano driven muzak. Like I have said, the songs
themselves aren't terribly bad, and if you listened to them as part of
an album of similarly performed songs you would no doubt enjoy them
immensely. But when you hear them in the context of an album that is for
the most part supposed to be guitar driven riff filled hard and heavy
songs, it just isn't a good fit.
This isn't meant to be a
negative review in regards to the quality of the content of the album,
but I certainly question the variety of the content that is found here.
On an individual song basis, the songs here are the best that Black
Label Society has put forward since 1919 Eternal.
The musicianship across the board is fabulous, with everyone performing
fantastically. But when you want to mix the band's well-known brand of
heavy material with the complete change of spectrum of piano driven
retrospective songs, then it's more a case of not pleasing everyone, but
dividing those that you are trying to please. The end result may have
trouble in gaining a majority verdict for either party.
Rating:I'll give you everything beyond the truth. 3/5
Given that Rob Halford had returned to
Judas Priest some years earlier, and that two albums had been released
since the reformation, is it unusual that Halford himself still felt the
need to go out and release another album on his own? Was he not getting
enough fulfilment from his band, or was it that he enjoyed being able
to express himself away from that writing partnership? Or was it just
that he enjoyed being busy and releasing music, while the output of
bands as they get older always tends to wind back. Whatever the reason,
here is the fourth album under the Halford banner with the message
plainly stated in the title - Made of Metal.
The fact that this
is a return to his successful partnership with the influential Roy Z as
producer and co-writer is also significant, and it is also a delight to
have him playing on the album as well. Roy Z's influence in the solo
careers of both Halford and Bruce Dickinson is beyond significant, and
his ideas are always worth hearing in a musical sense. I particularly
love his guitar solos, there is just something about them that appeals
to me. Metal Mike Chlasciak returns on the second guitar and blends in
beautifully with Roy. Mike Davis on bass guitar and Bobby Jarzombek on
drums provide the perfect platform in the rhythm section. To the
album itself, and to be honest it is a mismatch of styles here, and all
of it seems to be either fighting to set itself aside from his work with
Judas Priest, or then on the other hand deliberately trying to align it
self with that work. The songs blend from the faster and heavier songs,
to the mid-tempo chorus sing-along songs, to the slower and more
reflective tunes that, depending on your own tastes either work
amazingly well or just slow down the progress of the album. I guess you
know my feelings on this by now. "Twenty Five Years" would be the case
in point. This song is molasses-slow and long, stretching out beyond
seven minutes with barely any respite or excitement. Judas Priest made
this mistake with "Loch Ness". I know there are fans out there who will
love this, but it just doesn't fit the profile at all. Why have a song
like this, and then follow it up with "Matador", which rattles along at a
faster pace with a solid riff, double kick drums and attitude in
Halford's vocals. I admit I don't get it, but it isn't the only instance
on the album. Having started off at a cracking pace with songs like
"Undisputed", "Fire and Ice", "Made of Metal" and "Speed of Sound" there
is a bit of a change in a song like "Twenty Five Years". Still, it is
his album, and Rob should certainly be free to explore all his options
when it his own release. It is still amusing that his first album under
the Halford moniker, Resurrection
sounded more like Judas Priest than Judas Priest did at the time. Now
however, a decade onwards, and both sides have slipped into this
slightly more comfortable arena. Ignoring my moaning over one
particular song, this is a solid release once again. He doesn't over
extend his vocal range apart from in "The Mower" but the attitude and
strength is still there in spades. "Heartless" is a good example of
this, its not a racy song but Halford's vocals followed by the ripping
guitar solos make it worth listening to. "Hell Razor" is similar, with
the guitars starring in a repetitive lyrical conglomerate. Roy Z's
influence is easily heard in most of the songs that he co-wrote here,
especially in "Made of Metal", "Speed of Sound" and "Thunder and
Lightning", the harmonic guitars and layered vocals give these songs
their own style.
The positives far outweigh any negatives I might
have come up with here on this album. Certainly, in my opinion, this is
better than the two reunited Priest albums that came before this was
released. It allows the band to showcase their own skills with their
iconic frontman on centre stage, and while it may not be as furious as
one may have preferred, there are still highlights to listen to and
enjoy.
Rating:Reeling you in to a climax crescendo of sound. 3.5/5
It's a difficult task to not only explain
how I feel about this album, but also to give it a rating that is fair
for all of the factors taken into consideration in regards to its
writing and recording. Posthumously released albums are not unusual or
new. Posthumously recorded ones, well that's a different story. Given
all of what went into releasing this album, and the significance behind
it, I still have mixed feelings over this final album release of Queen's
stellar career.
I won't lie to you. When it was announced that
this album was being released, containing material recorded before the
final demise of lead singer Freddie Mercury, I was excited. What kind of
stuff would it contain? What style of music would there be? How much
did Freddie contribute to it? There is little doubt that I expected too
much. Having loved almost everything of the previous four albums as I
grew up in the 1980's, I guess I was expecting it to be a lot like them.
That was never likely to be the case, but hopes ran high. I bought
this on the day it was released, and returned to the home I was sharing
with two of my best mates at the time, and we all listened to it that
night, the stereo booming out into the lounge room with the lights out,
me lying on the floor in contemplation. Then we listened to it again.
From the next day though... well... it probably didn't get quite the
reception that I had envisaged. It wasn't until I actually had the album
in my hands that I was aware of the way that it had been...
constructed. Only three of the songs were close to fully realised in
this time, those being Mercury's "A Winter's Tale", Mercury and May's
"Mother Love" and what would become "You Don't Fool Me". All three are
good songs in an atypical Queen way. Brian sings the final verse in
"Mother Love" as Freddie was never able to return to the studio to
finish recording the vocals, while "You Don't Fool Me" is actually
snatches of vocals sung by Freddie in his final days in the studio, and
then cut and pasted and arranged into a song. Amazing. Other songs
here are original versions of the vocals recorded of songs on other
albums, with the music re-recorded and "Queenified" to make it feel
authentic. Two of those songs, "Made in Heaven" and "I Was Born to Love
You" came from Freddie's solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, "Let Me Live" was recorded during the sessions for The Works album, "Heaven For Everyone" came from Roger Taylor's band The Cross album Shove It,
and "Too Much Love Will Kill You" had originally been planned as a
Queen song that Freddie had sung on, but was eventually first released
by Brian May on his solo album Back to the Light. "My Life Has Been Saved" was originally a B-side to the single for "Scandal" from The Miracle.
In all of these songs, the band and producer David Richards have done a
magnificent job. They sound terrific, and in throwing in bits and
pieces from the past into the mix, it brings the album together as a
fitting tribute to the spirit of Freddie Mercury. Still, given that
there were essentially very few songs that had been completed by the
time of Freddie's death, was this a necessary release? What the band has
done in re-invigorating some other tracks with Freddie's vocals by
recording updated music to them, or pasting and cutting vocals and
grafting them to music, was any of this a necessary device, if only to
have these final recordings of Freddie released as a full album? Could
it have been done in a different fashion? Whatever the case, Freddie
went through a lot in order to do these final recordings, and he
obviously wanted them to find their way into our hands, so we can't be
too hard on the effort that was made to do so. My opinion has
changed over the years in regards to this. From my initial excitement, I
began to feel that this would have been better left alone, and let the
magnificent Innuendo
be the final crowning moment of the band and its wonderful lead
vocalist. In recent times though, I have come to appreciate this release
much more, and enjoy it more and more as I listen to it. I love knowing
the ins and outs of how this was recorded, and hearing the different
versions of those songs that had been recorded before. More than
anything else, I love hearing the band together, and Freddie's voice
resonating from the speakers with the love and joy he had for his music.
This
will never be considered a classic album. It can't, and the
circumstances around its recording is the major reason behind that. But
if you take everything in your stride, and concentrate on the brilliance
of all four members of the band at work, then like me you will be able
to draw enough out of this album to still raise a smile.
Rating:You'd give your life, you'd sell your soul, but here it comes again. 3.5/5
From the very beginnings of my time,
certainly as a kid listening to the radio and the many mixed tapes my
mother would make from the radio and then play whenever she could, music
has been a part of my life. Sure, it took awhile for my own tastes to
evolve into what they finally became, but music was there. And while it
was never anything more than in the shadows, there was always a certain
riff, a certain snatch of music that I was always aware of, but was
never really certain of what it was - just that I knew it, and I SHOULD
know it. It wasn't until my teens that I found out what that song was.
It wasn't until later than that moment that I discovered the album and
band that it was from. And then it was that I fell in love with what is
surely one of the most beloved and important albums of all time - Deep
Purple's Machine Head.
No
doubt a lot of people can't see what all of the fuss is about, and many
will also cite other albums as being more influential, such as Fireball and Deep Purple in Rock. Both are great albums, and I love them both as well, but the whole vibe of Machine Head
flows brilliantly from song to song. There are no dead spots, no halt
in proceedings, no point where you begin to drift away. The whole band
is at its peak, as are the individuals within. The writing and recording
of the album is a great story in itself, and anyone who has not seen
the excellent edition of the Classic Albums series dedicated to this
album should do so, as it is well worth watching. It is almost
impossible for me to try and review an album that is for the most part
considered a classic. As with all albums of this magnitude, while the
best known and legendary tracks are the ones that always stand out and
draw in the punters to take in the album, it is the 'secondary' tracks
that really make this as good as it is, because they have to be able to
attract interest after those big singles or best known songs have done
their job. Those songs here are superb. "Maybe I'm a Leo" jaunts along
in a completely different rhythm to the opening track, but still
adequately portrays that beautiful Deep Purple style, especially Jon
Lord's keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar. "Pictures of Home" is a
pearler, a real forgotten gem. It still ranks as one of my favourite
Deep Purple songs. Everyone gets a chance within the song for their own
little 'solo' break, so that they can showcase their wares. Terrific
stuff. "Never Before" was the first single released from the album,
which although it was perhaps a little strange in choosing it for such a
purpose doesn't make it a poor song. Just not a single. "Smoke on
the Water" is of course the most famous song on the album, containing
Ritchie's immortal guitar riff that every kid who ever picks up a guitar
learns to play. It is still a great song, not only for the brilliant
job of the rhythm section of Ian Paice and Roger Glover and the great
vocal effort of Ian Gillan, but especially the duelling between keyboard
and guitar. "Lazy" is stolen by Lord's magnificent Hammond organ for
the first half of the song, before the guitar comes in to have its say. The
album is bookended by brilliance. The short, sharp and heavy tones of
"Space Truckin'" careers the album to its conclusion, its overtones of a
convoy through the stars combining quite wonderfully with its partner
song which opens the album, "Highway Star". "Highway Star" is still one
of my top ten songs of all time. As much as I always enjoyed "Smoke on
the Water" opening up side 2 of my vinyl copy of Machine Head,
it was this opening that blew me away when I first placed the album on
my record player. You could list fifty other songs at least by Deep
Purple, and I would agree that they are great songs, but for me nothing
comes close to matching "Highway Star". It is pure joy to hear it. The
song barrels along like its namesake, and the individual solo spots by
the keyboards and the guitar are sensational, topped off by the
magnificence of Gillan's screaming vocals. Legendary.
This is
still my favourite Deep Purple album, and that is not just an easy
choice out of the dozen other albums I could name of theirs that could
be in contention for such a rating. This has everything you could want
as a fan of the group, and there are no weak songs here, no filler.
Better yet, everything here still stands the test of time, and sounds as
wonderful today as it did on its release, and certainly as brilliant as
it did when I first discovered it some thirty years ago.
Rating:Yeah it's a wild hurricane - all right, hold tight, I'm a highway star! 5/5
It took me a relatively long time to get around to ever listening to Rage for Order, letting alone owning a copy of the album. I had gone straight from "Queen of the Reich" to Operation: Mindcrime, and then Empire,
and amongst the other hundreds of albums I was discovering and
listening to I didn't make the journey backwards until some years later.
That began with The Warning,
but it wasn't until the disappointment of their albums released in the
mid-to-late 1990's that I actually went to find this album, merely for
the hope of hearing something like the Queensrÿche I knew and loved.
The subtle change in style that occurred with the first two albums progresses again here on Rage for Order. After a quite heavy and fast EP, The Warning
was a much more mid-tempo and progressive album. You can hear on this
album that the band has matured its sound again, still utilising all of
the bells and whistles they have been picking up along their journey,
but moving their music into a clear and defined direction. Listen to
these early albums after each other and you can hear how their sound
develops and refines over that period. Rage for Order sits comfortably in the middle ground between the progressive elements of The Warning and the heavier brilliance that comes forth on Operation: Mindcrime. The
strongest material on this album still holds its own in the Queensrÿche
machine. It starts off with the brilliant "Walk in the Shadows", still
one of my favourite Queensrÿche songs. Terrific harmonic vocals along
with a brilliant riff and solo, it kicks off the album in killer style.
This leaps into "I Dream in Infrared" where the real maturity of the
band comes to life. This segues beautifully into "The Whisper" where
Tate really hits those high notes that make it almost impossible to sing
along with him while listening to the song. I wasn't aware that
"Gonna Get Close to You" was a cover of a Dalbello song. I still don't
really know nor have I heard any of Dalbello's music, so I can't judge
it on that. To be honest this song has never done a lot for me, and the
fact it was the first single off the album is also a little mystifying.
This is followed by "The Killing Words" which also fails to grab me on
both arms and shake me. I think it's the vocal arrangement here that
isn't quite right here, it comes off as repeated moaning more than a
calculated vocal string. The songs aren't bad but they instil in me a
sense of boredom more than anything else. The album lifts again with
the duo of "Surgical Strike" and "Neue Regel". "Surgical Strike" was the
closing song of Side A on the vinyl release, and does a great job of
completing that half of the album. The B side comes at you with some
killer material, starting off with the harder "Neue Regel" and the
faster pace of "Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)", with a great chorus
and then a final fade out of guitar solo over a brilliant rolling drum
beat. From here the slow chanting of "London" thumps its way through the
bass of your speakers, before the seminal "Screaming in Digital"
crashes out of the stereo, harnessing all of the progressive nature the
band has built up, and all of the tricks and detail they have been
throwing out there and meshing them into this three and a half minutes
of total majesty. Just magnificent. The only downside for me is that the
album then finishes with "I Will Remember" which loses all of the
impact the previous five songs have made on you. Sure, write this song,
and play this song. But why place it here when there was so much energy
and passion running through most of the rest of the album, only to have
the ballad at the end to wipe away some of that good feeling that had
been engineered. If anything, it should have come after "The Killing
Words" and allowed the second half of the album to be ruled by those
other songs.
Rage for Order
is an eclectic mix of the powerful and the thoughtful, the hard and the
mellow, the electric and the clear. The progressive metal nature of the
album means that you will be faced by songs that you may not be able to
totally invest in. Certainly for me that includes those songs I have
mentioned as being on the lesser side of my enjoyment. But when you hear
the cream here, songs such as "Walk in the Shadows", "I Dream in
Infrared", "Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)" and "Screaming in
Digital", then you can fully appreciated the brilliance of this band. It
may not be perfect, but it is full of material that is impossible not
to enjoy.
Rating:I can cure the hunger that burns in your heart. 4/5
The Warning
signalled the first full album release from Queensrÿche, following the
release of their EP the previous year. That EP had been full of the kind
of material that heavy metal fans look for, and it's short sharp burst
had fans keyed up to see what would come from the band on their
fledgling debut opus.
It is obvious early on that while the EP had been packed full of the kinds of riffs and solos that set the mouth watering, The Warning
does not go down that same metal path. This is a much more progressive
kind of album than straight out heavy metal. There is a greater variety
of tunes here, with the band not afraid to put in parts that are much
softer and quieter than a traditional metal band would do. And while
there are some great riffs and solos here they don't really match that
initial fury of what was produced on that four track starter. Now that
is not to suggest this album therefore doesn't cut it. In fact there are
some great songs here. But as a fan, I guess I was looking for more
songs that could be directly attributed to those first songs that what
we find here on this album. "No Sanctuary" would be a good example of this kind of conflict for me and The Warning.
It is very much in a progressive, almost power ballad category, where
Geoff Tate's vocals dominate a song as he and his backup singers croon
over clear guitars and keyboard infused music, which slow down to almost
a stop within the middle of the song itself and rendering the drums
almost superfluous. It isn't a bad song as such, but it does not drive
from the kind of song I was looking for here. It was indicative of a
movement in a slightly different direction from what had been promised
by their EP release, and for a long time that really threw me when I
listened to this album. The harder and faster songs are the ones that
I enjoy most here, and the remainder of the first half of the album fit
well enough into this category. Kicking of with "Warning" into "En
Force", the songs most definitely have a more progressive element but
come across well. "Deliverance" is a good, sharp, short jolt, bringing
the best out of an excellent riff underlying the song. "N M 156" closes
out the first side of the album, and combined the experimental aspect
that the band was using along with a more traditional twin guitar and
drums song that utilised those instruments to their full advantage. "Take
Hold of the Flame" is offset by Tate's excellent vocals, but take the
time to listen to Scott's drumming underneath this throughout the song.
He's got all of the tricks happening, and it is a master class for any
aspiring drummers. Most of it would get lost by the average listeners,
but the stuff he is doing here really makes the song. "Before the Storm"
and "Child of Fire" are both average songs, likeable in their own way
without standing out from the crowd. "Roads to Madness" is the lengthy
power-ballad-like song that has a little bit of everything, enough to
both enthral and bore the best of fans. It is the most progressive song
on the album, running through the gamut of emotions for its almost ten
minutes in length, using both the clear and slow with the fast and
electric.
Sitting as it does between the Queensrÿche and Rage for Order,
I can honestly say that it is rare for me to reach for this album if
I'm heading to the "Q" section of the CD cabinet. Both of the other
mentioned albums are ones that I will go for if I am in the mood for
this vintage of the band, and that is purely for the faster, heavier
songs that they possess. As a starting point for the band, it is still
quite listenable with good songs that perhaps serves as the first
stepping stone for the future.
Rating:Now social control requires population termination. 3/5
My first ever introduction to Queensrÿche
was in 1986, when the weekend all-night music video show in Australia on
Channel Ten (wittily titled "Music Video"), which ran from 11pm until
5am on Friday and Saturday nights, dedicated the whole weekend to
playing heavy metal videos. So not only did I stay up both nights
watching them all intently as I looked to increase my catalogue of such
bands, I recorded them all on my VCR as well. On that weekend I first
saw the video for the song "Queen of the Reich", and I was hooked. It
was what made me go out and buy Operation: Mindcrime two years later, and the rest is history.
I
didn't get a copy of this EP until some years later at a second hand
record store, and eventually on remastered CD, but when I did I never
regretted it. The starring role falls to "Queen of the Reich", the song
that got me into Queensrÿche. Geoff Tate's piercing vocals was the first
thing that drew me in, but was quickly followed by the great guitaring
of DeGarmo, Wilton and Jackson, as well as the furious drumming of Scott
Rockenfield. Terrific stuff. While the other three songs here may not
be up to the undeniably brilliant standard set by the opening track,
they are also not daunted by it either. Both "Nightrider" and "Blinded"
are highlighted by great riffs, trademark solos and a metal speed that
is reminiscent of early Helloween, whom they pre-date. Really impressive
songs for a debut EP. This is topped of by "The Lady Wore Black", which
comes across here as a mature track, where the more reminiscent side of
the band comes across without compromising the roots that they have
shown on the other three songs.
This is still a marvellous EP,
showcasing the enormous skills of every individual in the band, and
lighting up a promising future ahead.
Rating:There is no escape, it's the ending of your precious life. 4/5
Continuing on with the sequence of studio album followed by live album, Queensrÿche went forth with this in releasing Mindcrime at the Moore. Certainly it was a unique opportunity, in which the band could perform their seminal Operation: Mindcrime album in it's entirety, alongside its sequel Operation: Mindcrime II
in its entirety, back to back. Well, it seems like a great idea and
historical moment on paper, but is the reality really that awe
inspiring? Besides the fact that if you got to see the entire
performance live you would probably be happy, but is it a release that
is worthy of genuine affection?
The biggest problem facing this is that Operation: Mindcrime
had been performed and recorded live before, back in 1991 on the Empire
tour when the band regularly did the entire album live. It was then
released on both album and video as Operation:LIVEcrime,
and that release shows the band at its peak giving the album the
performance it deserved. Doing this once again, 15 years later, and
missing a vital ingredient in Chris DeGarmo (whose place here is taken
by Mike Stone), leaves it open to a rather harsh judgement. Perhaps that
is a little unfair, because there is an effort to make this more than
just a concert. They have added in actors to do the talk pieces in
between songs and make it more of a stage show. And overall the
musicianship is still good, and the vocals are close enough to the mark
to not make a lot of difference. Yet there is no doubt this has been
done before, and will forever be judged against that recorded
performance. As good as it is here, I will always prefer to put on Operation:LIVEcrime than I will be to put on the first disc of Mindcrime at the Moore. The next problem facing this album is that Mindcrime at the Moore
is but a pale comparison to its prequel, and though the album is fine
in its own setting, it never really had that excitement feel about it,
that it would set the stage alight if it was played live. So I always
felt they would have to tweak it to make it work live, make it faster
and bigger and fuller if it was going to light up the crowd. Well, what
appears to have been done is to slow down those initial faster songs at
the start of the album, to keep the mood in a similar mid-range tempo.
Why? I don't really know, because surely the crowd would have liked to
have gotten into the performance more than was surely possible under
those circumstances. Apart from "Signs Say Go" and "The Chase", the
songs here are quite possibly less enthralling than they are on album,
which is somewhat damning of any live performance. In my mind I guess
the second half of the album had little to no chance anyway, as it is
very dull and lifeless. Still I hoped for better. The positive note
is that this double live album extravaganza does NOT end with the fairly
abysmal "All The Promises", which would have been a real downer for the
crowd (and the listening audience). Instead, we are treated to terrific
versions of "Walk in the Shadows" and "Jet City Woman", when you can
really hear the crowd singing along and enjoying themselves immensely.
This for me is the damning feature of the release. For the most part of
this second CD you can't hear the crowd, but you sure can during these
two songs. Pretty much says it all I think.
The DVD is probably
more entertaining than the CD version, because at least you get to see a
little of what is going on (though mostly it is focused on Geoff Tate,
as in the cover of the album). And your enjoyment of this album is
directly tied to how much you like the two albums which are played here
in their entirety. All in all, it has probably been done better
elsewhere, but as a moment in time it is something I can still pull out
and listen to from time to time.
Rating:By day we'll live in a dream, we'll walk in the shadows. 3.5/5
You could argue that by the time 2004
rolled around Queensrÿche, or the controlling interests of the band at
least, had run dry on ideas. The glory days of the late 1980's and early
1990's had well and truly passed, and the band's sound had done a
complete 180 from progressive metal superstars to grunge/alternative
humdrum. Fans such as myself had pretty much given up on them ever being
able to, or wanting to, regain those early days and produce something
that we wanted to hear. Of course, my friends and I had been joking for a
decade, "why don't they just do a Mindcrime 2?" and then laughing
ourselves into a stupor as to the ridiculousness of that idea. So, when
it came to pass that it was announced that Queensrÿche's next album
would in fact be Operation: Mindcrime II,
there was the thought that perhaps this was the final straw, the last
gasp, of a once great band. But there is always that small part of you
that hopes, in all sincerity, that maybe... just maybe... it would be
the kick start to a reboot, the start of a new era... the return of
greatness...
Hindsight of course is a marvellous thing. Sometime
after this was released, it became clear that the majority of the band,
that being drummer Scott Rockenfield, guitarist Michael Wilton and bass
guitarist Eddie Jackson had had little to no involvement in either the
writing or recording of the album. It had all been through the mind set
of Geoff Tate, recent guitar addition Mike Stone, and producer Jason
Slater. Even initially the 'band' had a different sound on this, and as a
very average drummer, it was pretty obvious to me that this was not
Rockenfield drumming on the album. It was a completely different style
and sound (and as it turned out, programming). Without delving into the
politics of the band as it was at that time (again, with the hindsight
of the recent split and ugliness), can this be considered a Queensrÿche
album if there was really only one member pulling all the strings? In
the tradition of a sequel, this has been structured so that there are
enough little resemblances within the music to make you not only
remember the original but to hopefully then bring some of your love for
that album into this one. The opening instrumental "Freiheit Ouvertüre"
into "I'm American" hopes to invoke "Anarchy X" into "Revolution
Calling" no doubt. The major positive of this is that at least it has in
"I'm American" dragged out of the writers the most energetic and
frenetic song the band has played in 15 years! What a pleasure it is to
finally have a fast tempo Queensrÿche song back on the menu! This
continues for the most part through the early part of the album, with
"One Foot in Hell", "Hostage" and "The Hands" all move along reasonably
well and connect both musically and within the framework of the story.
"Speed of Light" halts this progress somewhat, though "Signs Say Go" and
"Re-Arrange You" kick along again with the kind of energy and drive
that has been missing from the band's music for a long, long time. Did
it really take going back to see what made Operation: Mindcrime work to realise this is the kind of direction the fans wanted to see the band head? I
can't say I am overly enamored by the story. Nikki goes through a
rather clichéd line of leave jail - angry confused - caught again - no
'justice' - escapes - plans to kill Dr X - chases Dr X - kills Dr X -
still not satisfied - am I going insane? - suicide will help - commit
suicide - live happily ever after in afterlife with murdered
prostitute-nun. Really? The only part of that storyline that would
really interest anyone would be the eventual confrontation with Dr X, so
there is a lot of filler story before and after that. That
confrontation, as portrayed in the album's best track, "The Chase",
truly comes to life with the appearance of Ronnie James Dio as Dr X, and
his presence immediately brings the story and album to life. His duel
with Geoff Tate as Dr X and Nikki here is the absolute highlight of this
album. The problem that follows this is that nothing else can match
this, and to be honest the remainder of the album slides away from this
point. The excitement of this song overshadows everything else, and
because the story becomes more reflective and tragic once Dr X has been
disposed of, the music and songs move in that direction as well, and
away from the hope of mirroring anything as brilliant as was found on
the first edition of this story. "A Murderer" works okay, but after this
we have songs like "Circles" and "If I Could Change It All" that fall
into the morose style that might fit the story but don't befit an album
sequence. By the time we get to the closing track, "All The Promises",
the album slides away with a whimper rather than an impact, emphasising
the difference in the two versions of the Mindcrime albums.
There
is little doubt that is was a bold move to go ahead with this concept.
It had the potential to not only be bad, but also damage the enormous
reputation that the original album had built. I don't think anyone had
grandiose visions of this being as good as the original (except maybe
the writers and composers, but that's another story), but there was at
least one positive. In trying to be faithful to the original album, the
writers had to produce heavier and faster songs than they had been in
recent years, or else it would not have worked at all as a 'rock opera',
which surely was what Tate was after. Thus, we had some reasonable
songs come our way closer in style to what the fans of Queensrÿche would
have expected. The result of this is that this is certainly a more
listenable album than anything they have produced in years previous to
its release. Though it does not come close to the original, it at least
showed some positive signs, and that maybe all was not lost after all.
Rating:Without me, you would have learned, nothing! 3/5
You would have to start questioning a
band's driving motivation when they have released a live album which
comprehensively covers their entire career to that point in time, then
release a new studio album which may or may not be well received... and
then release yet another live album which focuses in the majority on the
songs from that album. But then again, Iron Maiden has made a career of
such a move over the past couple of decade, so perhaps that is an
unfair statement.
Following on from Tribe,
which was going to herald the glorious return of Chris DeGarmo to the
fold and was instead a disappointment on that front, Queensrÿche
recorded this during their 2003 tour with Dream Theater. The first half
of the album consists entirely of songs lifted from the Tribe
album, except for "Sign of the Times". Now, were you to be a fan of
that album, this would be terrific for you. Hearing songs you love being
played live - what could be better? Of course, were you to find the
album dull, unimaginative and of a type musically that you just don't
find particularly attractive, well you may have a slight problem with
this release.
I have a slight problem with this release.
The
good thing about a lot of live albums is that it can showcase songs in a
different light, and sometimes songs that you may not particularly like
suddenly find a new life when you hear how the band plays them in a
live setting. And, to a certain (very small, miniscule) degree, that can
be applied here. But to be honest, if you don't like the album, then
you won't get anything from hearing half of it here, because it is just
like listening to half of the Tribe album. Following this we are treated to two songs in an acoustic setting. "My Global Mind" is as dull as it was on Promised Land,
but to play "Roads to Madness" acoustically is just a travesty. I'd
have felt short changed if I was at the gig. It's like listening to
Metallica doing "The Four Horsemen" unplugged. It shouldn't be allowed
to happen. The final five songs on the album come from the band's most heralded albums, Operation: Mindcrime and Empire. One thing the band can be applauded for here is that none of these five songs featured on the previous live album Live Evolution,
meaning they weren't doubling up in that way, giving us live versions
of "Della Brown", "Anybody Listening?" and "Best I Can" from Empire that the fans can hold onto, as well as "Breaking the Silence" and "The Needle Lies" from Operation: Mindcrime.
It's
hard to fault the musicianship on this album. the band sounds great,
and plays with as much gusto as the material allows them to. What is
hard is trying to get the most out of a live album when the majority of
it just doesn't appeal to you. If I had bought this on vinyl I can
pretty much guarantee there would only ever be one side of the album
played, and not even all of that.
After an artistic and creative break and a
long touring schedule, Queensrÿche returned to the studio to write and
record their new album entitled Tribe.
And in a way, the tribe was (almost) back together, with the return of
Chris DeGarmo and the promise of a band putting aside any differences
they may have had and getting back to what made them the band they once
had been. Of course, as with many stories like this, the ending isn't
quite a perfect as the initial picture is painted.
The fact that
Chris DeGarmo had made a return was highly publicised and pushed when
this album was released. In fact, it was what made me go out and buy it,
having given the previous album Q2K
a wide berth to that point of time. Of course, by the time the album
was released, DeGarmo had already left the band again, apparently during
the writing and recording process over 'differences of opinion' with
Geoff Tate. That was somewhat disappointing, but I was encouraged enough
to see if this album could salvage something from the wreck that
Queensrÿche had become over recent years. The long and the short of
it is that it could be worse, but it could also be a lot better. In
keeping with recent releases, there is little to none of the progressive
metal element that drew people like me into becoming fans of the band
in its initial stages, and while there are some places where some
experimentation is done, and (thankfully) none of the sax and cello that
had been prominent on other albums, the band has continued along in
this alternative sound that was dead in some places, and where it was
alive it was being done so much better by other bands. "Losing
Myself" is probably the most accessible song on the album. It has an
better up-tempo feel to it, and though it feels commercially drifting I
can still listen to it without completely cringing. "Desert Dance" moves
along similar lines, with the end of the song almost imitating a hard
core chant, yet still on an alternative level. It's not bad but still a
little strange. Things fall apart a little from here. "Falling Behind"
reminds me (terribly) of the songs that are contained on Helloween's
abysmal Chameleon
album, surely one of the harshest things someone could say about a
song. "Great Divide" drags itself out of this complete mediocrity, but
really only enough to get a nostril above the waterline. "Rhythm of
Hope" follows the same bloodline, desperately deprived of some
go-forward, but instead seems to drift along in an aimless circle.
"Tribe" tries to rectify this, but on such a small scale it hardly feels
worth it. The drift continues, through "Blood", to "The Art of Life"
and finally into "Doing Fine". It's like being on a slow moving train,
there is nothing to get you going, and all you are doing is filling in
time until you reach your destination, with no way to get off.
Who
can know how much the writing and recording of this album was disrupted
by the reappearance, then disappearance, of DeGarmo. Who knows if the
music direction of the album, which fluctuates within, was severely
distorted through all of this, whether it was still maintain despite the
changes. Only those in the band will truly know. Still, everyone has
dipped their toe in if you go by the credits to the songs, which means
that either everyone was in agreement with the direction, or the
fluctuations here occur depending on who was involved on each song. What
eventually comes out of this is that the trademark Queensrÿche guitars
are pretty much non-existent again on this album, and the lethargic
speed the majority of the songs have fallen into does nothing to inspire
any love or joy of the album. After four studio albums in succession
that I could barely bring myself to listen to again, it was time to
start questioning whether this was ever going to change.
Rating:We reach out for the sky, and we're never coming down. 2/5
After forcing their way through a series of
highs and lows over the previous few years, which included having
well-performing albums despite those albums being critically panned and
spurned by the fans, and having to dip into their own pockets to
conclude a tour after their record company went broke, Queensrÿche
return here with a double live album that brings out all of the
positives and negatives of their music history in one package.
To
this point in the band's career, their music seems to have slipped into
their own eras, based on the success or similarities of releases. This
live retrospective was recorded over two nights, and then manoeuvred
into 'suites' that correspond with the evolution of the band, thus the
title of the album. As a result, there is a great coverage of the band's
work, all set in a live setting which gives them all a different
perspective from their original recordings. It also shows on one release
how the story of Queensrÿche has surged and dipped through the style of
songs as we move through the album. The first half of the first disc is for songs from Queensrÿche, The Warning and Rage for Order.
And not only is it great to hear these songs done live, but performed
live brilliantly! "NM 156" into the brilliant "Walk in the Shadows"
sounds sensational, and is brought to life live. So too are the versions
of "Roads to Madness", "The Lady Wore Black" and "Screaming in
Digital". Each of them are enhanced here, the strengths of each song
shining through. And while "Queen of the Reich" may not live up to
everything it could be, there has never been any doubt that to reproduce
anything like the studio version in a live setting would be a
monumental task. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds great, but with
necessary compromises. The second half of the first disc comprises a selection of songs from Operation: Mindcrime,
and as will always occur when it comes to this album, it is the songs
that are left out that are debated rather than the songs that are chosen
to be performed. It simply doesn't matter which ones you choose to
play, there will always be songs that everyone will be disappointed will
be left out. For me, it would be "Speak" and "The Needle Lies". They
should always be played! Anyway, by now the band is smooth and
professional on all of these songs, so often must they have performed
them. Pamela Moore again appears as Mary. Everything sounds
extraordinary. Disc Two covers the 1990's, the highlight of which is the selection of songs from the extraordinary Empire
album. The four songs performed here - "Empire", "Silent Lucidity",
"Another Rainy Night (Without You)" and "Jet City Woman" are not only
terrific songs, but they sound absolutely amazing here. The music is so
strong, and Tate's vocals here don't miss a beat. I know that YOU know
that I don't like ballads, but there are exceptions, and "Silent
Lucidity" has always been one of them. I love the version on Empire,
but here it just soars. The musicianship is of the highest calibre, and
proves that a song can be powerful with having to be excessive. The remainder of the second disc contains songs from Promised Land, Hear in the Now Frontier and Q2K,
albums that I have a difficult time listening to. To be fair, most of
these tracks all sound better being played live than they did on the
studio albums, but there is still not a lot of joy from them. This is
where you can correspond the differences and changes that have occurred
in Queensrÿche over the years. Sure, people will argue that a song such
as "The Lady Wore Black" can be compared to a song such as "Liquid Sky".
But it is here you hear the differences. Listen to Tate's vocals in
"The Lady Wore Black", emoting as that song allows, and the power behind
the guitars and drums in pushing that emotion through the song.
Awesome. Then listen to the dullery that comes through on "Liquid Sky".
It is unmistakable. And you can't use time as a factor. They may have
been written 15 years apart and thus recorded as such on their
respective albums, but these songs were recorded for this album on the
same day. The change in the song writing is as plain and stark as what
you hear on this album.
The first disc, with everything from the
1980's, I would probably rate as 4.5 or 5. All of the songs are great
and they also sound magnificent in this live setting. The second disc I
would probably go somewhere with a 3.5 or a 4. So in trying to rate the
release as a whole I have had to compromise and take a factor somewhere
in the middle of those two ratings. As a live release it is an excellent
anthology of the band's progress to this point of their career, even if
some of it is better off forgetting.
As we approached the new millennium I guess
a lot of the Queensrÿche faithful must have been wondering what was
next for the band. It had certainly been a mixed bag during the 1990's,
most of it had been either so unlike Queensrÿche you didn't know what to
think anymore, or had been so bad that you couldn't face listening to
another album for fear it would get worse. More than anything else, did
the band itself know what direction its music was heading in? And if it
did, was it aware that for the most part they were alienating their core
fan base with their choices? In the long run you can only make the
music you enjoy making and hope that it appeals to your market, but
there were serious questions coming forth before Q2K was released.
Chris
DeGarmo had left the band before this album was started, meaning half
of the majority writing team was now gone, as well as one of the band's
accomplished guitarists. Kelly Gray was drafted in to replace him. As
for the writing, all of the songs on this album are credited to the
whole band rather than individuals. Whether than means everyone
contributed equally to the process could be questioned given events some
years in the future, but the result is that the band lived and died
together on the basis of these songs and their success or otherwise. Well, I'm afraid the verdict is not good. This appears to be a continuation of what was served up for us on Hear in the Now Frontier.
There is a healthy dose of a revamped or upgraded Seattle sound
rumbling throughout the album, but without the inspiration that came
from the grunge scene a decade earlier. Everything here is of a
mid-to-slow tempo, lacking any real fire or attitude. There are no
scorching guitar solos, there are no breakout drum rolls, there is no
real stretching of the vocal chords. There are touches of Pearl Jam,
Sonic Youth and Soundgarden through the opening tracks like "Falling
Down" and "Sacred Ground", along with repeated chorus lines that fail to
ignite any passion or determination to sing along because the songs are
so structured and similar all the way through you just can't get
enthused by it. "One Life" bumbles along at a morbid pace with a morbid
sound, sucking all the joy out of life as it plods along. Where is the
motivation? There is barely any discernible difference between this song
and "When the Rain Comes". Same tempo, same dull lifelessness, with
only a barely-energetic solo to break up the boredom. The
Soundgarden-esque "How Could I" follows this, though comparing this
washed out lacklustre song to one of a band whose energy never subsided
would be an aberration. You really have to ask yourself where it all
goes from here. But there is worse to come, as "Beside You" almost
brings the album to a complete halt. How many songs can you write and
perform that simply have his slow, mournful backbeat of guitars, and sad
drum beat and the vocals moaning over the top in an indulgent
faux-angst tone that does nothing more than bore the listeners slowly to
death?
I think you get the idea, without me using similar such
metaphors for the remainder of the songs on this album. There is noting
here to grab you, to hook you, to move you. Everything is so similar
throughout, without any interesting lyrics or vocals, or guitar riffs or
drum rolls. It is yet another massively disappointing release from a
band that i had so much respect and admiration for a decade earlier.
Hear in the Now Frontier
indeed. The fact that Queensrÿche's previous album sold so well despite
the steaming pile of rubbish it turned out to be was obviously only
contributed to by the brilliance of the previous two albums. I am
guessing that if most of us had heard Promised Land
before plonking down our hard earned to purchase it, there would have
been a hell of a lot of people who would have reversed that decision.
And yet, most of us still went out when this album was released, and
paid our money again for another Queensrÿche album. What is it that drew
us all back again for another instalment? The belief, or hope, that Promised Land had been an aberration, and that the real Queensrÿche would return bigger and better than ever on this album? Of course it was!
Put
the CD on the stereo. Press Play. Well, there's a guitar riff! Already
this album has points over its predecessor. OK, it may be a simple riff,
but a riff is what it is. Perhaps the fact that it tends to trend
throughout the whole song without a change is a cause for concern. Could
the title of the song, "Sign of the Times" be an omen as well? Is it a
sign of this album that they will produce a guitar riff, but it won't
change throughout? The possibility of this remains as we move into
"Cuckoo's Nest", because it does seem to be similar again. And what
about those vocals? Does it sound to you like Tate and DeGarmo are
trying to imitate some other kind of bands? They just sound similar to
something else, but I can't quite place it... Oh, and then it hits
you right between the eyes as "Get a Life" starts, and moves through the
remainder of the album. This is a bloody GRUNGE album!!! How the hell
did that happen?! How did we get from what the band released three years
ago, to what we have here? I'm just totally blown away. I clearly
remember picking up the CD case and making sure I had the new
Queensrÿche album on, and hadn't mistaken it for another album. It
becomes so obvious as we move along. "The Voice Inside" is pure Alice in
Chains-like, even the vocals in the chorus are trying to mimic Layne
and Jerry. The guitar solo is almost country/western though, or perhaps
just so stripped back with slide guitar I don't know the difference.
Wow. "Some People Fly" is more of the same, slower and less energised,
but still unmistakeably of this same genre. The vocals are harmonising
in that way. The main difference here though between this and those high
profile grunge bands is that the guitar rhythms here are very bland and
uninteresting, not really producing anything memorable in themselves. "Saved"
comes along with a harder element infused in the mix, allowing
Rockenfield's drums and Wilton and DeGarmo's guitars to light up for a
brief moment, though not with enough panache to really hold the interest
long. "You" tries to continue in that vein, containing a closer mix of
drums, riff and vocals that can showcase the better side of the band.
This is probably the best song on the album for me. Unfortunately we
delve back into the depths of despair from here. "Hero" is dreadfully
dull, acoustically driven slow slop, with Geoff crooning as he is wont
to do more and more often. There is no power here, no progressive nature
in the music. It continues what seems to be a cross between slow
unadulterated grunge and country which is bereft of any redeeming
qualities. It could almost be catagorised as easy listening, because it
can send you to sleep listening to it. "Miles Away" goes with a
combination grunge/AOR sound. Now there's something to keep the punters
wondering what the hell is going on. I'd have thought it almost
impossible to combine those two genres of music until I heard this song.
Remarkable. "Reach", like "You", tries to be the up tempo track on
the album. Still it's closer to a soft rock song with a solid but not
memorable riff throughout. "Hit the Black" starts off well, but stutters
to a slightly unsatisfying conclusion. "Anytime / Anywhere" is in a
similar category. There are good moments in the song, but the way it
segues through rock to grunge makes it difficult to enjoy completely.
The album concludes with "sp00L", for which the previous comments can be
added along with this song. So it's basically a Seattle grunge album
in 1997. But did we really need this in 1997? By this time Nirvana had
folded after Kurt Cobain's suicide, and from this had been born Dave
Grohl's hard rock phenomenon Foo Fighters. Ditto with Alice in Chains,
who were hamstrung by Layne Staley's drug issues. Soundgarden had split
up. Grunge was basically over, and yet here was a successful progressive
metal band deciding now was the time to embrace their hometown's
traditions by stripping everything back and recording a grunge album!
It's not as if you can throw all of the blame for this at the feet of
Geoff Tate either, something which evidence suggests you could do from
this release onwards. Chris DeGarmo is the chief contributor in writing
to almost every track on this album, which theoretically should mean he
was happy with the direction the music went here.
It is fair to say that Hear in the Now Frontier is a vastly superior album than Promised Land
was. Here we once again don't have what most fans would have considered
to be the band's natural sound. It certainly isn't a progressive metal
album. And it really doesn't stack up to their early albums. When you go
looking for a Queensrÿche album to play it is highly unlikely you would
reach for this album, because if you want the kind of music that you
find on this album, you would go for Alice in Chain's Dirt or Soundgarden's Superunknown,
because they are superb examples of Seattle sound, whereas this
resembles a cheap knock off. It isn't a total loss, but it also isn't
Queensrÿche.
Rating:No matter what goes down, I'll still be there for you. I'm beginning to believe otherwise. 2.5/5
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. "9:28
A.M." is a concoction of sounds and noises used as an intro to the
album. I don't like it, I think it just sucks a minute out before you
finally move into "I Am I". Perhaps that was necessary to prepare you,
because this isn't the most interesting song Queensrÿche has ever
recorded. Reasonable vocally, 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, something
that doesn't make it beholden to me. "Damaged" is by a long shot the
best song on the album, though that may not be saying much. 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 ballad, with the lack of power
immediately noticeable. The hopes of the album start to fall from this
point. "Bridge" provides more of the same, a lacklustre song that crawls
at a snails pace and very nearly drops you off to sleep. "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. Someone once mentioned to me that
they thought it reminded them of Pink Floyd, with the big musical
expanses with little occurring except the progressive-like freeform
instrumental extensions. Perhaps I should mention here that I HATE Pink
Floyd and that kind of expansive crap! No doubt some members of this
band use Pink Floyd as an inspiration. It's not for me, and if this is
the future, then let me off here please. Geoff Tate even contributes
saxophone on both of these songs. It's almost like really bad elevator
music. "Lady Jane" reintroduces the piano element and still misses the
mark by a long way. 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 best left unturned. "Someone Else" 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. The
power of the music has been eradicated from every song on this album.
There is little to nothing remaining of the progressive 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.
So
I gave this a go. 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. I was at
least pleased that I had given this album every opportunity to grab me,
to show me it was more than I initially perceived. On the (very) rare
occasions I have drawn this CD out of my shelves since that time, my
thoughts have not changed one iota.
Rating:Searching for the answers, all I see is damage through the haze. 1.5/5
1987 was one hell of a year for music. Take
a look at the list of best rated albums for that year on Rate Your
Music and shake your head at the awesome content of that list. Not just
heavy metal either. There are great albums from all genres of music.
Most of them I either bought or heard at the time. Some gems did slip
through however, and it wasn't until a few years later that I came upon
the band Savatage, and in particular this album, Hall of the Mountain King.
What
I liked most about this album from the start was that it was
immediately impressive on all levels. Jon Oliva's vocals are uniquely
his own, moving between a conversational lyrical tone to a higher
register with ease, and despite the gruffness about his vocals it is a
higher and tuneful voice than a growl, before then throwing in a real
scream and what is a trademark cry every now and then. It helps to
typify the Savatage sound. This is cross purposed with his brother Criss
and his wonderful guitaring. His riffs and solos on this album are just
sensational, and though parts of them may remind you of some other past
songs of other bands, (there's a bit of Yes' "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
in the riff of "Strange Wings" and a bit of Black Sabbath's "Hole in the
Sky" in the riff of "Devastation") they are on a whole brilliant. In
some places they are breathtaking, and he has an amazing flair in his
playing. Check out especially "Beyond the Doors of the Dark", "Legions"
and "Devastation" for his solos. Something special. Backing all of this
up are Johnny Lee Middleton on bass guitar and Steve Wacholz on drums,
who do their job so well that you probably don't even notice their
excellent contributions while you listen to the Oliva brothers - but the
album couldn't be this good without that solid rhythm section pounding
away in the background. The album itself flows almost perfectly from
song to song, not losing any momentum from a change in style or radical
changes in song structure. "24 Hours Ago" and "Beyond the Doors of the
Dark" are both dominated by a heavy guitar riff and Jon's vocals,
punctuated by those amazing guitar solos from Criss. "Beyond the Doors
of the Dark" is just brilliant. "Legions" follows and is dominated by
Criss' amazing guitaring, which is the highlight here. "Strange Wings",
perhaps because of the aforementioned riff similarity, comes across as
almost a mainstream sounding song especially after the opening tracks. "Prelude
to Madness" is an instrumental that incorporates Edvard Grieg's theme
from his "In the Hall of the Mountain King". In combining a well known
music piece to this instrumental intro to Side 2 of the album, it not
only deepens the anticipation as to what will follow, it increases the
interest of those that do not know the album as well, and opens the
second half in style. This segues beautifully into the title track "Hall
of the Mountain King", with a great riff that immediately generates
that feeling that a great song is about to follow. This is the track
that can sell you the album. "The Price You Pay" has touches of Accept
in both vocals and music which is amusing when Jon hits his high
screams. Following the second instrumental of the album, the reflective
"Last Dawn" leads into the final track "Devastation", which ends the
album on a high note.
I'm not a fanatic about either this band or
this album. That comes from not having found them earlier or having
grown up with them. When it comes time to throw on a album at home or in
the car or at work, Savatage is not one of those bands that immediately
jumps into my mind to find. But that doesn't detract from the fact that
I like the band, and I think this is a really good album. And when I do
run my fingers along and they come to rest on this album and I pout it
on, I am never disappointed. In fact I am constantly reminded about how
good an album this actually is, and wonder why it doesn't get recalled
by me in that way often enough. It has all of the hallmarks of the
albums that I rate as my all time favourites, it just doesn't have that
unconditional love that those albums have from me. Despite this, Hall of the Mountain King is a terrific album and worthy of your attention.
Rating:Hell is eternity, Hell is your destiny. 4/5
To be completely honest, I have absolutely
zero idea exactly how I first came to hear of this band, and this album
in particular. It was 1987, it was my final year of high school, and I
was trying to grab any piece of hard rock/heavy metal music I could
find. Stryper announced a tour of Australia, and about of dozen of my
group got tickets to go. I'm hazy on whether I had heard this album
before that moment, but I certainly listened to it a lot in those months
leading up to the tour. I know the band appeared on the "Midday Show"
on Channel 9 with the Rev. Fred Nile, who tried to denounce them on live
TV, and they were able to win the crowd over in attendance (Nile even
had his photo taken with them wearing a leather jacket). So I knew they
were a Christian band before getting into the album, that much is
somewhat clear. Given my non-religious views and that of my parents, it
must have confused them slightly at the time. It probably confused me as
well.
So how to take this album? I take it the same way I take albums like Slayer's Hell Awaits or Morbid Angel's Covenant or Mercyful Fate's Melissa.
All great albums and all with lyrics that aren't anything I consider
important to me or to be a way of leading my life. I love all of these
albums on their musical merit and not on anything that the lyrics in the
songs may be trying to represent. It is fine that Stryper is a
Christian band, and that they are trying to spread their message in
their music. Good for them, go right ahead. I'll pass on the message
thanks, but I will enjoy some ripping tunes all the same, and try to
ignore some rather dreadful ones at the same time. If I was to focus
on the ballads here, I wouldn't get more than a fifth of a second into
the album before frisbeeing it across the room into a wall at a thousand
miles an hour. Hair metal bands breed power ballads like rabbits, and
most of them are just awful. There's no hiding from them here either.
"Honestly" is a travesty, that keyboard-based touch-your-heart kind of
puking vomit that makes some people feel good about themselves, but
which just makes me want to gouge my own eyes out. Michael Sweet can
sing, but oh please no more of this! Of course, there is more, because
"All of Me" is the Side 2 equivalent of this. It could conceivably be
its twin, and they both terribly corrupt the great music that is
otherwise prevalent on the album. I can tell you that it was a painful
act on my original vinyl copy of this album having to get up and lift
the needle off these tracks each time they came on and replacing it at
the start of the next good song. Transferring it to cassette for the car
took that problem out, as did they 'skip' button when the CD version
was purchased, and also now that it has been transferred to a digital
copy as well. Let's get to the important stuff. The opening track "To
Hell With the Devil" is a balltearer, and was my first taste of Michael
Sweet's pipes - bloody hell, this guy can SING! Then get a load of
those twin guitars of Sweet and Oz Fox. Awesome, and more was to come.
"Calling On You" falls back to a more basic hard rock track, but is
still impressive. "Free" falls into the same category, good solid songs
with great harmony vocals throughout. Then after the moroseness of
"Honestly" you get the gem of "The Way", a charging metal track
highlighted by Michael's amazing vocals. Those notes he hits at the end
of the song are just amazing. Even more so when you hear him sing it
live, because yes, he does it just as well and note perfect. Ridiculous. Side
2 commences with "Sing-Along Song", which seems to be a metaphor for a
kids song - surely it had to be when they came up with the title.
"Holding On" is a straight forward, less convincing track that could
have done with a little more power when they wrote it. "Rockin' the
World" is much better, faster, heavier and with a more enjoyable beat to
it. After the second abominable track, the album finishes with the hard
rocking "More Than a Man".
As I mentioned, I saw Stryper when
they toured Australia on this album. 28 years later and it is still the
loudest concert I have ever seen. The band was brilliant, and Michael
Sweet sings everything the same live as he does in the studio. The
memory of that brilliant gig probably continues to prop up my enjoyment
of this album. I still think the positives far outweigh the negatives
here, though it will always held in higher esteem with me through the
tinge of nostalgia it will always bring whenever I listen to it, I think
it still holds most of that of its own accord.
Rating:You want it, we got it, rock that lifts you up it doesn't bring you down. 4/5
Want to know how to polarise opinion? Get
together with a bunch of Whitesnake fans, and pose the question, "When
did the band release their best material, pre-1985 or post 1985?" That's
a debate that will get emotional and passionate, divide the room and
create a heated discussion. Nothing will be resolved of course, because
the majority of people who grew up with the immediate post-Deep Purple
era Whitesnake will insist those first albums are far superior to
anything that was released later on. I came along just a little later,
and took my Whitesnake apprenticeship on albums such as Whitesnake [aka 1987] and Slip of the Tongue. I still think those early albums are great, but for me, Slip of the Tongue is the top of the tree.
After having lived off Whitesnake [aka 1987]
for a good 18 months, I was champing at the bit for a new album. John
Sykes had gone of course, as had his replacement Vivian Campbell. Then
bugger me, Steve Vai gets drafted in! Incredible! With the twin guitars
of himself and Adrian Vandenberg, this had to be something special. And
then it got even better. Vai had come in because Vandenberg had injured
his wrist and was unable to play on the album itself, so Steve was going
to play ALL the guitars on the album. Wow. Pinch me. How can this not
be a triumph? I can see why some fans of Whitesnake may not like this
album. The early albums, and even the latter day albums with Doug
Aldrich and Reb Beach on guitar, all have that very bluesy rock feel
about the songs. It was a trademark of the music. Some of that was
acid-washed away on 1987, and it has almost completely gone here on this
album, no doubt mainly through Steve Vai's influence on guitar.
Apparently Vandenberg has stated that he felt Vai's interpretation of
the songs was far too 'flamboyant'. To be honest, I believe this is why I
love this album so much, because Steve has infused so much energy into
these songs with his flairs and flails on his guitar, which may not have
been the case if the guitar duties had been shared in the recording
process. In fact, trying to fuse together the two halves of these
guitarists on the album could well have created more harm than solving
any questions. There is too much to like here in Steve's guitaring.
Take the brilliant start and then furious picking on the main riff under
the verse to "Wings of the Storm" as just one example. It electrifies
the album, lighting it up with a joyful kind of excitement, and along
with the brilliant enthusiasm of David's vocals makes this one of the
many highlights of the album. I'm not sure this could have been achieved
otherwise. Listen to the layered guitar solos playing off against each
other in the break, and then the feverish end of the solo with Vai's
fingers flying across that fretboard. Stunning and amazing. The album
is a mix of those brilliant fast paced hard rock anthems, the bluesy
slower thought pieces, radio friendly love-and-anguish based tracks and
the soulful ballad-based lyrical songs that have a slightly harder edge
on the guitars and drums. "Fool For Your Lovin'" is another re-recording
of the band's songs from a previous album, this one originally from Ready an' Willing.
I love both versions, and it's funny how both versions were released as
singles. "The Deeper the Love" is very bluesy, and Steve's guitaring
throughout is very circumspect in keeping with the mood of the song.
"Now You're Gone" is in this mood too, a ballad like song that has that
harder edge, making it into more of a rock ballad than a blues ballad,
which I prefer and enjoy more because of this. Perhaps the only real
disappointment of the album is the penultimate song "Slow Poke Music".
While it isn't a bad song as such, its averageness tends to be noticed
much more given the two songs it is sandwiched between. How about
that start to the album though? From the get go, Tommy Aldridge pumps
those drums, Rudy Sarzo hammers that bass guitar, Steve Vai flies his
fingers up and down the neck of his guitar, and David Coverdale takes
hold of the microphone and gets those vocal chords vibrating. "Slip of
the Tongue" careers out of the speakers and sets the tone for the whole
album to come. This is followed by the tongue in cheek "Cheap an' Nasty"
which is right up Coverdale's alley in regards to lyric writing. I love
Tommy's drumming in this song, breaking out the cowbell and emphasising
every beat. Great stuff. Coverdale's vocals are spectacular in
"Judgement Day", driving a punch in that song over the moody rhythm that
makes up the basis of the track. While each member has their part in
creating the scene of the song, the amazing atmosphere created by the
vocals here is magnificent in showcasing his undoubted talent. This song
gets lost a little bit in a live setting, but on the studio recording
it is almost the star showing of this album. I still get shivers
listening to it. To finish it all off comes "Sailing Ships", which
builds throughout to an amazing climax with Coverdale again front and
centre with an amazing vocal performance and Steve Vai complementing it
perfectly.
There is no doubt many will see this as an overblown
late-80's hair metal pop-fest with a guitarist on an ego trip and a lead
singer in a similar vein. I think those people are only hearing what's
on the surface, and not allowing the music to move through them. I am
also aware that I have had this album since the first day it was
released, and have worn out my vinyl copy, my CD copy, and now my
digital copy. It has been ingrained in me since that first day, and it
grows with me as I grow older. Any flaws that someone may find with this
album I will probably see with rose coloured glasses. And let's face
it, isn't that the way you SHOULD approach the music you love? Because
it doesn't matter what anyone else says about albums that affect you the
way this always has with me, because music speaks differently to
everyone. And this for me will always be one of my favourites.
Rating:I never realised my love could be so blind. 5/5
