802. Queensrÿche / Tribe. 2003. 2/5

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