voilà_la_scorie There are a few times in my life when I can recall hearing something so unlike anything I had heard before that I was instantly amazed and hooked: Judas Priest's "Screaming for Vengeance" (quite a change from AC/DC and Van Halen), Metallica's "Ride the Lightning" (my first Metallica album), Nine Inch Nail's "Further Down the Spiral" (hadn't heard The Downward Spiral yet), Bathory's "The Return...". And this album: Queensryche, "Rage for Order" (inspired by deplorably slow service at a roadside diner perhaps?)

I had been a heavy metal fan for four or five years. I was 15 years old and I tried to learn as much as I could about this form of music that I had embraced, from the poppier non-metal stuff like Boston and Bon Jovi to the extreme stuff like Celtic Frost and Bathory. I picked up Queensryche's debut ep the moment I heard about it, eager to hear this new band, and I loved it so much I wrote a short essay in grade 8 English class why I thought Queensryche were a top-class metal band. Though not as heavy, "The Warning" stretched out the soundscape more with the long tune "No Sanctuary" and the futuristic "NM 156". While other metal bands were all about leather, spikes, chains and - in the case of W.A.S.P - saw blades on the crotch, Queensryche were more sophisticated and intellectual it seemed. No thrusting pelvic saw blades at the female members of the audience for these guys!

When "Rage for Order" came out, I was excited - a new Queensryche album!. But nothing could prepare me for what this recording held on its magnetic tape or the photos on the inlay card. What the heck was this? The band was in leather but long leather coats, high fashion leather boots, and decked out in leather gloves. Their hair was long but styled in a way that made them look like heavy metal corporate wizzos from the far future - say the year 2,000. I wasn't sure if I liked this new level of sophistication or what it meant. Did they look a bit too... womanly? Was this sophisticated glam?

The first track, "Walk in the Shadows" totally rocked, opening with bombast. "I Dream in Infra Red" had some beautiful acoustic guitar and a powerful chorus with music that built up through the guitar solo and climaxed with the following chorus. And what lyrics! "As you woke this morning and opened up your eyes / Did you notice the tear stains lining your face were mine?" Had he been crying on her face that night? Weird.

But it was the fourth track that really left me reeling. The creepy stalker song "Gonna Get Close to You" was minimalistic musically with a steady solid drum beat and simple bass line, rapidly scratched high tone guitar and some synthesizer, with some heavy bits thrown in at the appropriate places. It was not metal. It was not techno either though it sounded more like it than it did metal. It was the most unusual thing I had heard on any metal album and I liked it. Somehow this sound made my music collection different from the AC/DC-Motley Crue rockers at school. My musical tastes were becoming more... sophisticated.

The rest of the album includes some other enjoyable and intriguing tunes like "London" and the acoustic ballad "I Will Remember" ("An orbit survey finds your mind"); however, it was the futuristic rocker "Screaming in Digital", with its voices and sound effects that painted a haunting picture of life in the future where computer minds feel a longing for connection with their human users and the disconnection from their masters that slavery brings. ("Am I the son that you've always been wanting? " "Oh, Father, no. Please don't keep me from dreaming.")

Musically, the album is very cohesive. It has excellent metal guitar and riffs, excellent solos, Geoff Tate's operatic vocals, acoustic guitar, and some cool drum parts, as well as sound effects. But it was the use of synthesizer and perhaps guitar and bass synthesizer that really challenged me to like this album. I was dead against synthesizer, preferring the classic two-guitar (or one guitar), bass, drums, vocals bands I heard from 1982 to 84. Then Van Halen came out with "Jump" and "1984" and Def Leppard used synthesizers. Ugh! That's why thrash metal was so successful as a backlash against this new heavy metal with keyboards. But on this Queensryche album, synthesizers were used mostly for atmosphere or effects, and when they were an integral part of the music as a rhythm instrument, it actually sounded good. It worked!

I just listened to this album from start to finish for the first time in probably 15 to 20 years and in the context of a progressive metal album I could really sense that these guys were trying to introduce us to something new. They had a vision of heavy metal some ten years or more into the future and tried to tell us about it in 1986. I don't think any of their other albums captured an atmosphere of something so fresh and new as well as "Rage for Order" did.

There might be a couple of fillers on here but even the songs I previously passed by have parts that stand out for their musical ingenuity. I unquestionably consider it a landmark album. What others were only just figuring out, Queensryche took and made intelligent and advanced. From me, 5 stars.

Kingcrimsonprog Tribe is the eighth full-length studio album by the Seattle based Progressive Metal band Queensrÿche. It was released in 2003 to mixed reviews, and of all of Queensrÿche’s albums to date it is probably the most misunderstood and underrated.

Following on the heels of the unpopular Q2K album, and featuring a credibility-questionable semi-return from former guitarist Chris DeGarmo which some fans accused of being cynical, the album is sometimes unfairly dismissed as being an awful record that fans should avoid.

In my opinion there is still actually quite a lot to like about Tribe and it is by no means the band’s worst outing to date. The band have always been big fans of evolution, and never made two albums in a row that sounded much alike. Tribe has its own sound like all Queensrÿche albums do, even though people sometimes lump it in with the previous two records as being ‘that alternative period.’

Though it uses Alternative Rock influences like Hear In The Now Frontier and Q2K as well as Alternative Metal influences like Operation Mindcrime 2, it uses them in a different way, like all Queensrÿche albums do, only this time it’s a way that almost makes some concessions to their earlier sounds and consequently Tribe feels very much like Queensrÿche even though you wouldn’t really expect it to given the fan reaction it received. I have to admit that after reading about its reputation, and after hearing Q2K, I didn't really expect the album to be one of the band's better efforts, but upon hearing it initially, and indeed after listening to it numerous times, I was surprised by just how much I did end up liking it.

The three heavier numbers, ‘Open’ ‘Tribe’ and ‘Desert Dance’ have that mixture of slow Metal, an eastern flavour and an Alternative feel that the heavier moments on Promised Land like ‘Damaged’ and ‘I Am I’ had. ‘Desert Dance’ incorporates a few controversial touches of Nu Metal and ‘Tribe’ has a mixture of Grunge-gone-Psychedelic guitar and tribal percussion that actually brings to mind Undertow-era Tool.

‘The Art Of Life’ has something of the feel of classic closers like ‘The Lady Wore Black’ and ‘Roads To Madness’ about it, (highlighted on ‘The Art Of Live’s acoustic rendition of Roads To Madness’) although obviously through the filter of Alternative Metal rather than classic Heavy Metal. Not to mention that its main riff is vaguely similar to the vocal pattern from ‘The Killing Words’ off of Rage For Order.

Finally, the ballads ‘Rhythm Of Hope’ ‘Doing Fine’ and album highlight ‘Great Divide’ (which I’d recommend that even if you skip the album, you still check out this one song) all have the feel of the band’s great lineage of ballads like ‘Silent Lucidity,’ ‘Della Brown’ ‘Bridge’ and ‘I Will Remember.’ Admittedly, they aren’t just as good, and they are once again played through an Alternative filter, but that doesn’t diminish their quality all to significantly as long as you don’t just outright dislike anything Alternative sounding.

The only real place where the album feels like a bit of a let down for me is in the second and fourth track as well as, more importantly, in the order of the tracks. ‘Loosing Myself’ has that post-Tate’s discovery of U2 feel that ‘Burning Man’ and ‘Wot Kinda Man’ from Q2K had, and ‘Loosing Myself’ has great lyrics and some great acoustic guitar work but the wrong chorus for a song in that point of the album.

I personally rearranged the album in my music library so that ‘Tribe’ and ‘Blood’ are tracks two and four, and this way the album flows a hell of a lot better (I’d recommend this to people who haven’t heard the album yet incidentally, do it before hand and you’ll get a better first impression.)

Overall; I think that if it had of had a more open minded and accepting fan base, if it had followed up Promised Land, which it spiritually does rather than chronologically does (which would also have made the band’s career trajectory feel more natural), if the situation with Chris had not been unclear or misrepresented in the press and if it had have been two tracks shorter with the tracks placed in a slightly different order, then Tribe would actually be a very good album that a lot of people liked.

This isn’t the case however, and as it stands Tribe is a good but mildly flawed album with a disproportionately bad reputation but a lot of potential. OK, if you only like Prog Metal that still sounds like Power Metal or Thrash Metal you probably mightn’t like it, and if you dislike the Alternative sound it may well just be irredeemable, but equally if you are the kind of fan who isn’t as strict with their tastes as the stereotypical quick-to-cry-foul Metalhead, then there is a hell of a lot to enjoy about Tribe and it can offer a few great new Queensrÿche songs for your collection.

kluseba The album title resumes in a quite perfect way the musical, lyrical and overall direction of Queensrÿche anno Domini 2011: "Dedicated To Chaos".

Let's say that Queensrÿche have surpassed their zenith of creativity since almost twenty years and desperately tried to get a connection to their roots with the disappointing "Operation: Mindrime II" and the weird conceptual record "American Soldier" which had a lot of lights and shades. As the last records still had some glimpses of what I have loved about Queensrÿche and as there were still some signs of hope and elements for a better future within those records, I defended those albums and was faithful to the band. But even for an open minded and patient fan of progressive music, the new record "Dedicated To Chaos" seems to go too far in the beginning. But as I already expected to listen to the worst album of the year which I thought I had already heard with the last HammerFall record I got a big surprise after a while just like on the last record.

This album kicks off so bad that I don't know where to start. The last album had a guiding line while the first songs of this album don't fit together at all. The sound of this album is more commercial and weak than ever. Queensrÿche seem to want to sound like a mixture of U2 and Three Doors Down but they don't even get near at their level. Even the last Puddle Of Mudd record seems to be masterpiece of rock music compared to the beginning of this release of Queensrÿche with songs like the faceless opener "Get Started". The ancient metal and progressive rock musicians have lost their feeling for haunting melodies, progressive structures, catchy hooks, gripping lyrics and emotional passages in here. A few plastic keyboards and artificial folk, jazz or symphonic sounds can't take the place of the melodic guitar solos, pumping bass lines and intense vocals that have made this band famous. The band really "Got It Bad" at many points in weird funk-folk-pop tracks with crappy radio sounds and has the same problems over and over again all "Around The World". "Higher" sounds like a mediocre plastic jazz track for a Phil Collins record with some modern metal influences. I mean that just the description of this is completely weird and they completely lose me there. It's though still better like commercial attempts in the style of one dimensional modern metal tracks like "I Take You" and "Hot Spot Junkie" that the band offers us on the album.

But once again the band got me by surprise after five truly horrible tracks. They suddenly pull out "At The Edge" which is a rather calm, experimental and progressive song that reminds of the old days but is too hectic, weird and incoherent to entirely convince and strangely fits to the previous songs that had no focus either. But for the first time, there is a song on here that is surely intriguing and courageous but after so many boring pop songs I honestly ask myself what those guys smoked to write a strange track like this. The other epic track with the strange title "Big Noize" that fits more to a hip hop record misses even more focus and goes straight nowhere in over six minutes. I don't know if that's something good or band in comparison to the first commercial songs. Sometimes, the band is very strange on this record and hard to follow. "I Believe" has strange tribal drum loops, artificial oriental string sounds and vocal effects and sounds like a sound collage of a junkie. Those are the same ingredients as in "Got It Bad" for example but this time the mixture is so experimental and lacks of focus that the radio pop fans might quickly feel frightened while the traditional fan just shakes his head and is taken by a surprise which could be as well positive as negative. The slow and somewhat weird "Luvn'U" or "The Lie" could be tracks written by Jane's Addiction or the Red Hot Chili Peppers in their weirdest eras and they need a lot of time to grow on me and sound simply like a mixture of weird and incoherent structures with experimental flows while having a commercial attempt at the same time. Even though those songs are hard to digest, I have never heard anything as strange as this and at least the band still surprises and is able to innovate in times like these.

But next to many too commercial or simply too weird and ambitious songs, there are also some true pearls that can be found on this record and that might be easier to be appreciated by the classic fans. The slow and haunting jazz ballad "Broken" and the very progressive "Hard Times" hit into a calm and progressive same vein with dreamy lounge atmospheres, strange keyboard sounds and in the latter pumping bass lines. Those two songs happen to be probably the best tracks on the record. They have more focus than the other rather progressive songs and still add some new styles and elements to the band's sound after so many years without sounding too modern, trendy and one dimensional. The songs don't have anything to do with metal music but are great experiments and experiences for the band and their fans. "Drive" has pumping drum loops and a strange aggressive cold atmosphere and even though it sounds like a rather modern metal track, it has an addicting style and something more to offer. The song is monotonous but has many progressive little changes in style that make the whole thing a great listening experience. The jazzy passages of "Wot We Do" that are used in a wrong and strange way several times on this record happen to sound fresh on this track that stands out as another highlight even though the song title is once again horrible. It's a long time ago that Queensrÿche sounded as progressive as in the few mentioned tracks and after a terrible first third the band improves a lot.

In the end, this record is maybe the weirdest and most incoherent one I have ever listened to in my life. There are so many influences of different genres, weird ideas and experiments that the band could have created three albums with this material and they prove us that they still have something to say. The band is maybe more creative than ever in the last two decades but there is some soul, emotion and elegance missing that made those guys a pioneer band for many progressive rock and metal bands. I don't know any other band that has fallen so down in a career and that went from a permanently excellent level on a permanently mediocre to low level. This album underlines the band's fate.

They have nothing left to lose and nobody expects much from them but by risking so much as on this release, the band still loses focus and goes too hard into a commercial direction or too hard in a progressive direction. This record is difficult to digest and has a more than mellow start and appears to be the worst album of the band history in the beginning. Finally, there are some songs that find the right way between commercial attempts and progressive sounds and should hit the nerve of those who remained faithful to the band but this is not enough to justify a buy or give us a true sign of rehabilitation. This record is even more difficult to defend and appreciate as the last one.

Artistically, the band still has many possibilities, ideas and creative moments that keep themselves alive until the next deception. But if they really want to come back to form the next time, the band should focus much more and release maybe two different records which should be one with rather modern and commercial sounds and the other one filled with weird and experimental sound collages. This record here asks multiples listening, a lot of patience and an open mind for different skills and styles. This record is the most difficult, uneasy and controversial one Queensrÿche have ever created even if I didn't think this was possible. There is no truly catchy potential hit single or outstanding progressive track on the record and even if you see the album as a whole it seems completely disturbing and there are a lot of lights and shades. Listen to this at your own risks but when you do so take your time, be patient and don't expect too much from the beginning on. Be sure to get the special edition as the four bonus tracks happen to belong to the better songs on this crazy record.

In the end, I must admit that this album might be a grower of the weirdest kind after a few tries. Just carry on and expect that this record is truly dedicated to chaos as I told you. My final rating is a mixture of positive surprises and bitter disappointments and seems much more ordinary than it really is if you have read my whole review.

kluseba I honestly considered buying this album as I thought that the concept sounded interesting and as I really liked the first single and intense ballad "If I Were King". It was a true shock to me to see so many negative reviews on that side then, so I decided to listen to the entire album before purchasing it as I wasn't quite sure about buying it anymore. I finally expected the worst and the beginning of the album is indeed horrible. But later on, I discovered a couple of hidden gems so that my final rating isn't that negative.

Let's talk about the songs right now. The first two tracks are amongst the worst ones the band has ever written in almost thirty years. "Sliver" is a rap rock track with weak lyrics and probably the worst song Queensrÿche have ever written. It's sure that such a bad opener influences a lot the general atmosphere and first impression of an album and they did the worst choice here. This song is too be avoided at all costs, there is nothing profound, intelligent or original about this track. "Unafraid" is not much better, the lyrics are even worse and the song is entirely composed of interview citations of veterans that have such an awful sound quality that it sounds like if someone was farting underwater. The chorus is dumb and boring, the music one dimensional and bad. Maybe this track is the second worst track Queensrÿche have ever written. Until now, the album isn't worth one single point.

The next three songs are good average tracks. "Hundred Mile Stare" turns the page then and is a classic melodic Queensrÿche rocker. The first two minutes of the track are enjoyable, the last minutes seem endless and annoying and repeat always the same patterns but though this song is finally mediocre, it is way much better than the first two songs. "At 30,000 ft" is the first really good song on the record. It begins with a beautiful melody and an interesting drumming. The tune begins as an enjoyable ballad with a truly energetic and passionate vocal performance before exotic guitar riffs and sound effects create a surprising and finally very progressive middle part. "A Dead Man's Words" is a rather modern, dark and haunting piece of music and has slightly Industrial Metal and Asian folk influences. The vocal performance is slow and underlined by strange sound effects. This mixture seems to be strange but the song is a great experience and gets really hypnotizing even though there are maybe two minutes of boredom towards the middle part of the track. The ending of the song is worth the patience and one of the most beautiful and memorable parts of the entire album.

The next two songs are quite mediocre songs. "The Killer" begins as a melodic and very harmonic song with classical band trademarks such as a very dramatic vocal performance and great tribal drums as well as memorable guitar leads. But the whole effort is destroyed by a mall core main riff and an extremely silly chorus. "Middle Of Nowhere" starts with a soft drumming and develops a haunting atmosphere with a good guitar riff. But after a promising beginning, the song doesn't evolve and gets very long and annoying.

Now, there are still the best songs to come on this record. "If I Were King" is a brilliant ballad and especially brilliantly sung. It's a rather traditional but highly emotional song and the spoken word passages fit in here which isn't the case for many of the songs on this record. "Man Down!" is the second single of the album after the previous ballad and one easily understands why because the dark and heavy riffs are catchy and probably the best musical parts of the album and vocal performance is very melodic. "Remember Me" kicks off with a beautiful and dreamy guitar play and is a very harmonic and beautiful performance. This song is easily amongst the best songs on the album and keeps the level high. "Home Again" has a mystical and haunting introduction. Acoustic guitars underline the brilliant father meets daughter vocal performances by Geoff Tate and his daughter and this turns out to be one of the most interesting and authentic songs on the record, a truly well done experiment. The final "The Voice" is a very atmospheric introduction with sirens, thunder and spoken word passages before the real songs kicks off with exotic oriental guitar riffs. This final highlight is one of the most haunting tracks on the record and a pleasant grande finale that i didn't expect after the weak beginning of the album.

So, this album is somehow divided and two parts and not quite consistent. It starts in the worst possible manner before there are many enjoyable, diversified and emotional songs towards the end. When the band tries to get a personal approach to the songs and doesn't put the citations and sound samples at the center of the attention, this album works really well but as they often let different people tell to many details and hesitate to give a personal and artistically touch to the record, the band somewhat loses it and doesn't succeed its mission in the end. But honestly said, the last five tracks of the album are beautiful progressive rock or melodic metal gems that any fan should like if we don't consider the main topic's boundaries with the superficial lyrics and horrible sound samples. In the end, this is still an enjoyable though not great album, somewhat like the second part of "Operation:Mindcrime" that has been a good album in general, but a disappointment in the historical context to the band's greatest effort. So, I may give you and advice: Ignore the concept, skip the first tracks filled with underwater fart poetry and enjoy the bubbles of genius in the last five tunes or so of "American Soldier".

UMUR "The Warning" is the debut full-length studio by US heavey metal/US power metal act Queensrÿche. The album was released through EMI in September 1984.

The music on the album is US power metal/heavy metal with a slight progressive edge. At this point in time the term "Progressive Metal" had not yet been coined, so while Queensrÿche are often labelled a progressive metal act it´s actually only half the truth. The music style on "The Warning" is closer to the music of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest than the music of Dream Theater and their ilk. Queensrÿche are an exceptionally well playing act and with a distinct sounding and incredibly skilled vocalist like Geoff Tate in front you have a winning formula. The reverb laded sound production may sound a bit dated today, but back then this was a really well produced album. As if that weren´t enough the music is also very well composed and Queensrÿche, already this early on, had a unique sound.

All tracks are generally quality material ranging from powerful heavy metal tracks to more epic material like the 9:40 minutes long album closer "Roads to Madness". If we´re talking progressive structures and playing, that particular track, is the track on the album that best represents that part of Queensrÿche´s style.

"The Warning" is a great start to Queensrÿche career and it´s no wonder the album is widely considered one of the finest albums in the band´s discography. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

Time Signature I remember now...

Genre: progressive metal

"Operation: Mindcrime" was, and still is, a legendary release in the world of metal, and it was appreciated not only within the sphere of progressive metal, but by fans of all sorts of different types of metal. And listening to the album, one quickly realizes why - it's simply amazing.

"Operation: Mindcrime II" is the sequel to "Operation: Mindcrime", but it was never as successful, and some people don't even like it. Personally, I like "Mindcrime II", although not as much as the original "Mindcrime", for having a more updated sound and not just being a repetition of first one.

Anyway, this live DVD gives you both albums performed live in their entirety at The Moore Theater in the band's hometown Seattle, and whether you like "Mindcrime II" or not, you are in for a treat with the performance of both albums. This show has everything that the thinking man, or person to be non-sexist, of metal should love about Queensrÿche: rock 'n' roll, drama, political messages, social commentary, special effects and artistic visual stage props. This is theatrical heavy metal at its best: accessible yet thought provoking. And it holds up all the way through, so even if you don't "Mindcrime II" as much as the first one, you are certain to be entertained by its performance on this DVD.

The concert itself is great, but considering myself a thinking man pf metal, I like informative bonus material, too, and I think the quality of the bonus material is a bit so-so... with one exception. The bonus material includes a version of "The Chase" which was recorded live in L.A. featuring Ronnie James Dio, performing live as Dr. X; in the light of his recent tragic passing, this particular bit of bonus material becomes additionally valuable, I think. And it's a great performance in itself, too.

Recommended to fans of Queensrÿche, progressive metal and traditional heavy metal and hard rock.

Stooge It’s become a tradition with rock and metal bands that release a concept album to perform it live from beginning to end, and that’s what the video Operation: Livecrime showcases, with Queensryche performing their landmark 1988 release.

As anyone who’s heard the Operation: Mindcrime album, the band can often have as many (or more) pop elements as metal. Seeing their stage show on DVD, this aspect is there to witness, from headset microphones to Chris DeGarmo’s chaps. I can tolerate most of the pop aspects of the band especially considering the time of the video’s initial release (1991), but some of the stage moves I find to be quite humorous and actually take away from the power of some of the songs. Thankfully, much of the prancing about stage dies down past the halfway point of the show. It must be some combination of fatigue and the realization that most of the crowd consists of males.

But seriously, this DVD is actually a pretty good release. The stage show includes effective visual aids that help piece their Mindrcime concept together, and the footage is shot with high quality. There’s a decent amount of bonus footage here as well, which includes a brief interview with singer Geoff Tate regarding the band and various aspects of the Mindcrime album. Two bonus songs are also hidden as easter eggs on the DVD, "The Lady Wore Black" and "Roads To Madness”.

Based on the rating system, this DVD is fitting of a 3 star rating. While certainly an entertaining release, I wouldn’t consider it to be essential. I’m not as drawn to watch this performance as I am to simply listen to the Mindcrime studio album.

AtomicCrimsonRush It must have sounded great on paper - let's make a DVD that is totally in a sepia tone and use amateur and professional footage to create an artistic concert experience.

Unfortunately, this is a washed out experience and dull to the max apart from a couple of excellent tracks.

The set is based on the 'Tribe' album which is not the best QR by any standards. There are only two tracks from 'Operation Mindcrime' - a tragedy as that is their masterpiece.

The pleasant surprise is the special guest appearances of Dream Theater, one of my all time favourite bands. They join QR to play two brilliant versions of 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Won't Get Fooled Again'. The two tracks make this worth watching to the end, but I believe you will be ffwding this DVD to those tracks after one viewing.

Without the colourful lighting and occasional 'Operation Mindcrime' track, the concert is very disappointing. No colour makes a boring experience when watching a band perform. What a waste of talent, time and energy. Get hold of 'Operation: Live-Crime' which is brilliant, and leave this 'Art(less) of Live' on the shelf.