OK, well I took a run through Promised Land..twice.
My thoughts..
I Am I- I don't get it. I don't care for it at all. I feel it's messy, and it's just not pleasurable to my ears.
Damaged- Still an awesome tune. Easily the best on the album.
Out Of Mind-I have always raved about the live version, and have always thought the studio version was weak. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed my listens to this song. This one definitely gets raised in my eyes. I do have two issues with it though. Firstly, the placement on the album. Perhaps lyrically it belongs there, but after Damaged, it just sucks all of the momentum out of the beginning of the album.
Also, the guitar solo is INCREDIBLE, but it's way too short. At the end of the solo, the tempo picks up and the chorus returns. I wish they had continued the solo over the increased tempo. It truly would've turned a good song into a great one.
Bridge- Lyrically I'm sure it is quite impactful, and I would never hold that against anyone for liking it, but musically, it just brings nothing. I mean this i the mighty Queensryche we're talking about. They are so much better than this.
Promised Land- While I can certainly respect the effort on this song, and again, lyrically, I can see how they could be appreciated, I will say that this song has actually lost some of its shine. It's long, slow, bloated, and really goes nowhere. I need something more than this for 8:25.
Disconnected/Lady Jane Queensryche, by this point, had put out so much great music. These two songs are so far below what this band is capable of.
My Global Mind-It's OK. Don't love it, don't hate it. But very mediocre QR.
One More Time-Not a bad tune, but I feel like there's an untapped great tune here. It's missing
something, but I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe if it had Empire's production, it would sound a bit fuller.
Someone Else- I love this song. Musically and lyrically. Seriously. The problem..the vocals. I admire the effort. I really do, but I feel like this is the first clue that Tate started to lose it. In fact:*
* The recording of the vocals is a major roadblock for me on this album. They vocals just sound weird to me, like they were being sung through some sort of machine. They feel like they are loaded with effects and do not sound very pure at all.
I know it's the old "TAC hates Promised Land", but in the end, I'm just discussing what I think after giving it a couple of fresh listens. My intent is NOT to rag on it.
I freaking LOVED Queensryche, literally from the release of the EP up through Empire. Because of the great Promised Land tour, I gave Hear In The Now Frontier a chance. QR essentially fell off the map for me after that. Which is too bad, and honestly, it was frustrating because as a teenager, Queensryche were a staple for me.
Promised Land certainly has a more laid back style and shows the Floydian influence, but as a hard rock fan following this hard rock band, I was caught completely off guard by this Floydian approach. never saw it coming, and I have never adjusted to it. They were probably the most thoughtful metal band of the 80's. Seriously, that's how strongly I feel about them. Queen Of The Ryche was game changing.
I guess bands change and evolve. And that's cool. I respect that. Look at Rush and Metallica. It's just that as the tracks wind, sometimes you get thrown off the train, which is what happened to me.
Pre Empire Queensryche, Pre Signals Rush, and Pre Black Album Metallica are all easily Top 10 bands for me, but in their totality, all three don't crack the Top 10. I hate that!
Anyway, thanks for reading.
Topic: Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album (Read 705519 times)
