Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album

[jjrock88]

I looked it up. It was actually Empire, which wasn't on the original version.

That's what I thought. LOL. But Damaged and Empire sit next to each other on my QR Top-10 list, so that works. 

Yeah Damaged and Empire are two of QR's most kick ass tunes 

[pg1067]

JD, Tim,

Yeah, Prophecy has been around forever. . I mean, they were playing that song since the EP tour. - http://anybodylistening.net/9-20-83.html - and that's just the first confirmed setlist. I am sure it was in the set for all the dates before that. The Warning sessions were over budget, so if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say its a demo recording of theirs from The Warning era that they submitted for that soundtrack. Or they could have cut a quick live version of it and just marked it as demo during the RFO pre-production stage. The film came out in what...88? So it could have been either of those things, but because its so raw, I'd say the particular "early" version was a band home demo cut quickly.

Wish I could give you a concrete answer, but to be honest, I never really paid much attention to that particular version of the song. I just always listened to the version they cut during the Rage sessions that was put on the reissue of the EP in 1988, and to the early bootlegs. I never really bothered with the Decline of Western Civ version (I have it, just don't listen to it).

Prophecy (not "The Prophecy") is SOOO good.  I had the Live in Tokyo VHS, and my friend and I used to watch/listen to it all the time and drink beers when his parents would leave him home by himself.  I had no clue about the song's provenance but was thrilled when the studio version was released with the CD version of the EP.  I'm listening to this demo version ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgQSBDBoysQ ) now.  It's cool (esp. with the very audible bass - even on my work computer speakers), but I doubt it will replace the live version for me.

[pg1067]

I was floating about on YT and ran across this "vocal coach reacts" video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIHHrqzXAfs

Not usually a big fan of reaction videos, but this is ALMOST more entertaining than the song itself (doesn't hurt that she's a bit of a hottie with an English accent).  She's got a bunch more, so I'm guessing I won't be terribly productive this afternoon.

[jjrock88]

I’ve enjoyed the few reaction videos of hers that I’ve watched; Tate, Michael Kiske, Rob Halford, Dio, couple of others I believe. I was only interested in hearing her opinion of classic rock/metal singers but yeah she can be quite alluring lol

[TAC]

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

[jjrock88]

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

How awesome would a duet in the 80s with Geoff Tate and Michael Kiske have been?

[jjrock88]

But that video she reviewed with a live version of Take Hold is fantastic. Tate is on fire in that one 

[wolfking]

I watched one of her videos and found it annoying she stopped it every 5 seconds to give an opinion.  Then half the time she just describes what was sung and how it was sung.  Yeah, we heard it too, love.  Save it til the end.

[pg1067]

But that video she reviewed with a live version of Take Hold is fantastic. Tate is on fire in that one 

That whole Live in Tokyo tape (never been released on DVD, apparently) is awesome.

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

Watching now.

I like that, in her videos, she's hearing the music just slightly before we do, so we get reactions just a split-second before we hear what she's reacting to.

[TAC]

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

Watching now.

I like that, in her videos, she's hearing the music just slightly before we do, so we get reactions just a split-second before we hear what she's reacting to.

I believe she actually has an orgasm during the video.

[EPICVIEW]

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

Watching now.

I like that, in her videos, she's hearing the music just slightly before we do, so we get reactions just a split-second before we hear what she's reacting to.

I believe she actually has an orgasm during the video.

Looking back Tate was such a monster,,,I saw them a few times during the EP to Warning period, and only Halford was in Tates league , or Tate was pushing Halfords league,  to that point JPs Unleashed in the East was to me the greatest live vocal performance on Vinyl ( and it still might be ),,,   I remember standing there thinking "geezus, the bands good but man Tate is from another world"  and Tate commanded the stage also

[Samsara]

I have to go back and find it in my collection, but I have this set of rehearsals from 1983 as the band was preparing for its EP tour. Tate is WAILING. I mean the power and range back then was just unheard of. I am going to have to go find it now, because I remember when I first heard it, I just flipped out how raw and live it was (it sounds like it was a tape recorder just in the rehearsal room, but cleaned up a bit).

edit - I found it. Its totally what I thought it was. Even Tate (I think) says "ready Dave" who I assume is the one recording it.

To this day, I seriously don't remember a male lead singer in rock (other than Freddie) who had that combination of ridiculous high range, power, and depth/character to his voice. Tate was ridiculous back then.

[TAC]

Tate was ridiculous back then.

He really was.

[jammindude]

As much as I can't stand the guy, it is my opinion that 83-93 Tate was the greatest vocalist in the history of rock/metal.   

[bl5150]

I've see the Keeper Of The Seven Keys one, which is fantastic.

Watching now.

I like that, in her videos, she's hearing the music just slightly before we do, so we get reactions just a split-second before we hear what she's reacting to.

I believe she actually has an orgasm during the video.

She is pretty cool in small doses ...........

I remember seeing a more serious (less orgasmic) analysis of Tate from another vocal coach.  The basic conclusion was that he was seriously good but the unusual way he combined head/chest voice was going to take a big toll on him over time.   

Even though I think Tate is a wanker , I do admire the way he has managed to bring himself back in recent years (both in range and his ear) and seems to be more aware of ways to conserve his voice.

[TAC]

Maybe he's had to make changes to achieve this, but I can't help but think one is humility.


And I said this as soon as I heard he was doing Avanatasia. I predicted a a comeback of sorts for him. I knew Tobi would get the absolute best out of him, and figured that experience may carry on with him.

[wolfking]

It's good that Tate is inVesting in trying to take care of his voice a bit more.  I guess now he's just trying to be the vest man that he can.

[TAC]

It's good that Tate is inVesting in trying to take care of his voice a bit more.  I guess now he's just trying to be the vest man that he can.

Gee, that's very intervesting.

[wolfking]

Intervesting 

[jammindude]

Is someone getting the vest...the vest...the vest...the vest of you?

[bl5150]

Shit............thought I had logged into Blabbermouth 

[wolfking]

Shit............thought I had logged into Blabbermouth 

Haha, I make no apologies.

[MirrorMask]

Maybe he's had to make changes to achieve this, but I can't help but think one is humility.


And I said this as soon as I heard he was doing Avanatasia. I predicted a a comeback of sorts for him. I knew Tobi would get the absolute best out of him, and figured that experience may carry on with him.

Yeah, I don't follow him personally to the point of being an expert of his persona and his attitude in recent years, but the casual impression is that sometime after the split with Queensryche he had a kind of reality check that humbled him down a bit. Call him mid-life awakening, the smaller size of venues playing, Tobias Sammet giving him a metaphorical shot in the arm, dunno. The general impression that he gives me is of someone happy with what he's doing, enjoying his time and accepting that in some ways he's a "has been" who still gets some following

Then maybe the other day he kicked a fan's puppy and called in the middle of the night the other QR members to make fart noises, dunno. But I have the general and casual feeling that he toned down the douchebaggery A LOT in later years.

[ProfessorPeart]

Paging TAC (and others). Wilton would like you to know that PL is QR's most underrated album. 

Rockpages.gr: Which you’d say is your most underrated album?

Michael Wilton: Wow! Ahm… I would have to say “Promised Land”. When in came out it has those great expectations because it was coming off “Empire” and we kind of did a 180 on it. As far as we didn’t try to appease the popular stereotype out there. So, there is a lot of great songs on that album and great musical passages and I think a lot of them got pushed and shadowed due to the onslaught of the “Empire” album.

Rockpages.gr: Yeah, but it’s considered to be one of Queensrӱche’s classic albums nowadays.

Michael Wilton: Oh, yeah! We like to think that all our legacy albums hold the test of time.

https://www.rockpages.gr/queensr-che-2/?lang=en

[TAC]

Hah.
I saw that on Bravewords. I didn't read the interview, but of course I was thinking the exact opposite, that it's their most overrated albums.
I think I could scratch out an EP of the album.

[T-ski]

I watched Live: Evolution this past weekend...... boy was Kelly Gray a bad fit.

[pg1067]

Paging TAC (and others). Wilton would like you to know that PL is QR's most underrated album. 

Wilton's opinion aside, based on what I read here, I'd say it's overwhelmingly the most overrated.  The Warning seems to be criminally underrated.

[TAC]

Paging TAC (and others). Wilton would like you to know that PL is QR's most underrated album. 

Wilton's opinion aside, based on what I read here, I'd say it's overwhelmingly the most overrated.  The Warning seems to be criminally underrated.

Thank you. On both.

[ShadowWalker]

I watched Live: Evolution this past weekend...... boy was Kelly Gray a bad fit.

He was. But that set holds a special place for me as I was at those shows (and managed to get to the post show meet-and-greet on the Mindcrime night). I can also be clearly seen in an audience shot during London, so while it may not have been the band at its peak, I still listen to the CDs with a certain fondness.

[Samsara]

Paging TAC (and others). Wilton would like you to know that PL is QR's most underrated album. 

Wilton's opinion aside, based on what I read here, I'd say it's overwhelmingly the most overrated.  The Warning seems to be criminally underrated.

Promised Land IS underrated by the time it came out, grunge was all the rage, and those not into the grunge scene wanted old school metal with modern production. So it's not surprising it lost a lot of people, TAC, you included.

But if you understood and craved the Floyd side of the band, the more art rock elements in Queensryche, Promised Land was a home run. I admit, I didn't get it at first. I remember being turned off by the mid-tempo flow of the album the first time I bought it, got home and put it in the CD player. But then a few nights later, I was home, relaxing with the lights off trying to fall asleep, and put on the album. And it hit me hard. I understood the theme (although I couldn't relate to it at the time), and then I heard the majesty in Queensryche's sound, the thump of Ed's bass, the entwined guitars that were a touch simpler, but lush to complement the song. Scott Rockenfield at his height as a drummer, and Tate...whose vocal range wasn't quite what it was, but the desperation and honesty in his performance just made it all connect together.

I really do feel bad for those QR fans who just don't get, or don't like the direction QR took on Promised Land. I get it. But to me, that album was definitively Queensryche, with all elements of their sound present. They just chose to emphasize the non-expected elements, and dialed back what folks thought they knew about the band. It was bold. And while it did them absolutely ZERO favors commercially, it did wonders for those that had an affinity for that side of Queensryche.

I also thought the single choices were really poor, and did NOT help them. I blogged about this a few years back - https://anybodylistening.net/promisedlandsingles.html

Regarding The Warning - I also think that album is underrated in terms of the songs and performances. The problem is, it has a really dated mix that doesn't emphasize the guitars the way it should. The Warning and the EP were records I picked up AFTER Empire. I started with Rage and Mindcrime in the late 80s. I want to say Summer 87, so it was likely Rage. Then I rented "Live in Tokyo" from the local video store. I HATED it. 

Then I got Empire, loved that, and finally went back and listened to The Warning and the EP...and liked them. But the production was just too flat. But then the brilliance of The Warning hit me, and I "listen around" the bad mix and think it's probably my second favorite Queensryche record after Mindcrime.    I also changed the track order to what the band intended, and to me, the flow of the songs is 1000x improved, and it really helped me connect with the album as a whole.

Re: Live Evolution -- Kelly may not have been the best fit, but like ShadowWalker, I have fond memories of the whole Q2k-Live Evolution era, so I look past it...except on the Jet City Woman solo. I always cringe.

[TAC]

Brian, I quickly scanned the blog you linked. I have zero recollection of I Am I being the single.

I definitely remember Bridge being released and my thought was that after Silent Lucidity, QR released a softer song, which to me was an issue for two reasons.

1. I just thought it was a lame and sellout move to release another song in the vain of Silent Lucidity, and to promote a song that really didn't exemplify what the band was all about. It was like they tried to release Silent Lucidity II, and

2. Bridge is so inferior to Silent Lucidity it's not even funny. I know the lyrics were very personal to Chris, and I totally respect that, but musically, Bridge doesn't lick Silent Lucidity's bootstraps.

And in that moment right there, I was already questioning Promised Land before I had even heard it. Remember, I'm on record as saying when Empire was released, the thing that bugged me the most about shift on Empire wasn't Empire itself, but it was my concerns of what would follow Empire. Bridge basically told me that I might have been onto something.

[TAC]

Just so it's not all negative, I absolutely love Damaged. To me, it's easily the best song on the album. The one other song that I absolutely stand behind is One More Time. Even though Empire raised some red flags for me, I still consider it a strong and excellent album. One More Time fits with the Empire style, and I like it a lot.

I don't love the title track, but on most days, I do like it a lot. I usually have to be in the mood for it, but I do consider it a "plus" song on the album.

I consider Someone Else the 4th best song on the album, but while it's a raw and vulnerable performance, there's a distinct lack of strength in Tate's vocal, even compared with Empire. Tate's slippage dates back to Promised Land, and in many ways, while his vocals actually lifted Empire higher than it likely deserved, he just couldn't save Promised Land on the strength of his vocals alone.

The above four songs are the only songs that would rate from this album in a countdown of the first five (and EP) albums, and everything else from PL would be at the bottom.

[jammindude]

I feel a ranking coming on.

1. Promised Land
2. Damaged
3. Disconnected
4. Out of Mind
5. I Am I
6. Someone Else?
7. My Global Mind
8. Lady Jane
9. One More Time
10. Bridge

All are amazing.   

[TAC]

I feel a wanking coming on.

[jammindude]

I feel a wanking coming on.

Come to daddy...

fap fap fap fap fap

 


EDIT - right now, I'm drinking a vodka and fresca....watching captain marvel....and seriously thinking about redacting this post.   I still might.....later.