Death threats are ridiculous. But that's nothing new. Todd got them when he fronted Crimson Glory for replacing Midnight, and he got them for replacing Tate. It's absolutely absurd.
re: what Queensryche sounds like now (Peter Mc's post)
Let me clarify. It doesn't sound like CLASSIC Queensryche. Nor should it. It's a totally different band that has gone its own direction, as they absolutely should. I'm happy for them. They may rely on what came before to tour, but they shouldn't be beholden to their classic "sound" if that's not where their collective heads are at. I think the new song is okay, and has shifted further away from...what I consider to be the hallmarks of the band. That doesn't make it bad, it makes it them.
If you listen to the original band from the EP through HITNF, and then the songs on Tribe with Chris, they follow a very natural sonic evolution. As songwriters they were changing and reinventing and seeing where they could go. In the moment when those records were released, it may at times have sounded like a gigantic departure or leap. But now, 20 years later, to my ears, that evolution was very clear and makes me appreciate records like HITNF (that more people than not disliked) a lot more. HITNF may not be my favorite record from the original Queensryche, but I really like it. As I do the songs from Tribe that had the five of them involved. That, to be, sounds like them.
As people left and were replaced, that sound, and the band's sound changed. I think it's pretty obviously they were rudderless after DeGarmo left. And that makes sense - he was the songwriter in the band who was evolving and pushing the most and that could connect with Tate the best. Q2k featured Kelly, and not surprisingly, listening back, Q2k sounds very much like the albums Kelly was involved in producing/writing at the time. After Tribe, what happened? Tate brought in Jason Slater, who did his best to deliver hard rock/metal in a QR vein that Tate was happy with. Tall order, and obviously, by the time they got to Dedicated to Chaos, while Tate's hallmarks are still in that material, you can tell that creatively, it was imploding.
When TLT joined the band replacing Tate, the first record, and parts of the second, were very clearly trying to stay in that Mindcrime/Empire vein to re-establish the "base" of the band's most popular period. But starting with The Verdict, you can absolutely tell there's no Rockenfield and what he contributed to "sound" of Queensryche. It's metal, and you hear Wilton's style, which gives you echoes of the original sound of the band, but to me, that's really the beginning of a new band.
Fast-forward to the new song, from the upcoming album, I think it continues that. It's okay, and sounds even further from that classic sound of the band. And if they are all happy and energized by their new material, all the more power to them. They can't worry about creating music that sounds like it connects with the original band. They have to be themselves. And I'm happy they are. It's hard rock/metal in a progressive vein. I think it's okay. I am sure there will be other songs I think are better, and other songs I think are worse. Nature of the whole thing.
I'm happy for them if they are happy.
For me, I've gotten to the point that I am not really a fan of "brand names" any longer when it comes to music. I won't buy a record by a band that has undergone massive changes until I hear it a little. Particularly band who have lost a lot of the members that contributed the key elements of the band's music that drew me to them in the first place.
Topic: Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album (Read 705782 times)
