Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album

[TL]

New song - Around the World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1JWWOL-opI

This has been put up by the band as a free download.

Hmm....not digging this shit at all.  Get Started was a fun track but this just doesn't cut it IMO.

I don't think I've ever seen a more split like/dislike bar on youtube.

[jingle.boy]

Thanks for all the warnings.  Will not be doing anything to further degrade my opinion of this once great band.  Q2k and Mindcrime 2 did enough to taint me.

I'll just consider them (career) dead to me around 1997.  They are the Fredo of music to me.

[jonny108]

God damn it...they've have removed the like/dislike bar on Wot We Do  Yerp as they would say "let's only approve the comments that are good about us to make us feel better for playing this God awful shit"

[TL]

Really, when you have your wife and daughter doing burlesque dancing at your shows, I think the point of actually listening to constructive criticism is pretty distant in the rearview mirror.

[dongringo]

I used to think GT had more class than most rock singers/musicians due the nice suits, wine, yaught and all, but now I know otherwise. But still, only the music matters to me. If I judged all the musicians I listen to by their morals, I probably wouldn't have much of a music collection. I don't agree with all the hard drug abuse in the business either, even in the jazz scene, but I'm not going to stop listening to their music because of it.

[wolfking]

Listened to The Warning today.  Fuck they did some amazing stuff back in the day.  Makes me even more depressed for the new album.

[Jirpo]

The Warning is their second best IMO

[wolfking]

Yeah, I've always liked it too.  Not one weak track to be found, and when you add Prophecy in on the mix, it's just perfect.  Geoff vocals are godly on this album.  Roads to Madness, Take Hold of the Flame, Deliverance, En Force, Warning, NM 156, Before the Storm, just amazing tracks.

[dongringo]

They played Take Hold of the Flame on the AS tour and Geoff nailed it. He hit all the high notes with no probelm at all. Of course it was the 3rd show of the tour so his voice was fresh. But man he sounded great that night. Great show all around. Then I saw them at the end of the long tour and they just weren't as into it, but still gave it 80%. Their tours are too long and too packed. But I met Geoff, Scott, Parker and their families at an Italian restaurant before the show and they were very friendly and in a good mood. I just think the long tour took some toll on them. But man that Portland gig was amazing. Good memories.

Anyway, back on topic. The songs so far are basically singles, which are usually the worst songs on any albums. Man Down and If I Were King were the singles on AS and they are my least favorite songs of the cd, so I'm still hopeful that the rest of the album will be head and heals above the released songs.

This just in: I hated Rage for Order when it came out as well as Empire. Of course I grew to love them both.

Maybe DTC will be good, maybe not, but to judge it on a couple of singles/videos can't do the album justice as a whole.

[jingle.boy]

Yeah, but a trend is a trend.  They've haven't done anything good since Promised Land (IMO).  I'm tired of giving them chances, or the benefit of the doubt.  I doubt this album will be any less unimpressive than the last few.

[King Postwhore]

This just in: I hated Rage for Order when it came out as well as Empire. Of course I grew to love them both.

Maybe DTC will be good, maybe not, but to judge it on a couple of singles/videos can't do the album justice as a whole.

RFO took me a bit to get used to but Empire won me over right away.  I didn't mind the change in sound and style for QR on Empire.

[energythief]

Maybe DTC will be good, maybe not, but to judge it on a couple of singles/videos can't do the album justice as a whole.

No, it's completely awful as a whole. Here's a taste of what you're in for:

Excerpts from "Hot Spot Junkie"

The wi-fi way
I'm addicted to the wi-fi way
Indispensible satellite tool
I abuse, I abuse
The World Wide Web
And all the pictures on YouTube, YouTube
There's no escaping it
It's crawling under my skin

Can't look away from the screen
Might miss what's happening
I'm busy surfing
For some other kind of fantasy
My mind's a river flowing
Don't know which way to run
Upon the tide (?)
I'm like a hotspot junkie
With a loaded gun

...

This wi-fi frenzy world
Revolutionary cyberworld
Ready get some airtime (?)
airway time (?)
You got it under your skin
You got it under your skin

The World Wide Web
Has all the local news on YouTube, YouTube
The connectivity is crossing the threshhold
Crossing the threshhold

...

That's more or less accurate. It's just painful to listen to, and is indicative of the lack of quality on the album as a whole. Geoff's voice is a mess, his vocal phrasing is awkward and distracting, Michael Wilton is just absent, hardly any guitar-driven songs, cheesy lyrics, etc. etc.

But give it a listen, you never know - maybe it will "click" for you.

[T-ski]

They played Take Hold of the Flame on the AS tour and Geoff nailed it. He hit all the high notes with no probelm at all. Of course it was the 3rd show of the tour so his voice was fresh. But man he sounded great that night. Great show all around.

I don't believe this at all.  Are you sure there weren't any backing vocals being pumped in?  Tate does not take care of his voice, doesn't believe in warming up before shows and is known for using backing tracks quite a bit during live shows these days.   

[dongringo]

Yeah, but a trend is a trend.  They've haven't done anything good since Promised Land (IMO).  I'm tired of giving them chances, or the benefit of the doubt.  I doubt this album will be any less unimpressive than the last few.

This is where we disagree. OM:ll and AS were excellent albums imo and Tribe wasn't bad. I am doubtful that DTC will click with me though because it's not the guitar driven Queensryche I love, and the lyrics so far do seem very simple and strange for them. But I don't only listen to guitar driven music so I'm open to a change. So I'll buy it used and still give it a shot. One thing is for sure, unlike DT, you really never know what your going to get with QR.

[dongringo]

They played Take Hold of the Flame on the AS tour and Geoff nailed it. He hit all the high notes with no probelm at all. Of course it was the 3rd show of the tour so his voice was fresh. But man he sounded great that night. Great show all around.

I don't believe this at all.  Are you sure there weren't any backing vocals being pumped in?  Tate does not take care of his voice, doesn't believe in warming up before shows and is known for using backing tracks quite a bit during live shows these days.   

I'm positive man. I was in front right in front of him. Another time he sounded great was at the Pain in the Grass festival in Seattle when they played with the orchestra, this after several days off from the tour. His voice needs rest. That's the situation. Problem is, it doesn't get any rest when they play almost every single night at every country fair and casino a long the way. But when he's fresh he can still sound very good.

[bosk1]

I'm sorry, but I don't believe you.  1.  His voice sounds awful on the last 3 studio releases.  He simply can't hit and hold those notes anymore.  2.  More importantly, bootlegs don't lie.  You may simply have been caught up in the moment.  Or you maybe don't realize that all he is doing is briefly walking up to a high note and holding it for a brief moment, while the song is downtuned so that he is actually hitting a note lower than the original, and being propped up by a backing track.  Honestly, I don't know.  But I do know for a fact that Goeff Tate has destroyed his voice and is simply incapable of singing anything close to how he used to be able to. 

[wolfking]

Maybe DTC will be good, maybe not, but to judge it on a couple of singles/videos can't do the album justice as a whole.

No, it's completely awful as a whole. Here's a taste of what you're in for:

Excerpts from "Hot Spot Junkie"

The wi-fi way
I'm addicted to the wi-fi way
Indispensible satellite tool
I abuse, I abuse
The World Wide Web
And all the pictures on YouTube, YouTube
There's no escaping it
It's crawling under my skin

Can't look away from the screen
Might miss what's happening
I'm busy surfing
For some other kind of fantasy
My mind's a river flowing
Don't know which way to run
Upon the tide (?)
I'm like a hotspot junkie
With a loaded gun

...

This wi-fi frenzy world
Revolutionary cyberworld
Ready get some airtime (?)
airway time (?)
You got it under your skin
You got it under your skin

The World Wide Web
Has all the local news on YouTube, YouTube
The connectivity is crossing the threshhold
Crossing the threshhold

...

That's more or less accurate. It's just painful to listen to, and is indicative of the lack of quality on the album as a whole. Geoff's voice is a mess, his vocal phrasing is awkward and distracting, Michael Wilton is just absent, hardly any guitar-driven songs, cheesy lyrics, etc. etc.

But give it a listen, you never know - maybe it will "click" for you.

Dear God.

[Zook]

Maybe DTC will be good, maybe not, but to judge it on a couple of singles/videos can't do the album justice as a whole.

No, it's completely awful as a whole. Here's a taste of what you're in for:

Excerpts from "Hot Spot Junkie"

The wi-fi way
I'm addicted to the wi-fi way
Indispensible satellite tool
I abuse, I abuse
The World Wide Web
And all the pictures on YouTube, YouTube
There's no escaping it
It's crawling under my skin

Can't look away from the screen
Might miss what's happening
I'm busy surfing
For some other kind of fantasy
My mind's a river flowing
Don't know which way to run
Upon the tide (?)
I'm like a hotspot junkie
With a loaded gun

...

This wi-fi frenzy world
Revolutionary cyberworld
Ready get some airtime (?)
airway time (?)
You got it under your skin
You got it under your skin

The World Wide Web
Has all the local news on YouTube, YouTube
The connectivity is crossing the threshhold
Crossing the threshhold

...

That's more or less accurate. It's just painful to listen to, and is indicative of the lack of quality on the album as a whole. Geoff's voice is a mess, his vocal phrasing is awkward and distracting, Michael Wilton is just absent, hardly any guitar-driven songs, cheesy lyrics, etc. etc.

But give it a listen, you never know - maybe it will "click" for you.

Please leave the killer computer lyrics to Symphony X kthxbi

[TL]

Wow, those lyrics are beyond embarrassingly bad.
At least when Rush wrote Virtuality, they had the excuse of it being 1996.

[dongringo]

I'm sorry, but I don't believe you.  1.  His voice sounds awful on the last 3 studio releases.  He simply can't hit and hold those notes anymore.  2.  More importantly, bootlegs don't lie.  You may simply have been caught up in the moment.  Or you maybe don't realize that all he is doing is briefly walking up to a high note and holding it for a brief moment, while the song is downtuned so that he is actually hitting a note lower than the original, and being propped up by a backing track.  Honestly, I don't know.  But I do know for a fact that Goeff Tate has destroyed his voice and is simply incapable of singing anything close to how he used to be able to. 

LOL How insulting. I don't care if you don't believe me. I have a good ear and know what I hear. Anyway, I didn't say he sounds that good every night, did I? At the end of the tour when I saw them in Eugene he sounded pretty bad and struggled throughout. So please, a little respect.

[wolfking]

Calm down guys, leave the arguments for DTC. 

I must, I saw them in 2006 on the Mindcrime 2 tour.  Geoff was very good, but he wasn't 1984 quality of course.  He did well to hit the notes but when he did, it was quite thin, not full like he was back in the day, but nevertheless, his performance was very enjoyable, I would go and see them again. 

I do think at concerts you do get lost in the moment and performances come across better in the flesh.  The atmosphere, excitement and volume level sometimes make you think the band are performing better than they are.  That's why find it amusing when people say "they didn't sound that bad when I saw them."  When in actual fact, they probably did.

[bosk1]

I do think at concerts you do get lost in the moment and performances come across better in the flesh.  The atmosphere, excitement and volume level sometimes make you think the band are performing better than they are.  That's why find it amusing when people say "they didn't sound that bad when I saw them."  When in actual fact, they probably did.

Exactly.  Nowadays, it's pretty easy to dig up a copy of a show and see whether or not it is "that good."  In this case, it wasn't. 

[wolfking]

I do think at concerts you do get lost in the moment and performances come across better in the flesh.  The atmosphere, excitement and volume level sometimes make you think the band are performing better than they are.  That's why find it amusing when people say "they didn't sound that bad when I saw them."  When in actual fact, they probably did.

Exactly.  Nowadays, it's pretty easy to dig up a copy of a show and see whether or not it is "that good."  In this case, it wasn't. 

Really, I'd go as far as saying that most cases it's not as good.  I've watched bands live on youtube or tv literally a day after me attending the show and being shocked at the performance.  I'd say to my self "They weren't this bad last night."  Well, most probably, they were. 

It's something about seeing one of your favourite bands live in the flesh that make you think they are performing perfectly right in front of you.  Acoustics, atmosphere, digital effects do wonderful things.

[dongringo]

Well, after 200+ concerts in my lifetime, I know a good one from a bad one. And I don't agree with judging a show by a youtube clip due to the unbelievably horrendous sound quality recorded with people's phones. That is precisely why Steven Wilson prohibits filming any of his shows, whether it be PT or Blackfield. He has said that he doesn't want people judging their music by very low quality youtube clips. Even though people don't care and do it anyway. 

I've seen Queensryche 5 times live and rate them as follows:

Portland 1991 Empire tour - Off the charts good. On a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a 1000.

Vancouver, WA 2007 Hits and Rarities tour - Ok show, not very into it. Geoff sounded just ok, didn't take any chances other than a couple high notes just show he can.

Portland 2009 AS tour - Very, very good show. They were on fire that night and Geoff sounded very good, not Empire tour good. That would be impossible. But he pulled it off on THOTF during the encore, again not 80s quality, but he hit the notes and they were in key. A very good night at the start of the tour.

Eugene, OR 2009 AS tour - Just an ok show, not very into it, last stop on the tour, they were clearly done with it. Geoff's voice was thrashed by that time and he struggled to get through it. Pretty weak and not worth the road trip, other than we got to meet them at an Italian restaurant before the show, which was a surprise.

Seattle 2009 Empire Orchestra - After several days off from the end of the tour, Very good show. Geoff sounded good, but not as good as the Portland show. But he sang his ass off and it was a million times better than the Eugene show just a couple weeks before.

So as you guys can see, I'm not an idiot. I know what I hear and I know Geoff isn't consistent. But I've also noticed that he does better when he's not trying to sing those ridiculous vocal ranges every single night. His voice needs rest to sound up to par, but it's not ruined...yet. I think his age should be taken into consideration as well. I mean, it's not like Bruce Dickinson or Rob Halford are singing like they did at their peak either.

[Jirpo]

Actually, Bruce Dickinson's voice is still amazing. Halford not so much.

[wolfking]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

And IMO, Bruce has sung better in the 2000's than he did in the 1980's.  Halford has gone downhill so much it's embarrasing.

[Dream Team]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

And IMO, Bruce has sung better in the 2000's than he did in the 1980's.  Halford has gone downhill so much it's embarrasing.

Not really embarassing considering his age.

[cfmoran13]

You gotta cut Halford some slack.  Yeah, he and Bruce are up there among the top metal vocalists.  But, they're quite different.  Bruce definitely does more singing compared to Halford's more than occasional shrieking.  Halford's style has gotta take more of a toll on the vocal chords.  Both still awesome, though.

[dongringo]

Halford's style has gotta take more of a toll on the vocal chords.

I've always felt this way about Geoff's vocal style. How could he possibly continue that style forever? Personally, I think he's intentionally changed his style. This has been evident since his solo album. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It just sounds different than before. He's still one of the best vocalists out there, despite not being near as good as the good old days.

[dongringo]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

Yes, but when you basically call me a liar then you might as well be calling me an idiot who doesn't know what I'm talking about. That's why I went on the defensive and broke down the shows I've seen, just to show that I realize that Geoff isn't consistent, sometimes not good at all, but he still has his good nights. He only does it when he feels he can do it though. Sometimes he'll sing passages in a lower key because that's all he feels he can do that night. Bruce Dickensen does that as well. Another comparison between Geoff and Bruce...Iron Maiden's tours aren't nearly as grueling. They take way more days off than Queensryche, which is the point I was making about Geoff's voice not having enough rest during a tour. Of course Maiden plays to much larger crowds so I guess they can do that. Anyway, Bruce isn't always perfect. He drinks too much on tour sometimes and goes on stage with a hangover occasionally. There have been rumors about Geoff smoking, although I haven't seen any proof of that. Not saying it's not true, just not convinced. At any rate, if he was smoking, I believe he has quit because they are auctioning off a tour package for a couple to travel with them on the Priest tour, stay on their bus, eat with them, etc. and one of the rules is absolutely no smoking backstage. So if he wasn't taking care of his voice in that way, it seems he's back on track. I just wish they would take more days off, because his voice needs it. I do hope he doesn't kill his voice for good and that they come out with just one more really good QR album before their demise. But I'm not holding my breath. Unlike DT, Geoff...I mean Queensrych lol...do what they want without much regard to the fans. But they don't owe us anything. It's their music after all.

[bosk1]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

Yes, but when you basically call me a liar then you might as well be calling me an idiot who doesn't know what I'm talking about.

I don't mean to offend you.  I'm just saying that what I have objectively seen and heard from the band doesn't allow me to believe that Geoff is currently capable of singing the way he should.  Can he have good night?  Sure.  Did he have some good nights during the AS tour?  From what I've heard, yes.  But did he have great nights?  Nothing personal against you or anyone else who might make such a claim, but I have a hard time believing that.  I appreciate what Geoff does.  I really do.  I've sung his material before, and I know how hard it is.  Revolution Calling, for example, is one of the most impossibly difficult songs to sing properly for even the best singers who have a natural high tenor range.  And yet, Geoff did it pretty well back on the Empire tour.  Even when his voice is off, he has been able through the years to somehow get up onstage and fight his way through an entire set of really tough material, which takes a lot of effort and a lot of good technique and knowhow that most singers simply don't possess.  HOWEVER, Geoff hasn't consistently used good technique in a few years, and it even shows up on the studio albums.  You may call what he did on Take Cover, AS, and the new album singing "differently."  And that's fine.  But from a technical perspective, he isn't singing properly, and it shows in the sound.  And, yes, I've seen them live since then and heard a lot of recordings.  So, going back to my initial point, I don't mean to disrespect you, but I've heard and seen so much that is technically wrong with his singing nowadays that I simply can't believe he had a great show during that timeframe.

[TL]

But they don't owe us anything. It's their music after all.

That doesn't mean we can't criticize it. When you put something out there for the public, you have to be prepared to deal with how they react to it. Queensryche have put out some great music in the past, but from what we've heard so far, the new album is shaping up to be quite a turd.

[ShadowWalker]

Halford's style has gotta take more of a toll on the vocal chords.

I've always felt this way about Geoff's vocal style. How could he possibly continue that style forever? Personally, I think he's intentionally changed his style. This has been evident since his solo album. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It just sounds different than before. He's still one of the best vocalists out there, despite not being near as good as the good old days.

Tater has not intentionally changed his style. His years of bad habits forced adjustments for the worse. He has admitted in interviews that he does not work with a vocal coach and does no other vocal training to keep his voice in shape. On the AS tour, he was spotted as smoking again. I am sure all the Insania and other wine he drinks doesn't help. Bottom line is that Tater did not treat is vocals like a precious instrument. Add on top of that the brutal touring schedule and you have a singer who is a shell of his former self and not someone I would think of including in the top vocalists currently offering their talents to the public.

[Lowdz]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

And IMO, Bruce has sung better in the 2000's than he did in the 1980's.  Halford has gone downhill so much it's embarrasing.

This is probably the first time I've disagreed with you Wolfie. BD is a poor imitation of his 80s goods these days. He was terrible on TFF, and that was in the studio. He sounded in pain. He sounded better on the more laid back stuff though.

Back to QR, they may have the odd decent song these days but they were soo awesome back in the 80s/early 90s, the odd good song isn't going to cut it. No-one could touch them. They appear to be finished as a recording act judging by this.

[wolfking]

dongringo, nobody is calling you an idiot at all, just giving our point of views.

Yes, but when you basically call me a liar then you might as well be calling me an idiot who doesn't know what I'm talking about. That's why I went on the defensive and broke down the shows I've seen, just to show that I realize that Geoff isn't consistent, sometimes not good at all, but he still has his good nights. He only does it when he feels he can do it though. Sometimes he'll sing passages in a lower key because that's all he feels he can do that night. Bruce Dickensen does that as well. Another comparison between Geoff and Bruce...Iron Maiden's tours aren't nearly as grueling. They take way more days off than Queensryche, which is the point I was making about Geoff's voice not having enough rest during a tour. Of course Maiden plays to much larger crowds so I guess they can do that. Anyway, Bruce isn't always perfect. He drinks too much on tour sometimes and goes on stage with a hangover occasionally. There have been rumors about Geoff smoking, although I haven't seen any proof of that. Not saying it's not true, just not convinced. At any rate, if he was smoking, I believe he has quit because they are auctioning off a tour package for a couple to travel with them on the Priest tour, stay on their bus, eat with them, etc. and one of the rules is absolutely no smoking backstage. So if he wasn't taking care of his voice in that way, it seems he's back on track. I just wish they would take more days off, because his voice needs it. I do hope he doesn't kill his voice for good and that they come out with just one more really good QR album before their demise. But I'm not holding my breath. Unlike DT, Geoff...I mean Queensrych lol...do what they want without much regard to the fans. But they don't owe us anything. It's their music after all.

Man, I really didn't mean to offend you also.  I have only seen the band once in my life, so I think I have spoken enough on the matter.  The inital point bosk and I were saying was that the live concert experience enhances the bands performances, which I still believe.  Of course Geoff is inconsistent and has good nights and bad nights, every singer does, he is an amazing singer that has been doing it for a long time.  His voice isn't going to stay the same after almost 30 years in the business.  Again, man, wasn't having a go at you personally.