An album like this probably would have never happened with Tate still in the band.
I see statements like this all the time, and to be honest, while true, it's not just Tate. The original band never repeated themselves. Every single record had this vibe/direction that differed from what came before it. All of those records had hallmarks of the band's sound throughout, but they each had a different feel to them, which in and of itself, was also a hallmark of classic Queensryche. It was one of the things that for me, personally, drew me to the band. I loved the evolutionary ride.
With TLT, I have felt that the band, stylistically, using the EP through Empire as a template (and honestly, I think they only do a PL track or two live because the fans love it, not because they particularly want to - TLT has said more than once PL wasn't really his thing), have not really grown much from the self-titled 2013 album to Digital Noise Alliance. They've sort of created this sound of their own using the core QR albums as template, and infusing TLT's writing and interests. And what we've gotten is consistency and a bit of repetitiveness. And THAT is something we would not have gotten out of Tate, nor with the full original band.
And consistency is good, and much better than what we got with Q2k, OPMC 2, AS and D2C. But I'd argue that Queensryche, while creating music more in the style of what got them noticed, has also lost a bit of its authenticity as a result. Not that that is bad - it works for them and most of the fanbase. Honestly, at Wilton and Jackson's age, reinventing the wheel every record would hurt them, not help them. So I get that. But as I listen to DNA, I hear a band that is unwilling to break new ground and try new things. And if I was still a hardcore fan (as most know, my passion is for the original band's catalog, not this lineup), that would bother me.
Yes, I could be reading way too much into it - it's a set of songs. But I don't hear a lot of growth the last few records, and while growth may not be their goal (I have no idea), I know it's significantly less interesting for me as a listener. Again, I'm not saying DNA is bad - it's not. It's a good record. But my original thought, even after many more spins, still stands. To me, DNA sounds like a band that is not sure of where to go, and is treading water.
Topic: Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album (Read 707109 times)
