Official top 40 Queensryche ('83-'99) countdown thread!! (Top 3 revealed!!)

[KevShmev]

 

It appears as if my point was lost, and I am not in the mood to argue about it, so carry on. 

[TAC]

It appears as if my point was lost, and I am not in the mood to argue about it, so carry on. 

Neither am I! I'm on vacation!!!

[HOF]

Just listened back through Rage For Order for the first time in a while. I think I had this ripped to an old computer at one point from my brother’s copy but never picked up the CD. I’m pretty sure it had something to do with the band pictures, LOL. It’s been a while since I heard it so I wasn’t sure where to place those tracks, but now I think I have a pretty good idea where they go.

Album breakdown for me:

The Warning - 1
Rage for Order - 6
Operation: Mindcrime - 13
Empire - 10
Promised Land - 9
Non-album - 1

[wolfking]

I forgot how much of a wonderful sounding record Empire is.

[WardySI]

Damn so many lists being sent already, my favorite band and between the sentimental nostalgic and obvious brilliance am finding separating faves bloody hard..

At this stage my list is looking like this but even knowing each song as well as I do am listening through the catalog and absolutely expect some changes am actually glad Tribe and rest of the catalog isn't also included 

ETA rather shocked Empire features so heavily as much as I love that album I didn't quite expect it to feature like it is...

EP 3
WARNING 5
RAGE 5
MINDCRIME 8
EMPIRE 9
PROMISED LAND 7
HITNF 2
Q2K 1

[EPIC Outro]

As someone who discovered QR in the mid 2000s, I have a fondness for some of the "Tateryche" material, and even Frequency Unknown. Doubtless, some of those tunes would make my top 40. Nonetheless this looks like fun so I will take a gander and submit my list up to '99.

[ReaperKK]

I don't know QR well enough for a top 40 but I do love all the drama behind the band and I'll be interested in following this thread.

[wolfking]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

[TAC]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

This totally.

After Empire, I don't even recognize the band. Tate's voice is already showing wear on Promised Land.

[wolfking]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

This totally.

After Empire, I don't even recognize the band. Tate's voice is already showing wear on Promised Land.

I used to kind of rate PL but running through that this morning, I'm not sure why.  A couple of gems but nothing compared to everything that came before it.

I agree, there seems to be a dip in Tate between those two albums.  Empire he sounds fucking beautiful.

[Deathless]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

This totally.

After Empire, I don't even recognize the band. Tate's voice is already showing wear on Promised Land.

PL is definitely a "vibe" album for me. There are days where I can't listen to it, but other days it really floors me. I think that's a tribute to the band's talent/writing skills and also where they were in their personal lives/headspaces at the time. I'm surprised we haven't heard from Samsara but I'm sure he'll be here at some point! 
I used to kind of rate PL but running through that this morning, I'm not sure why.  A couple of gems but nothing compared to everything that came before it.

I agree, there seems to be a dip in Tate between those two albums.  Empire he sounds fucking beautiful.

[WardySI]

Fer my ears the essentials have always been the EP - Promised Land run. 

Like many PL wasn't instant and felt somewhat of a letdown after Empire and of course what came before but after a time it finally revealed itself in fact it's probably the one album of that essential run that continues to unwind and reveal more and more as the years roll on so much so have finally picked up the 180 repress on vinyl, should be arriving any day \m/

Anyway, have tonight listened through to my list and can now confirm the MC selections outnumber the Empire selections by 1 so there's that

Reckon will smash the list over the stereo tomorrow see how it vibes and look to submit my list soon...

[DragonAttack]

Warning   1
Rage For Order     5
Mindcrime   8
Empire   9
Promised Land   7
Hear    3
Q2K   3
Non LP  4

Quite a few of mine that would have made a DTF 50 song list will probably fall by the wayside here. 

A shame that 'Two Mile High' was never touched up as a 'Promised Land' bonus.  I didn't discover it until about five years ago.  This was the era of the band that I really enjoyed.....mellow, nice acoustic with a nice electric lead, and then the next song they'd whack you with something heavy.  Thought I'd post it for those who were not aware of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrBb7cCBWk

[WardySI]

Warning   1
Rage For Order     5
Mindcrime   8
Empire   9
Promised Land   7
Hear    3
Q2K   3
Non LP  4

Quite a few of mine that would have made a DTF 50 song list will probably fall by the wayside here. 

A shame that 'Two Mile High' was never touched up as a 'Promised Land' bonus.  I didn't discover it until about five years ago.  This was the era of the band that I really enjoyed.....mellow, nice acoustic with a nice electric lead, and then the next song they'd whack you with something heavy.  Thought I'd post it for those who were not aware of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrBb7cCBWk

Hadn't listened to that in a while thanks for the link great cool song and agree missed opporunity not getting it out there as a bonus track for the remasters or something

[Stadler]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

I get why people like O:M, I certainly do, but for my money, the peak of the QUeensryche Everest is Empire. That is a beautiful album from top to bottom.  Sonically, performance-wise, compositionally... it's almost a perfect record.

[HOF]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

I get why people like O:M, I certainly do, but for my money, the peak of the QUeensryche Everest is Empire. That is a beautiful album from top to bottom.  Sonically, performance-wise, compositionally... it's almost a perfect record.

Yeah, it’s the best QR album by a mile IMO.

[pg1067]

Meh...the early '90s gave us two great examples of what happens when you get too polished:  Queensryche and Metallica.  Both achieved new levels of success.  One imploded and the other almost did but survived to become the undisputed most commercially successful metal band.  I like Empire better than TBA, but, as I posted in the main QR thread, Empire is all about the odd numbered songs.

[wolfking]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

I get why people like O:M, I certainly do, but for my money, the peak of the QUeensryche Everest is Empire. That is a beautiful album from top to bottom.  Sonically, performance-wise, compositionally... it's almost a perfect record.

I'm going to finish Empire today while driving around but listening to it on the way home from work/gym, it just made me fucking happy hey.  I was thinking to myself, 'this is just perfect fucking music, for any genre or style, this is exceptional and pretty much God tier and can put put up against anything from any era.'

Mindcrime made it high on my top 50 but Empire didn't, will be interesting to see how Mindcrime stacks up after Empire now.

[wolfking]

On another note, while here at home I'm running through HITNF.  I forgot how much of a horrible fucking record this is.  Good lord. 

[Dave_Manchester]

The only Queensryche album I've ever heard is Operation: Mindcrime, but I'll be taking part in this countdown because it's a great opportunity to finally check out the (partial) discography of a band I've wanted to delve into for a while now. I've got about 10 days to go through 7 albums, twice each (my rule for these countdowns is to give each album 2 attentive listens), which is very doable. Unfortunately I won't be able to take part in the Porcupine Tree countdown because the band have forbidden their music from being played over here on the streaming platforms due to Mad Vlad's Operation: Clusterfuck (it's a colossal shitshow working overtime), and I can't be bothered to go through the rigmarole of circumventing the blockages. What I've heard of PT is nice enough but they're not quite rigmarole-worthy. Queensryche though, God bless 'em, have no such qualms about their music being streamed here, so as of tomorrow I'll be digging in to the EP and The Warning.  So advance notice, my list will be that of a total newbie hearing all this stuff (minus OM) for the first time. 

[TAC]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

I get why people like O:M, I certainly do, but for my money, the peak of the QUeensryche Everest is Empire. That is a beautiful album from top to bottom.  Sonically, performance-wise, compositionally... it's almost a perfect record.

I'm going to finish Empire today while driving around but listening to it on the way home from work/gym, it just made me fucking happy hey.  I was thinking to myself, 'this is just perfect fucking music, for any genre or style, this is exceptional and pretty much God tier and can put put up against anything from any era.'

Mindcrime made it high on my top 50 but Empire didn't, will be interesting to see how Mindcrime stacks up after Empire now.

As pleasant as Empire is, and I enjoyed it when it came out, I was concerned on my first listen. Not so much for the what I was listening to, but more to where it was going to lead. I was really concerned with what would come NEXT. And my worries were confirmed on the next album..

[wolfking]

I haven't listened to these albums for a few years truthfully and the run from the EP to Empire is fucking exceptional.  Tate is/was an incredible singer.  What a voice.  Fucking class albums.

I get why people like O:M, I certainly do, but for my money, the peak of the QUeensryche Everest is Empire. That is a beautiful album from top to bottom.  Sonically, performance-wise, compositionally... it's almost a perfect record.

I'm going to finish Empire today while driving around but listening to it on the way home from work/gym, it just made me fucking happy hey.  I was thinking to myself, 'this is just perfect fucking music, for any genre or style, this is exceptional and pretty much God tier and can put put up against anything from any era.'

Mindcrime made it high on my top 50 but Empire didn't, will be interesting to see how Mindcrime stacks up after Empire now.

As pleasant as Empire is, and I enjoyed it when it came out, I was concerned on my first listen. Not so much for the what I was listening to, but more to where it was going to lead. I was really concerned with what would come NEXT. And my worries were confirmed on the next album..

The decline in the space of 2 albums (Empire to HITNF) is incredible.

[wolfking]

Hmm.....Q2K is also....not good.

[bosk1]

Hmm.....Q2K is also....not good.

Well, I'm glad you finally said something that made sense.  I was afraid you'd next start saying El Dorado is trash or something equally silly.

[wolfking]

Hmm.....Q2K is also....not good.

Well, I'm glad you finally said something that made sense.  I was afraid you'd next start saying El Dorado is trash or something equally silly.

I would never say that, because that's being way too kind. 

[KevShmev]

Hmm.....Q2K is also....not good.

It's not, but at least it sounds better than Hear in the Now Frontier.  The mix of the latter is about as exciting as watching paint dry.  I do think there are some good songs on HINTF (five of the 59 songs I ranked were from that record, with the highest coming in at 50), but overall the sound of it really kills any chance it had of being good.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

Hmm.....Q2K is also....not good.

It's not, but at least it sounds better than Hear in the Now Frontier.  The mix of the latter is about as exciting as watching paint dry.  I do think there are some good songs on HINTF (five of the 59 songs I ranked were from that record, with the highest coming in at 50), but overall the sound of it really kills any chance it had of being good.

Yeah, Hear in the Now Frontier sounds terrible and the songs are mostly terrible. Q2K sounds decent, but the songs are even worse 

[wolfking]

Will be interesting to see if any HITNF songs make my list.  There is a couple of decent songs on there.

[wolfking]

I simply couldn't imagine following this band in real time.  The disappointment from Empire onwards would have been so hard to comprehend.

[KevShmev]

  Q2K sounds decent, but the songs are even worse 

I think the first three songs all had major potential, and there are elements of each I like, but it's like they couldn't figure out to put any of them together to make them really good.  Right Side of My Mind is a really good finisher.  That was the only Q2K song I ranked (and it finished ahead of all five HINTF songs I ranked).

[wolfking]

  Q2K sounds decent, but the songs are even worse 

I think the first three songs all had major potential, and there are elements of each I like, but it's like they couldn't figure out to put any of them together to make them really good.  Right Side of My Mind is a really good finisher.  That was the only Q2K song I ranked (and it finished ahead of all five HINTF songs I ranked).

That song is the only one that has a chance of making my list.

[WilliamMunny]

The only Queensryche album I've ever heard is Operation: Mindcrime, but I'll be taking part in this countdown because it's a great opportunity to finally check out the (partial) discography of a band I've wanted to delve into for a while now. I've got about 10 days to go through 7 albums, twice each (my rule for these countdowns is to give each album 2 attentive listens), which is very doable. Unfortunately I won't be able to take part in the Porcupine Tree countdown because the band have forbidden their music from being played over here on the streaming platforms due to Mad Vlad's Operation: Clusterfuck (it's a colossal shitshow working overtime), and I can't be bothered to go through the rigmarole of circumventing the blockages. What I've heard of PT is nice enough but they're not quite rigmarole-worthy. Queensryche though, God bless 'em, have no such qualms about their music being streamed here, so as of tomorrow I'll be digging in to the EP and The Warning.  So advance notice, my list will be that of a total newbie hearing all this stuff (minus OM) for the first time.

This might be the best description of a band ever!

You, my friend, are a benefit to us all!

[The Realm]

HITNF is one of my biggest musical disappointments ever. Mindcrime is a top 5 all time album for me and I also love all the albums leading up to HITNF but that one just blows.  I remember trying and trying to get into it when it was released and just never could..I've done my top 40 but I just couldn't even put myself through a relisten. I know there are a couple of good songs there but overall it just felt like such a massive drop off.

[jammindude]

I simply couldn't imagine following this band in real time.  The disappointment from Empire onwards would have been so hard to comprehend.

Personally, I had been there since the EP. (Local radio station started playing it before they were even signed) and while I really loved them before, it became obsessive with RFO. That was where the perfect balance of melody, metal, and madness all came together in a perfect storm. The more “weird” elements were dialed back a tiny bit for OMC, and then eliminated entirely from Empire, which is where (for me) the band lost a little bit of their uniqueness. That’s why…again, for me…PL was so refreshing. It brought back some of the weird factor that had been missing from the previous two albums that I loved so much. I’ve always said that PL feels like “RFO with a budget” and I still feel that way. Songs like Out of Mind and Disconnected, and the off-kilter rhythm in I Am I…it was a huge relief for me. It felt like a return of the QR that I fell in love with on RFO.


EDIT - However, HITNF was hot garbage, and most everything that came after was even worse. So that’s where my drop off in quality happens.

[KevShmev]

jammindude, I always like that "Rage for Order with a budget" description of Promised Land. Both have that bit of weirdness that makes the band so unique.  Mindcrime is a damn fine concept album, and Empire is helluva mainstream rock record, but PL and Rage... both have that little extra something.