In 2006, Queensryche released the long-awaited sequel to Operation: Mindcrime and follow that up with the re-issue of their 1999 disc Q2K. The band has not had a smooth road since 1990’s Empire, and radio certainly hasn’t helped, since they play maybe one song from the early days of the band (“Silent Lucidity,” I’m looking at you).
Of all the Queensryche material I’ve heard, never has the band sounded as unoriginal as they do here. Songs like “Sacred Ground” and “Beside You” would fit on mainstream radio — and by that I mean the guitar solos and average lyrics don’t make you think. Vocalist Geoff Tate could have done better, and this material sounds half-baked, half-thought-through and half-witted from a band that has produced stellar material in the past.
The problems for this release come to light with “When The Rain Comes.” Tate sounds uninterested in his material when he sings “When it all comes down / and I’m feeling tired and afraid / You’re alwys there and seem to come / when I’ve nothing to give away.” This drivel gets worse with an unimaginative guitar solo. The plodding drumbeat and unimaginative fills from drummer Scott Rockenfield are uncharacteristic.
Problems continue with the boring “How Could I,” with awesome lyrics like “I’d been around and had my share / of what I thought my soul could bare” (yawn) before drifting into a hopeless outro with Rockenfield driving the song to its pitiful conclusion.
It’s hard to put my finger on when this release became such a disappointment, and the reissue doesn’t help, adding two new songs in “Until There Was You” and “Howl.” In the liner notes, Tate confides he doesn’t know why they were not included on the original disc.
I criticized the Poison reissues for not taking an extra step with their bonus material, citing the instrumental demo of “God Save The Queen” as a missed opportunity for vocalist Bret Michaels to record vocals and ‘finish’ the song. Here, these two songs are finished but their significance is reduced with the “I don’t know” reasoning. I feel cheated, especially because both tracks are better than most of the original songs. It should have been a no-brainer to replace “When The Rain Comes.”
I would give much of Queensryche’s music a good review, and their latest disc is certainly worth hearing, but this one is not. If you haven’t heard it, you’re lucky.
