QUEENSRYCHE - American Soldier

http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/queensryche-american-soldier/

Exactly how I felt about Mindcrime II. Good review.

Excellent review Shawn and you made an excellent point, in regards to Queensryche discography:

"I think it’s the case of a band becoming something that a lot of fans just aren’t able to follow. If we look back at Queensryche’s entire catalog, we can see/hear that no two albums are really that much alike. "

Very very true.

I have not heard the album, so I have reserve judgement but enjoyed reading your review.

Great review Shawn (as always).

Thanks guys...

Brutal, but I'm sure you nailed how I am going to feel when I hear it as well. It's sort of how I've felt about most of their albums since HITNF.

ultmetal wrote:

Brutal, but I'm sure you nailed how I am going to feel when I hear it as well. It's sort of how I've felt about most of their albums since HITNF.

Yup...the only one I can say I was completely disappointed in was Tribe...and that was the one DeGarmo at least played a tiny role in...the rest have been "meh" since after HitNF....

Great thanks! I just got the cd in the mail today and I was excited that I actually got it autographed now I dont want it anymore

Really though, I knew what it was going to be. They seem to really like this direction that they are going in which is a total shame. This isnt even close to anything they used to do and I dont know if they are scared to go back to that or are just not into it anymore. They have to know that their fans are missing how they used to be. Oh well, i'll still give this one a listen like I have all of their albums. Its kind of like Metallica they were once my favorite band but they just lost what they had, but I still stay a loyal fan. Metallica is proving themselves again I just wish Queensryche would do the same.

Well I finally gave the cd a listen today. I got through 5 songs I believe the rest I listened to but it was kind of just in the background so I didnt really pay too much attention. The first song I thought wasnt bad but that rap sounding guy just killed it. The second song was indeed horrible but after that the album did get better and was actually listenable. I really like the production on this one too. This is how Mindcrime II should have sounded because the drums sound great and almost back to the old style, atleast from empire or promised land. The guitars even sound better. The song that had some kid singing was kind of awkward. I believe that was Geoff's son or daughter? I couldnt tell if it was a boy or a girl. I didnt have the booklet with me so I couldnt look it up.

Im going to give this one a couple more listens because I thought that it was a lot more listenable than what they have been releasing as of late. But who knows I could have just been in a wierd moment haha. we'll see.

they lost me on the video for "queen of the reich" with the more to come at the end.... still waitng... they blew the proverbial wad on the initial e.p. Though they had some 'moments here and there. Nice review Shawn.

Here's a link to an interview done with Geoff Tate regarding the new album, and talks about Chris Degarmo's departure and how it effected the band, very good interview.

http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/interviewsgeofftate09.htm

That is a good article. I had been told years ago that DeGarmo was the brains behind the band and made most of the decisions, I can see why they would feel lost when he left. It sounds like the recording of Tribe was a complete mess...did they have an outside producer on that one?

The band self produced 'Tribe'.

manny wrote:

The band self produced 'Tribe'.

That's what it sounded like from the interview, bands should only self produce albums if they REALLY understand the recording process.

detuned wrote:

manny wrote:

The band self produced 'Tribe'.

That's what it sounded like from the interview, bands should only self produce albums if they REALLY understand the recording process.

I 100% agree, and that has to be one of most honest interviews I have ever read from Geoff Tate.

I've just ordered this "newsed" Ryche disc. I hope it's worth the $7.50 I paid for it!

Here's from interview from Geoff Tate.

Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate recently spoke to Goldmine contributor Bryan Reesman about the inspiration behind and making of their new album "American Soldier," finding new ways to make money in the music business, golfing with Doc McGhee, and his wine brand, Insania. A couple of excerpts from the interview follow below.
Tate talking about "American Soldier" being the first release in the band's 28-year history on which Michael Wilton played all of the guitars:
"There wasn't anybody there to say, 'Ah no, let's do it like this instead.' He really got to follow his vision. He didn't have to compromise on the guitar end, which is nice."
Tate on the Queensrÿche's songwriting dynamic:
"We definitely let it flow, but we definitely have the committee, which is myself, Eddie [Jackson, bass], and the producer that we're working with [at the time]. (In this case, Jason Slater with Kelly Gray.) Eddie and I are probably the ones in the band that care the most about what's happening and police everybody and make sure everybody's doing what they need to be doing, given that we allow them the freedom to express themselves. But we reserve the final call for deciding what the deep end is. Somebody has to put a marker down that says it's 'six feet deep here' by the poolside. Somebody has to got to write that in, so that's mostly my job: 'That solo is really cool, so let's ask some questions. Does it fit the mood of the song? Does it make you want to cry? Does it show that you can play guitar really fast?' We all have to feel fine with the answer."
Discussing "Operation: Mindcrime II" selling approximately 150,000 copies domestically compared to the original "Mindcrime", which sold more than a million:
"We don't make any money selling records anymore. Very few people do. We still love doing it and still do it, but we do it differently. Money comes from other places. It's not just showing up; you've got to go look for it and figure out ways of making money."
"I remember in 1999 I was at this celebrity golf tournament, and the team I got assigned to had Doc McGhee, who is a pretty well-known band manager. Doc is a very smart man, and I said, 'Doc, what's happening to the business? What's happening to the music industry?' He was puffing on a big old cigar and said in a very grandfatherly type [of] delivery, 'Well, boy, it's changing.' I said, 'Yeah, I'm really concerned. Record sales seem to be plummeting, and there's all this downloading going on. What's the industry doing to stop that?' He said, 'The whole industry is doing absolutely nothing. The whole thing is going to go in the toilet.' 'What are we going to do?' 'Well, we're going to find other ways of making it work. I just read this really cool book and you've got to check it out. It's called 'Who Moved My Cheese?'"
"You can't stay in one place and expect to make a living in that same place all your life. It doesn't work that way. You've got to go where the food is. You've got to go where the money is. And you've got to go where the supplies are. So it was actually really good advice, and I thank him for that. It definitely made me look at what we do and try to modify it so we could make a living. And we are. We do very well considering the economy and the state of our industry."
Speaking about how to findi new avenues of expression and new ways to reinvent oneself comes from determination and passion:
“Believe it or not, people are multidimensional. Their interests lie in other areas besides what they do for a living or perhaps what they are famous for. You pursue those things with passion. Say you like real estate. You're fascinated by the numbers and figuring out the deals, and you like the art of the deal and cutting deals with people. You start going into that and having some success because you throw yourself into it. Say you love fine dining and Bordeaux-style wines. That's me, baby. I love it."
"I think that's the key to life. Someone once told me if you want to change your life, lean in that direction [of interest]. Start focusing on it and looking at it and understanding it, and pretty soon you'll be doing it and having success at it."

I have this CD now but have not yet been inspired enough to listen to it. I have a feeling I won't like this one very much, kinda like Q2K, perhaps?

7thSaviour wrote:

I have this CD now but have not yet been inspired enough to listen to it. I have a feeling I won't like this one very much, kinda like Q2K, perhaps?

It reminded me of Promised Land, but no where near as good.

thejokeriv wrote:

7thSaviour wrote:

I have this CD now but have not yet been inspired enough to listen to it. I have a feeling I won't like this one very much, kinda like Q2K, perhaps?

It reminded me of Promised Land, but no where near as good.

I think Promised Land was their last really good album.

I got a cheap used copy of this CD but still can't bring myself to listen to it.

I finally took a listen to this album and I actually enjoyed it and found to be a better listen than some of their other stuff. I did not expect this to be another "Empire" or "Rage", but to me it was much better than some of their other albums like promised land. I like some bands to sound like they did in the 80's, but this is not a band I could ever expect to sound the same on every album as they are always changing and experimenting with sound and concepts.

I happened to come across this album, because my local library actually had it. My thought on this album after giving it 2-3 listens.....bored to tears. The sad thing is, the conceptual idea is absolutely wonderful, BUT the musical side of things is an abomination. It's hard to believe that this band once was once great. It's fairly evident that Queensryche misses Chris DeGarmo, because the band clearly has taken a plunge that by all intents and purposes, they will never be able to recover from. I'm trying to figure out if there is even a memorable track on this. I suppose if this album were part of a soundtrack to what is going on in the Middle East, I might be able to then find some inherent value in this suck hole of an album. God, how the once mighty Queensryche have fallen...

I received a couple of promo copies of this album along with some other Queensryche swag from my work connection. I thought it was a decent enough album, but yea, not the Queensryche of days gone by. Interesting concept for the album. I had a more thought-out opinion about the album that I was gonna post at some point, but since you bumped this topic, I just went with my first impression. Overall I thought it was ok. I seriously doubt I would have purchased this one though.

I'll hold onto one copy for a little while to see if it grows on me, but the other copy will be going up for sale or trade in the near future.