Queensryche
was poised to follow in the footsteps of
Pink Floyd
,
Rush
, and
Iron Maiden
. Their early albums were derivative but interesting, and the Seattle quintet quickly synthesized intelligent, technically impressive progressive rock and heavy metal. Vocalist
Geoff Tate
, guitarists
Chris DeGarmo
and
Michael Wilton
, bassist
Eddie Jackson
, and drummer
Scott Rockenfield
arguably peaked with 1988's concept album
Operation:Mindcrime
, a masterpiece in terms of musicianship and story structure. Then 1990's equally excellent
Empire
exploded thanks to
"Silent Lucidity."
But some things happened that stopped
from cementing itself as a superstar band for the ages: (1) Within a year grunge exploded, rendering
's skills "unhip"; (2) 1994's
Promised Land
did well commercially but was generally underappreciated; (3)
virtually ruined its own career with 1997's disappointing and ill-conceived
Hear in the Now Frontier
, which featured a stripped-down "modern" sound five years after the fact; (4)
's label,
EMI
, folded just after its release; (5) Perhaps reeling from creative uncertainty and label problems,
DeGarmo
quit. Prime highlights are collected on 2000's
Greatest Hits
, which covers seven
albums.
"Queen of the Reich"
is great heavy metal, even if
Tate
does imitate the operatic wail of
Judas Priest
's
Rob Halford
Bruce Dickinson
. Other early gems are
"Take Hold of the Flame"
"I Dream in Infrared."
works best as a whole, but
"I Don't Believe in Love"
"Eyes of a Stranger"
are the peaks.
is represented by the superb
"I Am I"
"Bridge."
Two bonus tracks from Japanese releases are included:
"Chasing Blue Sky"
is astonishingly beautiful and
"Someone Else?"
features the full band. The
liner notes feature an essay by
Paul Sutter
who wrote an early
demo review for
Kerrang!
All 16 songs are 24-bit digitally remastered. ~ Bret Adams