 | Tracklist:
1. Best I Can
2. The Thin Line
3. Jet City Woman
4. Della Brown
5. Another Rainy Night (Without You)
6. Empire
7. Resistance
8. Silent Lucidity
9. Hand on Heart
10. One and Only
11. Anybody Listening?
| Ranking: #64 for 1990 | |
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On 26 Lists
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4 of 4 thought this review was well written
It was an empire indeed. Three albums correspondingly entitled The Warning, Rage for Order and Operation: Mindcrime shaped a band whose very movements set forth a standard to progressive metal. Queensrÿche had the throats of mainstream rock and metal at their grasp with accessible songwriting and creative musicality that caught the attention of countless people ranging as far as the unthinkable reaches of Entertainment Weekly. With a fourth album that allowed half of its brethren to dominate conventional radio, Queensrÿche’s reputation as well as their next release Empire fell to criticism of ripe commercialism. Compared to the consistently growing success of Operation: Mindcrime, Empire was no more than a regime cursed to exist in the shadow of it's predecessor. While steadfast fans may agree with the decline in the band’s ingenuity, most will still state Empire to arguably be one of Queensrÿche’s most impressive achievements.
Not only did six of the eleven tracks off the album reach chart success, but the power-ballad ‘Silent Lucidity’ became a crossover wonder marking a rank 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, soon causing the album to attain triple platinum status and a nomination for a Grammy. From the short-lived yet lingering Blade Runner-esque introduction of ‘Best I Can,’ the album teases listeners into thinking it has a cohesive storyline with various sound samples, oblique themes and continuous flow between songs. It becomes noticeable that it's more of a silhouette than a concept album. The sense of a main character is undefined on the rock anthem ‘Best I Can,’ leading into Michael Wilton’s memorable guitar drive of ‘The Thin Line’ filled with epic synth layered by Geoff Tate. The love interest ‘Jet City Woman’ remains an easy method for those looking to start exploring the band's music. The consecutive ‘empire’ theme then starts up with of blues inclined experiments on ‘Della Brown,’ the rocker ‘Another Rainy Night’ which bears similarities to the first three tracks off the record, and the title track centerpiece calling for justice in a dishonest society that screams “They're building EMPIRE!” It questions and denigrates the effectiveness of American law enforcement, making references to gang activity and the dealing of crack cocaine. Think of the commonplace story where a man broke into a house through a kitchen's ceiling window and consequently fell onto a knife, cut his leg, sued the house owner and won. Whether the accuracy of the actual original event is valid, numerous accounts of unfathomable police activities and unusual verdicts renders the same question where the band leaves the song at: “Can't someone here stop it?!” Empire doesn't attempt to form a solution to the problem and instead avoids a storyline with characters, morals and a heartbroken love story. Rather than pushing forth their boundaries obtained from their previous albums, Queensrÿche finally succumbs to shrugging off the progressive metal influence of their unmistakable logo in lieu of melodic and commercial accessibility.
As an off-note topic, I find it strange how few have mentioned the album art. The ‘tri-ryche’ pierces the pillar appearing to form ‘EMI,’ their record label. Whether or not this was intentional or a fluke due to the pronunciation of “em-pire,” it is worth noting.
Empire takes time to adjust to. Although the direction is repetitive, it represents a successful effort for Queensrÿche. Geoff Tate’s vocals personalize Empire with unrivaled clarity, boasting his powerful four-octave range without any painful effort. The track ‘Resistance’ acts as a vehicle for his progressive aspects alongside the building vocals of 'Silent Lucidity' to the ends of the immense closer ‘Anybody Listening?’ which bears a similar passionate frequency to Dream Theater’s epic ‘Scarred.’ The beauty of Empire is that it grows with every listen, and it distinctively grows with increased definition. Two decades later, Geoff Tate’s marriage to band manager and ex-dancer Mrs. Tate will prove difficult to holding the charade that ‘Jet City Woman’ was written about her and not his previous wife who was actually a flight attendant from Seattle, ‘The Jet City’. It's not hard to respect Empire, it's just easier to criticize it.
4/5
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
Really good review, will pos. This record seems to have gained recognition over the years, fans respect it much more now than they did one decade ago. Personal favorites here "Anybody Listening?", "Another rainy Night" and the title track, but I can't even stand "Resistence" and 'Hand on Heart". The record is uneven indeed, but I feel this is its only problem (not the fact that it takes a commercial route)
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hmmmm
Digging: Bjork - Vespertine Digging: Bjork - Vespertine
| | | Album Rating: 4
Excellent album, but not even close to Operation: Mindcrime, Rage for Order or Promised Land
My physical copy is the recent re-issue CD, which doesn't have a booklet with the lyrics. Bummer...
Good review, pos.
Digging: Vauxdvihl - To Dimension Logic | | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
Good review
This album features some great songs like Best I Can, Jet City Woman, Silent Lucidity, Hand on Heart and specially Empire and Anybody Listening?
One of their best records IMO.
Digging: Meshuggah - obZen Digging: Meshuggah - obZen | | | Album Rating: 4
Love this album, nowhere near as good as Operation: Mindcrime though.
Great review, pos'd.
Digging: Cressida - Asylum Digging: Cressida - Asylum | | | Album Rating: 4
album's huge
good review man
Digging: Goldie - Timeless | | | Album Rating: 4
ITS ANOTHER RAINY NIGHTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
WITHOUT YOU
Digging: Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction | | | Album Rating: 4 | Sound Off
It really is a good album that still gets a bit too much criticism. I see it used for $5 literally all the time at my hometown FYE (someone will buy it, not even a week later there's another used copy). Good review, too.
| | | Album Rating: 4 | Sound Off
Thanks guys, this is the first Queensryche record I'm able to fully enjoy so I had to celebrate. To be honest I still can't get into Operation: Mindcrime.
Digging: King's X - Dogman Digging: King's X - Dogman | | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
Give it a chance. Their best album IMO
| | | Album Rating: 4
"Give it a chance. Their best album IMO"
One of the best metal albums ever, IMO
| | | Album Rating: 4.5 | Sound Off
Agreed
| | | Album Rating: 4
Nice read and good review. On this album one might notice the altering of Tate's voice, mainly in the timbre and choice of lower notes. Still great performance.
Sonicspeed, I know you mentioned The Warning and Rage but have you actually heard one of these? You might very well enjoy them more than Mindcrime also.
Digging: Meshuggah - Koloss Digging: Meshuggah - Koloss | | | Album Rating: 4 | Sound Off
Ive heard bits of Rage for Order and Hear In The Now Frontier, but i have listened Mindcrime almost 10 times over and i cant enjoy it past 'Revolution Calling.'
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