Queensryche Rage For Order CD

With its 1983 self-titled EP and 1984's full-length debut, THE WARNING, Queensryche began as a heavy metal band. But that wouldn't last for long--the members of Queensryche had always been admirers of progressive and art rock, and with the band's third record, 1986's RAGE FOR ORDER, Queensryche began merging its heavy rock with instrumental technicality and modern production techniques. Few other metal bands were challenging their listeners as much as Queensryche, and the group slowly built a hardcore following. Although it wasn't the commercial success that future releases such as 1988's OPERATION: MINDCRIME and 1990's EMPIRE would be, RAGE FOR ORDER is considered to be one of the group's finest by longtime fans.

The album's lone video, "Gonna Get Close to You," is a creepy tale of surveillance that remains one of Queensryche's all-time best tracks (strangely, it's one of the few tracks the group has ever recorded that it didn't write itself). Other standouts include the album-opening story of vampirism, "Walk in the Shadows," as well as such unusually titled tracks as "I Dream in Infrared," "Neue Regel," "Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)," and "Screaming in Digital." RAGE FOR ORDER set the stage perfectly for Queensryche's next release, OPERATION: MINDCRIME.

After tasting success from both their self-titled debut EP and The Warning, Queensr˙che lost their edge a bit on this release. The hair metal movement was fast approaching and this once-unique band now looked -- and for the most part, sounded -- like the average metal band of the day. The signature sound of Queensr˙che is still unmistakable, as Geoff Tate's voice sounds strong. The music here is simpler than on Warning; the lyrics are bit too heavy-handed and have not stood the test of time very well. "Walk in the Shadows" is a well-structured song with a good combination of Tate's howling and dramatic background vocals. "I Will Remember" was a precursor to "Silent Lucidity" and accentuated the power and emotion that Tate can evoke. The band was obviously trying to expand their approach to music with a heavy emphasis on theatrics, but the music suffered as a result. They succeeded with this approach to a certain extent on Operation: Mindcrime, but the band's musical limitations have always prevented them from moving beyond a classier version of Iron Maiden. [The 2003 reissue of Rage for Order included both 24-bit remastering and four bonus tracks.] ~ Robert Taylor

Replaces Cap46330. W/ 4 Bonus Tracks.

Recorded at M.D.H. Studios, Bellevue, Washington and Le Mobile Remote Sound Studio Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, Canada. Includes liner notes by Paul Suter.

Personnel: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo, Michael Wilton (guitar); Neil Kernon (keyboards); Scott Rockenfield (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Neil Kernon.

Liner Note Author: Paul Suter.

Recording information: Lacrosse, WI; Le Mobile Remote Sound Studio; M.D.H. Studios, Bellevue, WA; Madison; Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; The Astoria Theatre, London, England.

Photographer: Moshe Brakha.

Queensryche: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Michael Wilton, Chris DeGarmo (guitar, background vocals); Eddie Jackson (bass, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion).