After the breakthrough success and worldwide respect that Queensr˙che gained from their conceptual masterpiece Operation: Mindcrime, it was a fair assumption that they couldn't possibly outdo or perhaps even match themselves. Empire, released just two years after that watermark, reveals that Queensr˙che reinvented themselves (though certainly not for the last time). While many fans were clamoring for a conceptual sequel, the band offers a song-oriented approach that is more art rock and less metal (though Empire does rock hard in places). Far removed from the fantasy and techno-paranoiac themes of Operation: Mindcrime, the lyrics tackle social and physical handicaps ("Best I Can") and issues such as poverty and regret ("Della Brown"). Geoff Tate, Chris DeGarmo, and company focused much less on the darker side of love so prevalent in their earlier sound, and looked at romance head on with "Another Rainy Night" and "Hand on Heart." While Queensr˙che lost some die-hard metal fans with Empire, the mature sound and tight production of Peter Collins (Rush) saw the band break into the mainstream and hit number nine on the Billboard singles chart with the Pink Floyd-inspired power ballad "Silent Lucidity," which has remained one of the band's set standbys into the 21st century. ~ Doug Odell & Thom Jurek
Additional personnel includes: Michael Kamen (arranger).
This is part of EMI Records "Queensryche Remastered" series.
Digitally remastered by Steve Hoffman.
Replaces Cap 92806
Recorded at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, Canada and Triad Studios, Redmond, Washington in 1990. Originally released on EMI (92806). Includes liner notes by Paul Suter.
Recorded at Vancouver Studios, Vancouver, Canada and Triad Studios, Redmond, Washington in 1990.
Queensryche: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Wilton (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar); Eddie Jackson (electric bass, fretless basss, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion).
Producer: Peter Collins.
Compilation producer: David K. Tedds.
Queensryche: Geoff Tate (vocals, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (6- & 12-string acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, background vocals); Michael Wilton (6- & 12-string acoustic & electric guitars); Eddie Jackson (electric & fretless basses, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion).
Engineers: James "Jimbo" Barton, Paul Northfield.
Personnel: Geoff Tate (vocals, whistling, keyboards); Chris DeGarmo (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, keyboards, 12-string bass, background vocals); Michael Wilton (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, 12-string bass, fretless bass); Eddie Jackson (electric bass, fretless bass, background vocals); Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion).
Audio Mixer: James Barton .
Recording information: Triad Studios, Redmond, WA, Vancouver, British Columbia (1990); Vancouver Studios (1990).
Photographer: Harold Sinclair.
Additional personnel: Michael Kamen (strings); B.O.B. (background vocals).Q - 3 Stars - Good - Recommended as one of the top 5 metal albums of 1990. - "..The thinking person's rock album...which exudes craft and intelligence at will without ever sounding pretentious or forgetting mighty riffs and classic melodies.." Q - 3 Stars - Good - Recommended as one of the top 5 metal albums of 1990. - "..The thinking person's rock album...which exudes craft and intelligence at will without ever sounding pretentious or forgetting mighty riffs and classic melodies.." Billboard (p.26) - "10 superbly refined metal songs....The quintet nails every track with an inspired precision any band would kill to possess." Record Collector (magazine) (p.86) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's intelligent, subtle and immaculately played."
Super ! ! ! De lo maximo...esto es lo mejor de Queensryche, el sonido es de lo mejor tambien...el album de su carrera, sin duda. Submitted by Julian (Agualeguas, NL, Mexico) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 3 found this helpful.
And Then There Was Empire... Akin to Metallica's "Black album," this is where the wheels started to come off the Queensryche express. Though a huge commercial success and extremely slick production(a-la the black album), they promptly swung away from the experimental creativity of earlier work. I still liked the album, but at the same time it wasn't quite the direction I was hoping for. It only gets worse from here... Submitted by dcampbell (East Stroudsburg, PA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Awesome ! Queensryche's Empire is still by far their best !!!!!!!!!1 Submitted by mitchellpage (Meraux, La) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Queensryche becomes an empire It's like they decided to make an album that was the complete opposite of "Operation : Mindcrime".This is a collection of songs unrelated to each other,that stand up well on their own.Certainly this was a huge commercial success,but i also think it was a very good album that is not without it's faults. Submitted by Sinkadotentree (Wasaga Beach,On) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Superior I know everybody loves Operation Mindcrime, actually I love it too, however IMO this one is far superior, the music is so muture and classy. The best Queensryche to date. Submitted by CE (Mexico City) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
And Then There Was Empire...
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