Queensryche and Armored Saint in Omaha: December 13

Two nights ago, the progressive metal band Queensryche took to the stage at The Waiting Room in Omaha.  Once again, on a Tuesday night.  Nebraska kind of sucks that way.  The concert also did not start until 9:00 p.m.  Which is crazy.  With us having to drive almost two hours to get there and back, it promised to be a very late night.  And this week was already pretty stressful.

I'll be honest, I did not have the highest of hopes for this concert.  There were three bands present and there were questions about all of them.  The first band was Midnight Eternal, a band with whom I was completely unfamiliar.  The Metal Archives lists them as a symphonic metal band and they have a female lead singer, so my first thought was "Nightwish clone".  I have only heard two albums from Armored Saint, one of which I love, and the other I really don't care for.  Most of my knowledge beyond that was that they appeared in Hellraiser 3 and singer John Bush spent some time with Anthrax.  I was most familiar with Queensryche but have not really heard much from them since 1994's Promised Land.  I was not even aware until a few days before that singer Geoff Tate was no longer with the band, which made me that much more wary.  So I did not have the highest of hopes, but it was a chance to see a band I really enjoyed at one point, and my wife wanted to see them, so we went.  And I am so glad that I did, because this was possibly the best concert I have seen all year.  And I have seen several.

Midnight Eternal was not terribly impressive.  Their music was decent enough but my initial impression upon looking into them was correct.  Their pixie-ish singer was talented enough but did not really match up with the music that well.  They were decent, but I don't see myself rushing out to get their album any time soon.

But where Midnight Eternal failed to impress, Armored Saint came out swinging.  They sounded amazing and it is hard to imagine that this is a band likely in their late 40's/early 50's.  John Bush's voice still has the same power it did when they released the Symbol of Salvation album.  They played two tracks off of that album, which is really a classic.  Unfortunately they did not play "Hanging Judge", my personal favorite from it.  They played songs from throughout their career.  I did recognize one track from the album I did not like that much, but it was admittedly the best song from it.  My wife really enjoyed Armored Saint as well.  I may just have to look into their earlier catalog.

After that, Queensryche came on, and they blew me away.  New singer Todd La Torre, formerly of Crimson Glory, sounds so much like Geoff Tate that I would likely not have been able to tell the difference if I just heard them.  The Waiting Room does not have the biggest stage, but Queensryche managed to cram two huge monitors in to show some visual displays during most of their songs, including a little animated feature prior to "Operation: Mindcrime".  As I mentioned, I am only really familiar with the band's material up until Promised Land.  Luckily the vast majority of the songs played were from that time period.  There were only three or four newer songs, all of which were surprisingly good.  But by far the best stuff was the earlier songs, like "Queen of the Reich", "Empire", "Damaged", and "Rage for Order".  I was a little disappointed that they did not play "I Don't Believe in Love", but that was a small disappointment.  The band was in top form throughout and La Torre sounded amazing.  They closed out the night with a blistering version of "Eyes of a Stranger".  I was definitely impressed.

My wife wants it to be known that they were not as good as Scorpions from earlier in the year, but honestly, as much as I enjoyed that show, I enjoyed this one more.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 78

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Operation: Mindcrime
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1988
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "The Needle Lies"
NOTES:  This is one of the greatest metal concept albums of all time.  The story is engaging, with clearly identifiable characters.  And of course the guitar work of Chris DeGarmo and the vocals of Geoff Tate are incredible.  One of the most talented duos in metal.  These album has a number of classic tracks, but "I Don't Believe in Love" is the big hit.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 19

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Empire
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1990
GENRE:  Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "Empire"
NOTES:  Another album that I got for my 14th birthday from my grandmother (she really came through on this one).  This was my second album by the Washington-based progressive metal outfit.  Though I never quite liked this one as much as my first album by the band, even though it is arguably heavier.  "Silent Lucidity" is probably Queensryche's most well-known song.

Cataloguing My Metal Collection Pt. 8

ARTIST:  Queensryche
ORIGIN:  Bellevue, WA (United States)
TITLE:  Promised Land
LABEL:  EMI Music
YEAR:  1994
GENRE: Progressive Metal
FAVORITE SONG:  "One More Time"
NOTES:  I picked this one up on the aforementioned trip to Indiana.  Songs off of this album were getting a lot of play on the local hard rock radio station at the time.  I remember three songs being played somewhat frequently, all of which I liked quite a bit.  Queensryche was a bit of a departure musically for me as to that point thrash metal was the major genre I was getting into.  "Someone Else?" is an extremely powerful song with just a piano and Geoff Tate's incredible vocals.

The Saxophone in Metal

I know there have been recent posts about this on Invisible Oranges and possibly some other places, but I do feel qualified to make a post about this because I played the saxophone for eight years. I was pretty good at it too, winning several awards at solo and small ensemble contests and being a member of a high school jazz band chosen as one of 20 groups from across the country to perform at a contest honoring Duke Ellington's 100th birthday at Lincoln Center in New York. I have experience playing the alto, baritone, and soprano saxophones.

The saxophone has not made frequent appearances in heavy metal, it is typically a complimentary instrument and requires a guest appearance. Sigh is the only band I am currently aware of that employs a full-time saxophonist, Dr. Mikkanibal. While it would be interesting to hear a band use the saxophone full-time, the instrument often adds an eerie atmosphere to the songs in which it does appear.

So, after an exhaustive search through my collection, these are a few examples of the saxophone in heavy metal:











Anyone know any others I may have missed?

Flashback Song: Queensryche: "Someone Else"

My 100 Favorite Metal Bands Pt. 81: Queensryche

It's unfair that Queensryche gets dismissed with a lot of other mainstream metal acts of the 1980's as a "hair band". It's unfair because it is absolutely not true. Despite achieving a lot recognition for their ballad "Silent Lucidity", Queensryche's music never really fit in with the rest of the "hair bands". That song was not representative of the band's overall sound. Queensryche is a stunningly talented progressive metal band lead by Chris DeGarmo's excellent guitar playing and songwriting skills and Geoff Tate's powerful tenor. The band made their name with complex concept albums and politically controversial songs. Their recent output is disappointing, but during the 1980's they were incredible.

FAVORITE ALBUM: OPERATION: MINDCRIME

Year in Metal: 1988

BATHORY: BLOOD FIRE DEATH
It's not often that one band can be responsible for the rise of two musical genres. That is the case here on Bathory's second inclusion into this series. This album saw a new sound arise out of Bathory's early take on black metal, a sound that the band would develop more thoroughly the next album out. That sound is viking metal. This is my favorite Bathory album because it is raw and epic at the same time. Truly a classic.

IRON MAIDEN: SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
This is the last truly great album Iron Maiden released and is a culmination of all of their musical experimentation since the band was formed. It is truly a landmark album, not only for the band, but the entire heavy metal genre. In my early list of my favorite metal albums of all time, this came in second overall. It is filled with amazing melodies and riffs, great songs, and one of the best vocal performances in metal by Bruce Dickinson.

MANOWAR: KINGS OF METAL
I have never been a huge Manowar fan, but this album is undeniably great. Manowar helped influence the American power metal movement, which is a substantially different sound than the European sound. This is one of the band's better mid-period albums, not quite rising to the classic heights of their early days. It was also the last album to feature guitarist Ross the Boss. The band suffered a little after his departure and never rose to this level again.

METALLICA: ...AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
I suppose I can talk about Metallica once in this space. Not to say this will definitely be the only time, I have not played far ahead here. But this is an amazing album. The band has never before been as fast, technical, or progressive as they were on this album. This is also the first album in which many casual fans became aware of Metallica. Thanks to the blistering "One" and it's accompanying landmark video, Metallica started to forge a mainstream following. This is the last excellent album by this band.

QUEENSRYCHE: OPERATION: MINDCRIME
This is a concept album about a man becoming involved in a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. It is one of the better concept albums in the metal genre, and let's face it, I don't know about any from other genres better than this. It is truly unique because it is more of a rock opera, the characters all have their own voice and the story really comes alive. In between, there are simply great songs.

Honorable Mentions: Blind Guardian: Battalions of Fear, Bolt Thrower: In Battle There is No Law, Carcass: Reek of Putrefaction, Danzig: Danzig, Death: Leprosy, Death Angel: Frolic Through the Park, Fates Warning: No Exit, Forbidden: Forbidden Evil, King Diamond: "Them", Megadeth: So Far, So Good...So What!, Morbid Saint: Spectrum of Death, Overkill: Under the Influence, Razor: Violent Restitution, Slayer: South of Heaven, Testament: The New Order, Vio-Lence: Eternal Nightmare.

Bands that formed in 1988: Amon Amarth, Cadaver, Cannibal Corpse, Dismember, Eyehategod, Gamma Ray, Paradise Lost.

5 Important Bands To Me From 1 Genre: Pt. 1: Power Metal

Huh, there hasn't been much going on lately in the world of metal. No big releases lately, no major feuds, well there have been but nothing much worth commenting on here. So here I am, knowing I need to write something because I've been slacking, but not having much to write about.

Well after brainstorming and glancing through my prior posts, I notice that I have not had much to say about power metal. Power metal is a genre that it took me a little while to get into. Not because I did not care for the music, far from it, but because I have been so focused on the more extreme genres like death and thrash metal.

Power metal is my best friend's favorite genre, but like I said, it took me a bit longer to really get into it. I will start today's post, the first in a new series, with five power metal bands that I got into before I really got into power metal. The point of this series is to look at five bands from one genre that have affected my tastes in some way or another.

1. Queensryche

This band is kind of a fusion between power metal and progressive metal, particularly on their earlier material. Their later material dropped much of the power metal influence but the band was at least as important as Jag Panzer and Fates Warning on the American scene. I have two of their earlier albums and two of their mid-era albums. I much prefer their earlier stuff which is faster, more aggressive, and more emotional than the rest of their material. Geoff Tate has one of the best voices in metal. This was the first power metal band I really got into. The band did not really lead me to any other bands and my tastes mostly remained stagnant from here.

2. Iced Earth
I always liked the album covers for this band but never really knew what to expect from them. I had heard that they were kind of like a thrashier Iron Maiden and this comparison is what lead me to bite the bullet and check them out. The comparison proved to be reasonably accurate. The riffs were very similar to Maiden, except the galloping was not from the bass, but rather the rhythm guitar. Matt Barlow's voice was incredible in its own way. Unfortunately Iced Earth has had some difficulty in keeping singers and Barlow was out of the band for awhile. He is back now, but this has hurt Iced Earth's ability to become the force they deserve to be in American metal. Iced Earth eventually lead me to Symphony X and Blind Guardian.

3. Symphony X
Symphony X is similar to Queensryche in that they are more of a progressive power metal band. I became interested in this band when they released The Odyssey, a concept album about the Greek epic poem. As a big fan of Greek mythology in general, and that poem in particular, I HAD to check this out. The album is great, although it lags in a few places and is definitely longer than it should be. Still, the band sounded like a more drawn out and epic Iced Earth. Not bad at all. Their latest album is a concept album revolving around Milton's Paradise Lost.

4. Children of Bodom
This is kind of an odd band to be here, but once you get past the harsh vocal style, it begins to become apparent that Children of Bodom is indeed a power metal band. The melodic structure, wailing guitar solos, keyboards all are closer to Blind Guardian than to melodic death metal bands like Dark Tranquillity and In Flames that the band often gets lumped in with. At one time, I didn't think music could possibly get faster than Children of Bodom. Some of their songs are still incredibly fast but the band has slowed quite a bit in recent albums. Too bad, they just couldn't keep up the pace. This band lead me to Kalmah, Norther, Skyfire, Destroy Destroy Destroy, and other power metal bands with harsher vocals.

5. Blind Guardian
This is arguably the most important band in the second stage of European power metal. Helloween helped create the genre, but Blind Guardian perfected it. Blind Guardian is one of the most musically gifted bands in metal, after Iron Maiden, and has a great sense of melody and structure. Their early albums are incredible and their later ones still maintain a degree of that early power. This band made it okay to enjoy Tolkien in metal and even wrote a song about Peter Pan. Not many bands can pull that kind of thing off. After Blind Guardian, I became very interested in power metal bands. Some good, some great, some not so great. Blind Guardian though, is still my favorite power metal band.

That's it for this installment.

Dusting Off a Cassette Pt. 24: Queensryche: Promised Land

Queensryche was one of the earlier bands I got into that was not a thrash metal band. They are far more of a progressive/ traditional metal band. This particular album though, does not have a whole lot of metal in it. This is an album I tend to listen to when I am in a more mellow mood. It is typically slower, with a few ballads, and even the harder songs, are really not that hard. The lyrical content though is fairly deep and dark. Ranging in topics from depression to mid life crisis, to mending a relationship with a parent, to child abuse, Queensryche touches on several darker topics. It's not the easiest listen in the world, but it is touching and emotional.

Musically, the band, as mentioned before, is a little lighter this time around. There are several piano melodies and even a saxophone part in "Promised Land". There are a couple of harder songs, but they are nowhere near the anthemic styles of the band's earlier heavier hits. Still though, the songs are often catchy and keep me coming back to the album even though I have probably heard it a thousand times.

Geoff Tate is one of the best vocalists in metal and he is still quite good on this album. He strains a little bit in places, but for the most part can still hit those spine-tingling highs he has become known for.

This was the band's last good album. They are still together but have not put out anything worthwhile since this one in the early to mid 1990's.

Dusting Off a Cassette Pt. 10: Queensryche: Empire

First of all, I still don't have the slightest clue how to do umlauts on the computer. Stupid umlauts. Anyway, I apologize about that, there should be one over the "y" in Queensryche. Queensryche is something of an odd band for me to be into. They are a progressive metal band, at least in the early years, but a lot of the aggression left the band in the mid to late 1980's. They are very melodic, fitting in with the state of metal during the time period.

This album is one of the albums where the band became progressively poppier. It's not a problem though, they still had one more good full length album in them after this before they completely went to crap. This one is filled with power ballads for the most part. "Silent Lucidity" is one of their bigger hits and combined with "Jet City Woman", "Another Rainy Night (Without You)", "Della Brown", "Hand on Heart", and "One and Only" almost completely fills the album with power ballads. Not bad when I am in a more mellow mood, or when Mrs. shadowking86 is around. There are some harder songs on the album as well. "Empire" and "Resistance" are heavier straightahead rockers. All in all, I like this album, but definitely not as much as the earlier stuff like Operation: Mindcrime.