And here it is, the new ‘ryche product, not really sure now if this is really the thirteenth Queensrÿche – honestly, I don’t think so – or the first album by Geoff Tate’s version of the ‘ryche – which seems more appropriate. Since I mentioned the war between the two sides of the band, the preliminary injunction lawsuit, disputing ownership of the band name, resulted in a verdict that allow both Tate and the other band members to use the band name until the next court date, scheduled for November 2013. The “other” half – actually 90% of the band – will release their album in June, although, the first single, “Redemption”, was released on March 25, 2013.
I know, generally speaking, the truth it’s somewhere in between, but this whole thing of Tate claiming the Queensrÿche name after he was the one who always was complaining about the metal content of the band and always tried to force his bandmates to leave behind the rock and metal roots and do “other” things, try different approaches and sounds, now smells pretty bad. And listening “Frequency Unknown” and the desperate struggle to prove that they are rock and metal and “true warriors”, make them look – and sound – quite ridiculous. I was curious why the hell Tate felt the need to re-record some classic ‘ryche tracks (I Don’t Believe in Love, Empire, Jet City Woman, Silent Lucidity) and his answer was shocking and cynical: “The money. The record company really wanted those for resale and licensing and all that kind of that stuff, so they said: ‘We’ll give you a lot of money for it.’ And so I said, ‘Okay, beautiful!’ They wanted them to sound, you know, as close as we could make them to the originals. And that’s what was really hard, was making them sound that way.” Well, the result it’s actually not so satisfying. Unfortunately, they managed to sound only as an imitation. Read more Queensryche – Frequency Unknown (2013)
Queensrÿche fans might be confused lately and the fan base seems split into two. We’re in the strange situation of “which is which and who is who” having a Queensrÿche A and a Queensrÿche B, both sides accusing each other of the worst.
I cut the crap and I’m gonna tell you directly what to aspect: if you’re looking for a quality and quite exciting hard rock album, “Dedicated To Chaos” might just fit your taste. Those who still waiting for what actually meant till ’88/’90 (the genius “Operation: Mindcrime” (1988), respectively “Empire” (1990), well, maybe it’s time to accept that “this” Queensrÿche is not “that” Queensrÿche anymore and probably they will never be again. On the other hand, while I was absolutely disappointed by their previous effort, the quite pale “American Soldier” released two years ago, “Dedicated To Chaos” is an absolutely fair material, a mixture of hard and heavy schemes with maximum taste and the unquestionable skill of writing and playing of these guys from Seattle. Because it’s almost impossible to avoid comparison, it’s somewhere between “Promised Land” (1994) and “Empire” (1990) with a taste of experimental sounds from “Tribe” (2003). And I must say: this is far the best Queensrÿche album for almost two decades. 
Acum o săptămână m-a anunţat 
