Queensryche-Rage for order,1986
Background
This was Queensryche's third album, but second full length lp. They released an ep in 83 and it got a little notice, but it wasn't until the Warning in 1984 and that they really got some press. They also opened for Kiss some on that tour and that helped get them some exposure. For some reason there was a change in image for the Rage for order. If you look at the picture on the sleeve then you know what I mean. Everyone was wearing long leather jackets and extra poofy hair. Three of the band members had streaks in their hair for some reason. Fortunately that image only lasted for this album. I think Rage for order sold well, but not great. They did get to open for AC/DC that summer so I am sure that helped them as well.
First Impression
I first heard this album around the time it came out and remember it being just okay. I recall my biggest problem with it was that it just wasn't that memorable. The last time I heard the whole album was probably at least six years ago. I only have it on album so I had to wait until I had time to through it on the turntable before I could hear it. So here it goes, poof up your hair and get your leather raincoat on.
Review
1. Walk In The Shadows-Opening track just kind comes on without any real build-up or anything. It's mid tempo all the way though. The vocals are strong, but the music is just kind of there.
2. I Dream In Infrared-This has a slow start with just a few notes before the vocals kick in. Again strong vocals, but the music has very few changes and lays back a bit. Just an alright song.
3. The Whisper-The next song begins slow and gradually picks up some. There is a slight haunting quality to the sound that I like. There is a good break about 2/3 of the way through. It's not fancy, but certainly interesting.
4. Gonna Get Close To You-We start off with drums and some dated sounding effects before the vocals come in low. This is an odd track that is almost bouncy at times and I mean bouncy like pop song bouncy. The guitars are way in the background. Even Geoff Tate's normally strong vocals aren't quite fleshed out in the mix here. Really a strange and weak song.
5. The Killing Words-Another slow start and it almost feels like we go straight to the chorus with no real solid guitar rhythm proceeding it. This isn't the first this has happened on the album, but it's seems more noticeable here. The music is almost completely unmemorable except for a good solo.
6. Surgical Strike-The last track on side one is fast, sharp and solid. This is the most excitement I have heard from the band so far. The whole mix is great and everything is on an even plain unlike half of the previous songs.
7. Neue Regel-Side two starts with a few slow notes and goes into a nice tight little riff. We have some muffled vocals at first and then they become clean. The chorus just kind of happens without much build up to the music still it's a fairly good song.
8. Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)-There are some nice solid drums at first, but they slow down as the vocals come on. Once again the guitars are way in the background and before I know it the song is over and I am left wondering what the point of this song was?
9. London-This track begins and it's all beginning to be a bit formula by this point. Just slow music, sharp vocals yet no real build-up and very little emotion and it certainly doesn't rock. This is a very dull song except for a fine solo.
10. Screaming In Digital-There are quite a bit of keyboards here as well as some oddly muted guitars and Tate trying to sound uh.. digital I think, It's a bit dated in some respects, but I admire the effort to change the pace and the attempt to pull off something different. They didn't quite pull it off, but a decent try that is at least interesting. Their effort does show on this song.
11. I Will Remember-Another really slow song, but not slow in a dull way like a few previous tracks. They really seem to have a grasp on the pace here and manage to control it rather than just riding it out. They play it for all it's worth and it's decent overall.
Final word
I have to admit that I had to listen to side one twice. Normally I never take notes for a review, but after listening to side one I found that I was getting songs confused with one another. This is due to the fact that most of the songs are the same pace and that I have not heard it in so long. Overall I would say it's just a little better than average. It's not a matter of being ubable to play but rather a matter of sketchy songwriting. The talent is there as The Warning was a good album and Operation Mindcrime is very good. Yet this album has a lot of wasted moments. There are just too many songs that feel very incomplete and almost 1/3 of the songs made me feel like they started in the middle because they race to the chorus with very little build up. Die-hard Queensryche fans might like it more, but I felt cheated overall by this release.
Coming soon:
Next month's twenty year old album will be Iron Maiden's Somewhere in time. Actually this review will be part of Iron Maiden week. I haven't quite worked out all the details, but right now I think Iron Maiden week will include this review plus reviews on Killers, Brave new world and my top twenty favorite Iron Maiden songs.
The twenty year album review for June will be Metal Church's the Dark via a 4-3 win over Megadeth in the vote for a review. I am thinking about making this review part of an "underrated band week" in June because a few people listed Metal Church as the most underrated metal band a few weeks ago.
This was Queensryche's third album, but second full length lp. They released an ep in 83 and it got a little notice, but it wasn't until the Warning in 1984 and that they really got some press. They also opened for Kiss some on that tour and that helped get them some exposure. For some reason there was a change in image for the Rage for order. If you look at the picture on the sleeve then you know what I mean. Everyone was wearing long leather jackets and extra poofy hair. Three of the band members had streaks in their hair for some reason. Fortunately that image only lasted for this album. I think Rage for order sold well, but not great. They did get to open for AC/DC that summer so I am sure that helped them as well.
First Impression
I first heard this album around the time it came out and remember it being just okay. I recall my biggest problem with it was that it just wasn't that memorable. The last time I heard the whole album was probably at least six years ago. I only have it on album so I had to wait until I had time to through it on the turntable before I could hear it. So here it goes, poof up your hair and get your leather raincoat on.
Review
1. Walk In The Shadows-Opening track just kind comes on without any real build-up or anything. It's mid tempo all the way though. The vocals are strong, but the music is just kind of there.
2. I Dream In Infrared-This has a slow start with just a few notes before the vocals kick in. Again strong vocals, but the music has very few changes and lays back a bit. Just an alright song.
3. The Whisper-The next song begins slow and gradually picks up some. There is a slight haunting quality to the sound that I like. There is a good break about 2/3 of the way through. It's not fancy, but certainly interesting.
4. Gonna Get Close To You-We start off with drums and some dated sounding effects before the vocals come in low. This is an odd track that is almost bouncy at times and I mean bouncy like pop song bouncy. The guitars are way in the background. Even Geoff Tate's normally strong vocals aren't quite fleshed out in the mix here. Really a strange and weak song.
5. The Killing Words-Another slow start and it almost feels like we go straight to the chorus with no real solid guitar rhythm proceeding it. This isn't the first this has happened on the album, but it's seems more noticeable here. The music is almost completely unmemorable except for a good solo.
6. Surgical Strike-The last track on side one is fast, sharp and solid. This is the most excitement I have heard from the band so far. The whole mix is great and everything is on an even plain unlike half of the previous songs.
7. Neue Regel-Side two starts with a few slow notes and goes into a nice tight little riff. We have some muffled vocals at first and then they become clean. The chorus just kind of happens without much build up to the music still it's a fairly good song.
8. Chemical Youth (We Are Rebellion)-There are some nice solid drums at first, but they slow down as the vocals come on. Once again the guitars are way in the background and before I know it the song is over and I am left wondering what the point of this song was?
9. London-This track begins and it's all beginning to be a bit formula by this point. Just slow music, sharp vocals yet no real build-up and very little emotion and it certainly doesn't rock. This is a very dull song except for a fine solo.
10. Screaming In Digital-There are quite a bit of keyboards here as well as some oddly muted guitars and Tate trying to sound uh.. digital I think, It's a bit dated in some respects, but I admire the effort to change the pace and the attempt to pull off something different. They didn't quite pull it off, but a decent try that is at least interesting. Their effort does show on this song.
11. I Will Remember-Another really slow song, but not slow in a dull way like a few previous tracks. They really seem to have a grasp on the pace here and manage to control it rather than just riding it out. They play it for all it's worth and it's decent overall.
Final word
I have to admit that I had to listen to side one twice. Normally I never take notes for a review, but after listening to side one I found that I was getting songs confused with one another. This is due to the fact that most of the songs are the same pace and that I have not heard it in so long. Overall I would say it's just a little better than average. It's not a matter of being ubable to play but rather a matter of sketchy songwriting. The talent is there as The Warning was a good album and Operation Mindcrime is very good. Yet this album has a lot of wasted moments. There are just too many songs that feel very incomplete and almost 1/3 of the songs made me feel like they started in the middle because they race to the chorus with very little build up. Die-hard Queensryche fans might like it more, but I felt cheated overall by this release.
Coming soon:
Next month's twenty year old album will be Iron Maiden's Somewhere in time. Actually this review will be part of Iron Maiden week. I haven't quite worked out all the details, but right now I think Iron Maiden week will include this review plus reviews on Killers, Brave new world and my top twenty favorite Iron Maiden songs.
The twenty year album review for June will be Metal Church's the Dark via a 4-3 win over Megadeth in the vote for a review. I am thinking about making this review part of an "underrated band week" in June because a few people listed Metal Church as the most underrated metal band a few weeks ago.
posted by Metal Mark at
12:33 AM
8 Comments:
I have to admit it took time for Rage to grow on me, even as a big Queensryche fan. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that O:M I was my introduction to the band, so I was a bit spoiled. No, it's not their best effort, but it's not their worst, either.
It was a let down but to be honest after a hugely successful album (both saleswise and critically acclaimed.) It happens to a lot of bands.
Whether you like them or not, one would have to admit that Queensryche were always willing to try new ideas. They were doing that here, but it was hit and miss overall. However like I said it did sell alright and they got on a big summer tour. It wasn't the album that took them to the next level, but it did fine. Fortunately they had a record label that worked with them and allowed them to do a long concept album next. So in 1988 Queensryche were elevated to the next level.
Ben-Tage for order isn't in league with those two albums, but if you can get it cheap then you might find it to be alright in some ways.
I like the album, even as I agree that it's a bit "lite" and could have been more.
And what a coincidence ... "Walk in the Shadows" just came up earlier this morning on my iPod shuffle. What are the odds of that, out of 6500 songs?
-- david
Fred-For my 20 year old album reviews I pick the albums differently then when I write short album reviews. When I write short album reviews, I pretty much
pick albums I know that I like. With the 20 year old reviews I try to pick a variety of metal styles and I also pick albums I wasn't too fond of as well as ones I know I like. One of my goals with the 20 year old review is to see if my view of the album has changed over the years. With this album, my view hadn't changed much. It was just okay, this happened when I reviewed Motley Crue's Theater of pain last year as well. It hadn't gotten any better with time either. However, I have found that my views have changed on some albums. Dokken's Under lock and key and Kix's Midnite Dynamite were better than I remembered while Grim Reaper's Fear no evil wasn't nearly as good as I remembered it. Then there were albums like Anthrax's Spreading the disease and King Kobra's Ready to strike which were just as good as I remembered them. That's why I only do this kind of review once a month because I really try to listen to the album and it takes a while to write up the review as well.
cool info you got going here...
I personally liked Walk in the Shadows a lot! Had the whole vampire feel or something.
I saw them open for Ratt and they blew them away (which doesn't take much) and then again for the Empire tour. I loved those guys - with or without goofy hairstyles. :)
I bought Rage for Order just after OMI came out in 1988. I've been a fan ever since. They just released Operation: Mindcrime II and will be touring to support it. I also understand that they will be performing both OMI & OMII back to back. I've already got my tickets.
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