For a band as politically and socially outspoken as Queensryche, and given their recent history with their releases, one would imagine that an entire album written based on stories of soldiers who served in Korea (lead singer Geoff Tate's father Perry, in the first time he ever actually came out and talked about his experiences) to Vietnam, Kosovo, Somalia, and Iraq to be a mediocre, leftist, war-decrying affair, but it's not at all. The music is, for the most part, very nice, with some bits that actually impress (something the band hasn't done for quite a while), and the album feels very human, and it's actually humbling to listen to.
First off, a little bit of history. Queensryche formed in Seattle in 1981, and after a few slowly improving albums in the mid-'80s, came into their own with 1988's Operation: Mindcrime and 1990's Empire, the latter of which spawned six singles after its original release. Afterward, the band seemed to fall into a creative slump starting with 1994's Promised Land, and lead guitarist Chris DeGarmo left after 1997's lackluster Hear in the Now Frontier. Kelly Gray signed on for Q2K in 1999, which also did poorly and Gray left in 2001. DeGarmo returned for a few tracks on Tribe in 2003, with rhythm guitarist Michael Wilton providing the rest of the guitar. Mike Stone was with the band for a mediocre Operation: Mindcrime 2 and a relatively impressive cover album, Take Cover in 2007. Stone has since left to pursue his own projects, leaving Wilton the sole guitarist on American Soldier. Like Metallica's Death Magnetic, this is more or less a make-or-break album for Queensryche, and for the most part, they make it.
The album starts off with a couple weak tracks. "Sliver" sometimes brings in a nu-metal feel with its vocals, which are supposed to be indicative of a drill sergeant, but it probably would have been better to bring in someone whose vocal chords aren't as old as Tate's to perform those lyrics. "Unafraid" is a simple chorus joined by two interviews spliced together, one with a veteran from Vietnam, the other from Kosovo, and it...mostly works, especially considering how similar the two interviews sound.
We start feeling the Queensryche from their peak starting around the third track, "Hundred Mile Stare," and wavers tenuously around that area for several tracks thereafter, some of it feeling more like Empire, other parts having more than a few touches of the Tribe years in them, but the mood of the songs largely makes it work.
Their first single is the eighth track, "If I Were King," and it's one of the most chilling pieces on the album. Like a few other tracks, it opens with an interview from one of the soldiers, and the wide range Tate's strong, emotional voice truly shines - if nothing else, he put the effort there. Starting with "If I Were King," the album moves from the largely story-based themes to more melancholy and emotional themes, things that bring the war home. They range from psychological damage ("Man Down!") to family issues ("Remember Me" and "Home Again") and finally concludes with "The Voice," which describes the calm feeling one experiences on the edge of death.
Throughout the album, Tate's voice hardly shows its age, and Wilton displays experience no one would have thought he had, given his performance on Tribe. His solos are not DeGarmo's, but they're a more-than-acceptable substitute, and they're certainly better than Mike Stone's. Musically, I have few complaints about this album. It doesn't blow you away, it's largely not catchy, but it is competent, sets the mood fine, and feels unequivocally like Queensryche, just not entirely like their peak.
What really impresses me, however, is the feeling, the mood of the album. Throughout the whole thing there are interviews with various soldiers from all walks of the military, and when they work best are at the beginnings of the songs, like "At 30,000 Ft," "If I Were King," and "The Voice," the last of which contains Perry Tate's interview. They help to set the scene for the song, give the listener a perspective to see it from, and reveal the story behind it, which only improves the mood of the song, which I feel really helps one's enjoyment of this album. Each song has a story (or stories) behind it that Tate put into lyrics, and they're what real soldiers actually went through and felt, and some of them are truly chilling, from the detachment felt by an aircraft pilot to the pain of losing a comrade in battle. The backstories for each track can be found at http://www.queensryche.com/2009/03/19/track-by-track-by-geoff-tate/ Read them. It will help your enjoyment of the album, I promise.
Highlights of the album include "At 30,000 Ft," "The Voice," and "If I Were King" for the sort of emotional response they create, but nearly the whole album is above average, especially for Queensryche at this point in time. It's something of a renaissance for Queensryche, like Death Magnetic was for Metallica, but instead of opting to go for broke on the music like Metallica did, Queensryche tried to evoke a deeper emotional response in the listener, and it worked pretty well.
If you're a Queensryche fan, buy it. It's not the Queensryche you want to hear, but it's a Queensryche you can feel proud about hearing. If you or someone you know is or was in the armed forces, definitely buy it. You'll probably enjoy it more than I did. However, if this is your first time listening to Queensryche, and you aren't an armed forces member, start with Empire, Promised Land, and their '80s albums before sinking your teeth into this one, or Take Cover as something of a psych-up for American Soldier. Eventually, however, you will want to buy it just for the emotional spectacle.
TL; DR: Not their best, far from their worst, deep and enjoyable. Heartily recommended.
First off, a little bit of history. Queensryche formed in Seattle in 1981, and after a few slowly improving albums in the mid-'80s, came into their own with 1988's Operation: Mindcrime and 1990's Empire, the latter of which spawned six singles after its original release. Afterward, the band seemed to fall into a creative slump starting with 1994's Promised Land, and lead guitarist Chris DeGarmo left after 1997's lackluster Hear in the Now Frontier. Kelly Gray signed on for Q2K in 1999, which also did poorly and Gray left in 2001. DeGarmo returned for a few tracks on Tribe in 2003, with rhythm guitarist Michael Wilton providing the rest of the guitar. Mike Stone was with the band for a mediocre Operation: Mindcrime 2 and a relatively impressive cover album, Take Cover in 2007. Stone has since left to pursue his own projects, leaving Wilton the sole guitarist on American Soldier. Like Metallica's Death Magnetic, this is more or less a make-or-break album for Queensryche, and for the most part, they make it.
The album starts off with a couple weak tracks. "Sliver" sometimes brings in a nu-metal feel with its vocals, which are supposed to be indicative of a drill sergeant, but it probably would have been better to bring in someone whose vocal chords aren't as old as Tate's to perform those lyrics. "Unafraid" is a simple chorus joined by two interviews spliced together, one with a veteran from Vietnam, the other from Kosovo, and it...mostly works, especially considering how similar the two interviews sound.
We start feeling the Queensryche from their peak starting around the third track, "Hundred Mile Stare," and wavers tenuously around that area for several tracks thereafter, some of it feeling more like Empire, other parts having more than a few touches of the Tribe years in them, but the mood of the songs largely makes it work.
Their first single is the eighth track, "If I Were King," and it's one of the most chilling pieces on the album. Like a few other tracks, it opens with an interview from one of the soldiers, and the wide range Tate's strong, emotional voice truly shines - if nothing else, he put the effort there. Starting with "If I Were King," the album moves from the largely story-based themes to more melancholy and emotional themes, things that bring the war home. They range from psychological damage ("Man Down!") to family issues ("Remember Me" and "Home Again") and finally concludes with "The Voice," which describes the calm feeling one experiences on the edge of death.
Throughout the album, Tate's voice hardly shows its age, and Wilton displays experience no one would have thought he had, given his performance on Tribe. His solos are not DeGarmo's, but they're a more-than-acceptable substitute, and they're certainly better than Mike Stone's. Musically, I have few complaints about this album. It doesn't blow you away, it's largely not catchy, but it is competent, sets the mood fine, and feels unequivocally like Queensryche, just not entirely like their peak.
What really impresses me, however, is the feeling, the mood of the album. Throughout the whole thing there are interviews with various soldiers from all walks of the military, and when they work best are at the beginnings of the songs, like "At 30,000 Ft," "If I Were King," and "The Voice," the last of which contains Perry Tate's interview. They help to set the scene for the song, give the listener a perspective to see it from, and reveal the story behind it, which only improves the mood of the song, which I feel really helps one's enjoyment of this album. Each song has a story (or stories) behind it that Tate put into lyrics, and they're what real soldiers actually went through and felt, and some of them are truly chilling, from the detachment felt by an aircraft pilot to the pain of losing a comrade in battle. The backstories for each track can be found at http://www.queensryche.com/2009/03/19/track-by-track-by-geoff-tate/ Read them. It will help your enjoyment of the album, I promise.
Highlights of the album include "At 30,000 Ft," "The Voice," and "If I Were King" for the sort of emotional response they create, but nearly the whole album is above average, especially for Queensryche at this point in time. It's something of a renaissance for Queensryche, like Death Magnetic was for Metallica, but instead of opting to go for broke on the music like Metallica did, Queensryche tried to evoke a deeper emotional response in the listener, and it worked pretty well.
If you're a Queensryche fan, buy it. It's not the Queensryche you want to hear, but it's a Queensryche you can feel proud about hearing. If you or someone you know is or was in the armed forces, definitely buy it. You'll probably enjoy it more than I did. However, if this is your first time listening to Queensryche, and you aren't an armed forces member, start with Empire, Promised Land, and their '80s albums before sinking your teeth into this one, or Take Cover as something of a psych-up for American Soldier. Eventually, however, you will want to buy it just for the emotional spectacle.
TL; DR: Not their best, far from their worst, deep and enjoyable. Heartily recommended.
