Track Listing
1. Queen of the reich 2. Nightrider 3. Blinded 4. The lady wore black 5. Prophecy Year: 1983 Label: EMI - Official Site |
Queensr�che - 'Queensr�che' EP - By J. Korkiam�ki
The first release by Seattle�s most legendary heavy metal band Queensr�che was this five track EP, that fortunately doesn�t contain the grunge crap the band nowadays puts out. On the other hand, unfortunately there isn�t anything from the between; the EP is filled with Maiden/Priest influenced NWOBHM, and the lyrics are...well, phew, a bit absurd fantasy stuff, which I usually don�t feel comfortable with, when speaking of older bands like Queensr�che. The EP begins with its definite diamond, "Queen Of The Reich", in which the fantastic vocalist Geoff Tate gives one of his finest performances ever. I used to wonder, how he would sing like that nowadays, being over 40, smoking, and drinking coffee. After I got the double live from last year, my nightmares had been quite true. He can�t sing it anymore, at least not as great as in these past days. But well, we're talking about the EP, so let�s go on with that. "Nightrider" is a bit more average song, although quite nice, as is "Blinded". The ballad of the album, "The Lady Wore Black" is way too overrated. It�s a beautiful song, no doubt about that, but something is missing. Maybe a catch of some kind would�ve been nice. The boring chorus almost destroys the song, but the melody and the vocal lines of the additional verses save it. The last song "Prophecy", now that�s another story. The song is musically very similar to Iron Maiden, although the guitars are a little lighter in sound. "Prophecy" is the other diamond song on the EP. So, my overall opinion is that the EP, compared to Queensr�che�s later work and despite a couple of good jams, is boring and overrated. Man, was I disappointed with this. I had only heard "Queen Of The Reich", and read a review where the author gave this album 100% out of 100%. With this EP you must face the fact that this sounds old as hell, which can be related to the muddy sounds, and the songs really aren�t THAT good. Too simple, too ordinary, but cheap, usually. Now that�s the good side. If you have also bought this EP, and don�t quite like it, but still are interested, buy Operation: Mindcrime. There you can get the best possible image of Queensr�che that you can. You can�t see the marvel of this band buying this EP. Metal Obsessive Grade: 71% |