deep purple

New Music Monday Blog Black Country Communion Afterglow

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In this Music Monday Blog, we are going to get into the third record from a super group, who is called Black Country Communion.  The third record is called Afterglow.  We will get into the history and then the music on this blog.  Let us get into the history of this young super group.

History:

Glen Hughes and Joe Bonamassa met at a NAMM Show in 2006 and they jammed at Hughes studio.  In 2009, the two artists did jam after three years since their first jamming session.  The band had Jason Bonham, who is the son of John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Derek Sherinian, who was park of Dream Theater.  Bonamassa producer, who is Shirleys, suggested to pick these musicians.  Joe wanted a second guitar player not a keyboardist.  The band named their band called Black Country, however, there was a band out of Maryland that put a lawsuit against the band.  The band later named themselves Black Country Communion.   The band entered the studio to record in their first record in 2010.  In the later part of 2010, the band released their first record which was self titled.  The record was a UK success.  The band did not tour to support their first record.  In that same year, the band started to talk about recording their second record.  Black Country Communion Two was released in June 2011.  The band did a short Europe dates and a seven-day dates in the United States.  The band announced it was going to record a live record.  The band released their live record in later part of 2011.  The band took a little break to work on their other projects.  In 2012, the band return to the studio to start recording their third record, which is AfterGlow.  This is the record that will be reviewed on this blog.  Afterglow was released in the later back of 2012. Glen Hughes did not like the lacking of touring and the support from Bonamassa.  Joe said the band can tour but I had to pick the guitar player.  The band did not like this at all.  Joe finally left the band in March of 2013 he left the band.  Glen said that the rest of the band would recorded in the future in the another name.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Big Train

The guitar, bass, and drums start-up the song like a driving force.  I love the touch on the music when Glen comes in singing.  There is a nice driving groove to this song.  I love the back up vocals on this song.  I am not a fan of the lyrics but I love the music on “Big Train.”  There is a nice guitar break halfway through the song that turns into a nice guitar solo.  I love the slow down on the music after the guitar solo.  The band turn to the main riff and chorus to finish up the song.

This Is Your Time

I love the dark theme guitars at the beginning of the song.  I love the melody that Glen wrote for his vocals.  I love the lyrics on this song.  I love the pace of this song.  This song has elements of Bad Company and Deep Purple in it.  I love the guitar solo towards the back half of the song.  The bass line and drums are simple but are perfect the song.

Midnight Sun

I love the guitar riff at the beginning of the song.  I love the music on the main part of the song.  There is a nice pace on this song.  Glen’s singing is strong with some great lyrics.  He sounds better than ever.  I have always loved his singing since Deep Purple.  There is a pretty good guitar solo that does not need all the reverb on his guitar solo.  It is pretty good but I just feel like this song could live without a guitar solo.  There is some nice drumming towards the end of the song.

Confessor

I love the heavy music at the beginning.  This is classic hard rock driving song.  There is some really good singing and I read the lyrics before listening to this song.  I have to say I love how they wrote for “Confessor.”    Jason is killing it on the drums on this song.  There is a nice guitar and organ solo towards the end of the song.  It seems forced but it smooths out towards the middle of the solo.  I love the ending of the song.

Cry Freedom

I love the classic hard rock guitar sound and riff.  There is some nice music on this song.  The singing is strong on this song.  The singing is pretty Blues like on “Cry Freedom.”  I love how they are using the back up vocals.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The singing on this song reminds me a little bit of the Deep Purple Mark III and IV era.  There is nice guitar break at the mid-point of the song.  The guitar work kind of has a little Robert Kriger, who is the guitar player from The Doors, feel to it.

Afterglow

The title track for this record is “Afterglow.”  There is some nice music at the beginning of the song.  I love the acoustic guitar playing and the singing is pretty strong.  There are parts that sounds like later Led Zeppelin.  The drumming and bass playing has that feeling too.   There is some pretty good music on this song.  The lyrics are pretty average but the music is what saves this song.  I love the build up to the ending of the song.

Dandelion

There is some nice driving music at the beginning of this song.  I love the drumming and bass playing on this song.  The singing is pretty good with some great lyrics.  I love the music on this song.  There is a well placed guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I thought the ending was a little weak.

The Circle

I am not sure on how I feel about the beginning of this song.  I am not sure on how I feel on the singing and the lyrics.  I love the keyboard playing in the background.  The music did get a little bit better during the chorus part of “The Circle.”  I am really not liking this song.  I hate to say it but I really do not like this song.  I can see someone liking this song and it could be you.

Common Man

I love the music at the beginning of this song.  There is a killer guitar riff on this song.  I love the movement on the bass.  There is some pretty good singing and good lyrics.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  The band switches off and on in the solo part.  I love the organ playing right after the guitar, bass, and drum solo.  The back half of the song there is some nice playing from the bass, drums, and organ players.  There is some nice playing over the top from the guitar player.

The Giver

There is some nice slow pace music on “The Giver.”  There is some nice singing and some pretty good lyrics.  I love the pick up going into the chorus part of the song.  I am really not liking the guitar riff during the main part of the song.  I am not a fan of the guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It does not fit in the song.  I love the music and the singing for the ending of the song.

Crawl

I love the music on this song.  This song has some powerful music on it.  There is some great singing and lyrics.  I love the keyboard touch on this song.  This song is full with no holes in it.  There is a nice guitar break towards the middle part with a nice keyboard solo right after it.  I love the trade-off solos between the keyboard and guitar players.

Current Line Up:

  • Glenn Hughes – Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar, And Acoustic Guitar
  • Joe Bonamassa – Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, And Co-Lead Vocals
  • Jason Bonham – Drums, Percussion, and Backing Vocals
  • Derek Sherinian – Keyboards

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.bccommunion.com

Twitter:  @bccommunion

In closing, I was so sad to hear that this band has broken up.  I was a little late picking up this record.  I feel bad for it.  I have to say this record lives up to their last two records.  There is some great music and lyrics on this awesome record. There is a few songs towards the end of the record that I could do without on the record.  This is one of the best super groups put together in the last few years.  I am glad Glenn clean up his act and is drug free.  He is a great bass player and singer.  I love all his work and I cannot wait to see what he will be doing next.  I highly recommend this record and their first two records.  Please, hope this band gets back together and tour with some more new music.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog La Chinga La Chinga

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In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into a band from Vancouver, Canada.  La Chinga released their debut self-titled record.  The sound of the band is a throw back to the 1970’s classic hard rock.  They mixed some blues, folk, and rock.  They have elements from the pioneers of that era like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and MC5 to name a few bands.  There is not much information on this new band.  Let us get into the music.

Track List:

Early Grave

“Early Grave” starts out with a driving classic hard rock guitar riff.  I love the singing.  It reminds me of Deep Purple like Mark III to IV area with David Coverdale fronting the band with Glen Hughs.  La Chinga has brought the 1970’s back through their music and lyrics.  There is some nice lyrics and music.  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle part of the song.  I love the drumming and bass work on this song.  There is a strong backbone in this music and band.  This is a great opening track.

Snake Eyes

The second song pretty much has the same start and sound like the opening track.  I love the grove of this song and the feeling from the singing.  Drummer is pound the hell out of his kit and gives a nice strong sound to the song.  I love the lyrics and the music so far on this song.  There is some nice guitar work towards the middle of the song that turns into a nice guitar solo.  I love the build up to the end of the song.

The Wheel

I love the grove of the start of this song.  There is some nice bass work on the song at the beginning.  I love the pace and in the packet of this song.  “The Wheel” sounds like something that early Whitesnake, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, or Deep Purple would have written.  The singer fits what this band is doing.  His voice is perfect for this music and the lyrics that he has written for it.

Catty!

I love the drumming at the beginning.  It sound very Led Zeppelin sounding.  The guitar sounds like a bright Black Sabbath sounding.  There is some nice lyrics on this song.  The drummer is so far making this record along with his partner in crime the bassist.  I will say the rhythm selection of this band makes this band a solid one.  This makes the guitar player and singer sound better without even trying and their job easier.  There is a nice solid guitar solo towards the middle.

Loose My Mind

“Loose My Mind” has some nice trip out music at the beginning.  The guitar playing is off the charts along with some solid drumming and bass playing.  I love the lyrics but I do not like the singing on this song at the beginning of the song.  In the later part of the song, it kind of gets a little better.  I love the ending of this song.

Boogie Children

The beginning of this song sounds like a 1970’s porn music.  I am sorry.  I can not really take this song that serious.  There is some solid bass playing and drumming in the background.  It has a nice build up.  After the 1970’s porn music, there is some great music.  I love the bass playing on this song.  I am not really a fan of the lyrics.

Country Mile

I love the beginning of “Country Mile.”  It has a southern rock music sound to it.  I really love the singer singing and the lyrics.  I love the pace and grove to the song.  There is a nice well placed guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love the pick up on the song after the guitar solo.  It just feel right to the theme of the song and goes right back to the main the riff.  Nice touch!

La Chinga

The name of the band the title of this record has a nice pace to it.  I love the bass and drum playing on this song.  This is a straight ahead in your face song.  I love the guitar solo towards the middle of this song.  I just feel like it should be a little faster but it is still a pretty good solo.  It is one of his longest one on this record so far.  I love the ending with the music and the lead singer screaming.

Freedom

“Freedom” has a nice pace to it.  I love the lyrics and the guitar work on this song.  I just feel like the drumming is a little too strong and hard for this song.  There is a nice driving pace to this song.  La Chinga did a great job on the music.  This is one of their best songs off this record.  I love the ending to the song.

Universe

I love the guitar work at the beginning of the song.  The drums and bass echo a nice guitar riff for the main part of the song.  This band has found the fountain of all the driving songs.  There is some nice lyrics and singer sounds great.    I love the guitar work towards the end of the song.  This is great end to a great record from a good up and coming band.

Line Up:

Carl Spackler: Bass and Vocals

Ben Yardley: Guitars and Vocals

Jason Solyom: Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.lachinga.bandcamp.com and www.facebook.com/pages/La-Chinga

Twitter:  @chinga_la

In closing, this band has brought everything that was good about the 1970’s hard rock all in their first record to the public.  They did not do a lazy job on it.  They pulled elements from the classic 1970’s bands from Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk Railroad, MC5, etc.  The drummer and bass player are the story on this record.  They made this record from good to great.  This band has a solid backbone with a very talented guitar player.  There is no holes in their games or swing.  This band reminds me of ZZ Top and Rush.  I am not saying they sound like either band but all their players are solid and talented.  There is not weak link on this band.  This band gives fans of the classic rock a nice wrap of some great 1970’s music.  I highly recommend this band’s music if you love 1970’s hard rock or some great rock music.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Unknown Music Thursday Blog Earthen Grave Self Title

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In this Unknown Music Thursday Blog, we are going to get into the music of Earthen Grave.  This is their self title and first release from this band. Earthen Grave is a Chicago base doom to the classic old school metal band.  Ron Holzner, who is the bassist, was with the band Trouble.  It was founded in 2008 by Jason Muxlow, who is one of the guitar players.  There is an unique twisted on this band.  They have Rachel Barton Pine.  She plays the electric violin.  The band has released their EP and now this first full length record.  There is not much more on the history of this young band.  Let us get into the music.

Track List

Earthen Grave

The opening track has sound effects or sampling of church bells with a little guitar feedback.  I love the creepy guitar riff like a Black Sabbath style along with the drums and bass playing.  I love the bass line during the singing part.  Mark is a perfect fit for this music.  I love the lyrics.  I did not know how the violin would fit into the music but it is perfect it.  There is some awesome music.  I love the pick up towards the end of the song with a short guitar solo.  This is a great opening track for this record.

Life Carries On

I love the play back and forth on the guitar side of things.  The drums and bass are solid.  There is a nice guitar solo at the beginning of the song.  Mark comes in singing shortly after that solo.  He has a different tone of singing than the opening track.  I love the pace of this song.   I love how they are using the violin in this song.  It almost echoes the singing and guitar.  I love how they put the violin at the front towards the end as a solo and guitar solo shortly after that.  I love how both guitars sound a little different.  I loving the trade-off solos towards the end of the song.

Burning A Sinner

There is a classic 1970’s guitar riff with the music having the same feeling.  Mark’s singing is honorary those legend in the 1970’s.  I love the back up vocals.  It was a perfectly place and fits the song.  It is not focused.  There is some good lyrics on this song.  This song sounds like something that would be from Deep Purple or Black Sabbath record.  Nice touch on the guitar break and solo towards the middle of the song.

Blood Drunk

I love the acoustic guitar and the violin playing over the top of it.  I love the calming drums and bass.  Mark and Rachel’s singing are spot on to the song.  This is a pretty calming song.  This should be their first single off this record.  I love how they pick up the pace to heaviest part of the song.  I love the music.  Earthen Grave looped back to the slower part after the heavy part.  I love the time changes on this song.  There is a pretty nice guitar solos at the end of the song.  Both guitars are hitting it together hard.  There is a nice short violin solo.  Nice ending to the song.

Dismal Times

I love the drums and guitar action at the beginning.  There is a nice acoustic guitar with the drums and bass.  The violin plays over the top of the music.  The heavy guitars roar in with Mark screaming over it.  I love his melody on this song.  I love the lyrics and music on this song.  This is a pretty good record so far.  Mark is showing off as a singer on this song.  I really love how they used the violin on this song.  There is a nice time changes to the song.  There is some nice violin action at the end of the song.  Rachel is playing is awesome and great work.  “Dismal Times” has a great ending.

Tilted World

I love the trade-off from the guitar player and bassist.  There is some awesome riffs at the beginning.  I have always love the wah wah pedal on the bass.  I know I over use it when I play my bass.  I love the music on this song.  There is some great lyrics and singing from Mark.  The back up singing is good but I just feel this song and how Mark sings.  The band can do without back up vocals.  This is my thought not the bands.  I love the acoustic guitar with violin playing over the top.  I love the mood changes in all their songs.  I love the ending to this song.

Beneath A Shovel Load

I love the feedback guitar that turns into a guitar solo with the acoustic guitar in the background.  The drums and  bass are solid back up and support to the acoustic guitar.  I love the snap into the main riff.  Mark’s singing and melody are awesome.  He wrote some nice lyrics.  I love the pace of the song.  This is a nice driving song.  This is my favorite song so far off this record.  I could see this song being a single off this great record.  I love the double bass at the end of the song from the drums.  We need more double bass.  I love the guitar and violin solos at the end of “Beneath A Shovel Load.”

Fall In

I love the drumming at the beginning with nice touch simple bass line.  The guitar playing is awesome.  I love the main riff for the versus.  Mark kind sounds like Glen Danzing on this song.  This is the first time I kind of say he sounds like someone.  He has his unique way of singing that is a good thing.  This is a very good song and I enjoyed it.  I just feel this song is a little too long.  I love the effects on the guitars and the hard-hitting drums towards the end of the song.  Nice touch on the drums and bass towards the back half of the song to set up the trade up guitar solos.  I love the fading out guitar playing end.

Relentless

I love the guitar work at the beginning.  This is a nice driving song.  The drums and bass are solid.  He does sound like Ozzy of Black Sabbath but he has the same melody and rhythm on his vocals.  He has a kind of Glen Danzing sound again.  The more I think about his singing.  It kind of reminds of Riot “Thundersteel” singing.   I love music changes and the ending to this song.

Death On The High Seas

Here is the longest song off this record.  I love the violin playing at the beginning.  I love how she put some distorted on it that has a really nice effect.  I love the pace and the music on this song so far.  The music does kind of sound like the seas or the water hitting a ship.  Mark has some nice singing on “Death On The High Seas.”  There is a nice guitar solo towards the middle of the song.  I love the violin playing at the mid-point of the song.  I love the fast pace of the song just past the mid-point of the song.  It is almost like they are in storm on the high seas.  Earthen Grave has done a great job on the music.  I love the ending.

Death Is Another Word

“Death Is Another Word” is their first single off this record.  I love the guitar playing that fades into the song.  I love the guitar playing at the beginning.  The drums and bass are solid.  I love the main riff with Mark singing over the top of it.  I love the pace of this song.  Mark is singing great with some good lyrics.  Mark sounds like Ozzy during the chorus part.  Earthen Grave has put some thought behind this song.  I love the fade out for the end of the song and the record before the live bonus track.

Stargazer (Live)

This is a classic Rainbow song.  I love how they use the violin on this song.  It is well placed.  The music is right on.  Mark is singing awesome of this classic Rainbow song.  Mark has a little Dio in him.  I believe Dio would approve Mark’s singing  on this song.  Earthen Grave has nailed this song.  I love how the violin is playing the classic Blackmore guitar solo along with one of the guitar players.   For being a live recording, the production team did a great job of recording this song.

Current Line Up

  • Mark Weiner – Vocals
  • Tony Spillman – Guitar
  • Jason Muxlow – Guitar
  • Ron Holzmer – Bass
  • Rachel Barton Pine – Eletric Violin
  • Chris Wozniak – Drums

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.earthengrave.com

Twitter:  @earthengrave

In closing, this is my first post under “Unknown Music Thursday” on my blog.  I am honor to have put this band’s music as my first post.  I received an email from Bandcamp to check out this band’s music.  This is how I discovered this band.  There is many bands in the past that use a violin player in the classic rock.  There is not too many hard rock and metal bands use violin player.  I am pretty impressed with the music and how they used the violin in their music.  Rachel is awesome player.  I have always love Ron’s bass playing in Trouble and he did not disappoint on this record.  Chris is a great drummer and Earthen Grave has picked a great one.  Tony and Jason are some guitar players and they know how to write their solos.  Earthen Grave should be proud of the music they put on this record.  They are upcoming band and I wish them the best of luck in the future.  I will be picking up this record and see them live.  I highly recommend you checking out this band, if you are hard rock and metal fans.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

New Music Monday Blog Queensryche Self Titled (Todd La Torre Verision)

In this Music Monday blog,  we are going to get into the other verision of Queensryche.  I realize how confusing this is about the band.  It is what it is until their next court hearing.  Queensryche fired Geoff Tate and hired Todd La Torre as their new lead singer.  Let us get into the history of this band.

History

Queensryche was founded in 1982 in Washington.  Chris DeGarmo met Mark Wilton to form a band called Joker.  Mark Wilton met Scott Rockenfield and Chris met Eddie Jackson.  They changed the name to The Mob.  Geoff Tate joined but he was not interested in playing metal covers.  The band recorded their first EP called Queen Of The Reich.  The band discovered there was another band with the same name of The Mob.  They rename the band Queensryche from their first EP.  The key is they misspelled it.  Queensryche was signed EMI Records in 1983.  They supported the EP with a tour by opening up for Quiet Riot and Twisted Sister.  After the tour, they went into the studio to record The Warning, which is their first studio release, and it was released in 1984.  Their second record was called Rage Of Order in 1986. In 1988 Queensryche release their first Concept Record which is known as Operation: Mind Crime.  The band toured with Metallica, Guns and Roses, and Def Leppard.  After that successful record, the band put out in 1990 their must successful and most selling record known as Empire.  Just like Mind Crime, Empire pumped out several hits and the record reached #7 on the United States music charts.  The band appeared on MTV Unplugged and released Live record with Operation:  Mind Crime.  The band took time off but in 1994 they released the follow-up to Empire which is Promise Land.  Like most Metal bands, they took a hit when the grunge scene hit the mainstream.  The band put out their final record with original lead guitar player Chris DeGarmo.  The record was called Hear In The Now Frontier.  The record had two hits but record itself did not do good.  Chris left the band and it was not made public why he left the band.  He is now a full-time pilot.  Chris was replaced by Kelly Gray and he produced their next release called Q2K in 1999.  Just like Hear In The Now Frontier, the fans did not like the direction of the band.  The band was forced to play in clubs and theaters like most of their peers.  The band put out their second live record in 2001 and fired Kelly Gary for ongoing problems and personal habits.  In 2003, the band enter the studio to worked on Tribe and reports that Chris DeGarmo worked with the band again.  He helped co write four songs but he never rejoin or decline that he was part of the band.  However Kelly Gary’s replacement was Mark Stone, which work with Tate on his first solo record, Mark Stone finished the record as the second guitar player.  The band went on tour with Dream Theater to support in 2003.  In 2004, Queensryche got a ton of interested from fans when they announced they are going to do a follow-up to the 1988’s release Operation:  Mind Crime.  Operation:  Mind Crime II was released under new record label Rhino in 2006.  The band put a greatest hits called Signs Of The Time with Chris DeGarmo on one new song.  In 2007, the band put out a cover record that was called Take Cover.  Mark Stone left the band to work on his side project called Speed-X but there was reports that he was fired from the band.   Mark was forced to record both the lead and rhythm guitar parts for American Soldier, which was three concept record, that Queensryche put out.  It was released in 2009.  Dedicated to Chaos was the final record with Geoff Tate  and it was released 2011.  The band had a meeting without Tate and they decided to outsource their fan club and fire their band manager, who is Tate’s wife.  The band hired Todd La Torre as the lead singer.  Geoff Tate filed a lawsuit against the band on that he has the rights to the name.  The judge ruled that Tate and his former band mates could use the name until the next court date which is in November of 2013.  This blog is on the Todd La Torre version of the band.  Let us get into the music.

Song List

X2

The intro is almost something off their first few records.  I believe their EP.   I love it.  This is Queensryche.

Where Dreams Go To Die

I love the opening that blends from the intro track.  I love the guitar work and drums with the kick in from the bass.  This is a killer start.  Damn!  Holy Shit!  This is Queensryche!  I love the drop off into acoustic guitars like normal Queensryche.  The singer, who is Todd La Torre, sounds just like a young version of Geoff Tate.  This band will not loss beat but get better.  This song has anything to say about the rest of the record.  The lyrics are pretty good.  There is some pretty good music here and it takes me back to the first few records.  There is a great guitar solo towards the end of the song.  This is a great opening song.

Spore

I love the effects on the one guitar at the beginning of the song.  I love how Todd just jumps into the song.  I love the music and the lyrics.  I have listen to this great records a few times.  I did not like this song at first but it is really growing on me.  There is some nice lyrics.  The drumming is awesome with some great bass line to shadow it.  The guitar players have done a great job.  The music break and back to the main riff. It breaks up the song and give it a soul. It has a nice ending.

In This Light

The music on this song is so old school Queensryche when they first started.  Todd is singing very nicely on this song.  I love the lyrics on this record so far.   Mike and Parker have some nice guitar work on this song and so far on this record.  This song has a nice pace to it.  I love the drum roll before a great guitar solo.  There is a nice ending to a song.

Redemption

I love the guitar and drum action at the beginning.   I love the start of Redemption.  I love how it was short and to the point.  Todd’s singing is solid with some great lyrics.  I never thought I would hear another Geoff Tate in my time but here is Todd.  I am glad he is around and Queensryche found him.  I love melody in this song.  I love the guitar solo towards the back half of this song.  The effects on the vocals is perfect throughout this record.  I love the ending.

Vindication

I love the fast pace and the driving guitar riff with some great playing from the Scott, who is the drummer, and Eddie, who is the bass player.  I love the slight drop off when the singer comes in which just feels like it.  I love the time changes.  Todd has some nice lyrics and melody.  He so fits this song.  Damn!  Scott is playing his ass off on this song.  Nice touch on the guitar solo towards the end of the song.

Midnight Lullaby

Here is another intro track for the next song.  I love this one because it is pretty creepy in a good way.

A World Without

I love the acoustic guitar at the beginning with a slight overdrive guitar over the top.  Todd singing and melody is spot on in this song.  There is some nice lyrics on this track.  This song has a nice pace for being a slower song.  This is some great music from Queensryche in a very long time.  The drums, bass, and guitars are well done.  I just feel this guitar solo is a little forced but still good.

Don’t Look Back

I love the music at the beginning of the song.  It has a great fast pace to it.  Todd just jumps into with some great lyrics.  I have to say this is one of my favorite songs so far off this record.  I love the music break about the halfway point.  It might have been short but it is still a great song.  Nice ending.

Fallout

I love the drums, bass, and the one guitar playing at the beginning with a nice guitar solo over the top.  Todd might sounds like Tate but he has put his own twist to make it his own.  I love the lyrics and melody.  The back up singing is so much better on this record than the Tate’s version of Queensryche.  I love the guitar solo towards the end of the song.  It has a nice ending.

Open Road

I love the guitar work and perfect drum beat at the beginning.  Todd has some nice singing with some great lyrics.  I love the touch of the keyboard during the short guitar solos.  Man, this is a great song.  I love the long guitar solo towards the end of the song.  I love the ending of the song and perfect song to exit from this great record before the bonus tracks.

Queen Of The Reich (Live)

The music is spot on for a live performance.  When listening to this song, I would have never guess that was not Geoff Tate singing.  Todd has done a great job on this song.  When a band does not have their original singer, it is never the same.  Queensryche and Journey are one of the few bands I can say that can play their old songs like their old songs.

En Force (Live)

Just like “Queen Of The Reich” there is no drop off from the singing.  Everything is spot on from the original song.  I have always loved this song.  This is a nice live recording.

Prophecy (Live)

Just like the last two live song, this song is no different.  Todd is singing just like the original song.  The music is spot on like old Queensryche.  This is not one of my favorite songs from Queensryche but I am happy they are playing more of the older songs.

Orinigal Line Up

  • Geoff Tate – Lead Vocals
  • Chris DeGarmo Guitars, Backing Vocals
  • Michael Wilton – Guitars
  • Scott Rockenfield – Drums
  • Eddie Jackson – Bass, Backing Vocals

Current Line Up

  • Todd La Torre – Vocals
  • Michael Wilton – Lead And Rhythm Guitars
  • Parker Lundgren – Lead And Rhythm Guitars
  • Eddie Jackson – Bass, Backing Vocals
  • Scott Rockenfield – Drums, Percussion, Orchestral Arrangements

Here is their website and twitter addresses:

Website:  www.queensrycheofficial.com/intro.cfm

Twitter:  @queensryche

In closing, I am pretty impresssed with this record with the new lead singer.  I have been doing a ton of thinking on the older records from this great band.  I have to say Mike was not lying when he said they are going back to “The Warning” and their EP music.  Todd gives them power to it.  I have always loved their old records.  Do not get me wrong.  Opertional Mindcrime and Empire are great records.  I just felt as a huge Queeensryche fan that the first few greats were better than those big selling records.  I also realize that put them on the map to the mainstream music scene.  Queensryche came into my life with the record, which was “Hear In The Now Frontier.”  I am not old school metal head and I wish I was.  I am in my mid 30’s and grew up with sisters that love the hard rock and metal scene.  I loved that record and started to explore their record.  I understand most fans of this band feel about that record and I agree.  I have always put that record to my heart.  I love this record and I will play the crap out of this record.  I just might have to but a new one and that will be the first since Van Halen’s Balance record.  The music is Queensryche and they did a great job writing on it.  Todd did a great job on this record. He is replacing one of the best metal singers of all time.  Tate is in my top five metal singers of all times.  It is hard to replace a guy like that, however, I believe he has done it.  He does not like sound like Tate but Todd comes extremely close to it.  He has his own twist and uses it in the right ways.  This is a Queensryche record.  It is not like that Tate version of Queensryche.  Just what I said in that blog, Geoff needs to take some time off.  I believe he is burn out and needs a long vacation.  I know what that does to a rock star, however, “quality is always better than quantity,” said Todd La Torre (www.blabbermouth.net.)  I have to agree with what Todd has to say.  After listening to this record, there is no doubt that this Queensryche will win the court case this fall.  Geoff Tate was last member of the original five to join the group and has put out three solo records (The third record is his version of Queensryche.)  I am proud of this band I really hope I can see them on tour.  I highly recommend this record.  Go get some!  Drink it!  Enjoy it!  Metal it!  \m/

Cheers!

Bill DJ Weiser

Email:  djweiser13@comcast.net

Twitter:  @djweiser

Credit Source:  (I pick up the history part from wikipedia.)