high quality Queensryche: "Queensryche"

Queensryche: "Queensryche"

Excellent singing, strong choruses, an abundance of guitar melodies, and overall semi-prog feel, in the sense of adult contemporary metal or light metal. The previous Queensryche album with which this meshes the best is probably "Empire."

A bit on what the album is NOT:

It is not headbanging-metal music, not air-raid-siren metal, and it is certainly not like their debut EP "Queensryche" from 1982.

It is also not the keeping-up-with-the-Joneses trendy-hip music where the band sounds like they are afraid to show their age, or like they are trying to be "cool."

What it is:

Metal music that just about anybody into rock in general, into metal or not, would find something in it to like. This is radio-friendly, but bit proggy metal, although in a very carefully planned and compact format. No song ever hits the 4-and-a-half-minute mark and the album is 35 minutes long (less actually, if you take out the 1-minute non-song intro, etc.).

It is also very good, and well done at all levels. The bands sounds confident, experienced and professional, and the sound quality is full and bouncy. It's very easy on the ears and it's a very welcoming and friendly vibe.

The band has worked extremely hard at repairing the reputation, at redeeming the name, and at making a serious effort to compose a well-balanced album with great midtempo songs, and with a couple of uptempo rockers.

Very, very recommended for Queensryche listeners that enjoy the more midtempo, mature, catchy and lighter metal side of the band's history.

It's probably a bit disappointing for those listeners hoping for something heavier and faster, but if you listen to the complete album, I would predict that it will grow on you, as long as you listen to this, for what it is now, and you do like "adult contemporary metal," easy-listening music.

High quality, regardless.