GRUNGE GETS THE PROGRESSIVE TREATMENT!
Who says a band has to stick to a certain sound and can't simply make a good old fashioned facinating rock album? Queensryche gives the grunge sound of their 90's Seatle cousins a progressive edge with excellent results. When I first got this album I didn't think much of it. In fact it would be two years before I listened to it again. It seemed to lack substance and the sound seemed to be 90's grunge which previous Queensryche classics like Mindcrime, Empire, Rage, and Promised Land were miles away from. I got a used copy off here and I gave it a try. After a few listens this album really does grow on you. While certainly lacking the core sound that made Queensryche famous the album has many great riffs and musical turns. The lyrics are as good and may even be the best of any Queensryche album. If this was intended to be Chris Degarmo's swan song then he went out on top. Highlights for me are Sign of the times, Spool, Saved, All I Want, and The Voice Inside."Hear in the Now Frontier" isn't a classic like Empire, Mindcrime, and Promised Land but it holds up well if you can put your preconceptions and bias away. Give the album a chance. Ten years from now I feel that this will be the most underated album in Queensryche's catalog!
A different musical direction.
When I first listened to Hear in the Now Frontier around three years ago, I was completely surprised and taken aback. I couldn't believe that it was Queensryche. I couldn't fathom that it was the same band that had released albums like Rage for Order and Operation: Mindcrime. They had completely changed the core of their sound and gone into a different musical direction. They had let go of their progressive hard rock sound. I listened to it around a handful of times and then filed it away for quite a while. I thought that it was terrible and that Queensryche had sold out. I was disappointed with their total change in musical direction. Recently, I decided to listen to it again. My perspective of it has actually changed quite a bit. It's a pretty good album. I admit that it doesn't musically sound like a Queensryche disc, though. Geoff Tate's unique vocals are the only way that I can tell that this is the same band. Hear in the Now Frontier is in a straight-ahead rock vein (It sounds kind of gritty). They sort of sound like King's X in places (That's not a slight.). The production, musicianship, and songwriting are good. Every song is listenable. "Some People Fly," "Hero," and "All I Want" are pretty cool. I admit that a lot of the material is quite catchy. The backing vocals are also good. The guitar work is satisfying. Geoff Tate's vocal style is a bit different, though. His operatic vocals and falsettos of earlier albums are gone. I'm not as disappointed with this album as I was in the past. It's good for what it is. They hinted at a change of direction on Promised Land. "Bridge" is an example. Hear in the Now Frontier isn't bad. It's worth a listen.
Very different. Here is an OBJECTIVE view.
OK, so many people say "This sucks" or some long time QR fans still say "It rocks". I won't do either, I'll offer an objective edge so that people find this useful.
It is absolutely different from 'Mindcrime' and 'Promised Land', those two were masterpieces. Having said that, you also have to admit that albums like 'Empire' and 'Rage For Order' were also brilliant. Which brings me to the point that it is VERY difficult for any band to top so many amazing albums. So for QUEENSRYCHE, this is probably the weakest release, but in NO way is it bad. It is just very different. For TONS of bands, this album would be considered a double-platinum masterpiece, I gaurantee it. But as for Ryche, it sounds nothing like anything they've written. The album has very strong points with 'You', 'Some People Fly', 'Reach', 'Hit The Black', and 'sp00L'. A couple of tracks could have been left out, but overall it is a strong record. If you expect Mindcrime, do not buy this album. But is you want to hear some cool (and very creative at times) rock, pick this up.Dice
Awful. .... Worthles. Useless.
Do you want to really waste your time and money? Buy this album and listen to it. Queensryche were such a good band, as you can see if you listen to their back catalog. Geoff Tate can still wail, but the rest of the band must have thought this album was a joke. They put absolutely NO effort into writing songs, and it sounds like worthless grunge bands like Nirvana. I would much rather not have my ears molested by this garbage. Listening to this album makes me vomit incessantly. Oh, the last song, "SpOOL" is rather good, like the songs off "Promised Land," but unless you're buying this at a really low price, it ain't worth having this CD take up any room in your house.
WE KNOW NOTHING !
I listened to this CD after owning it for 5 years and i could feal every bit of it. While not living up to the classic Mind Crime its as good as promise land and far better than the overated Empire CD. this is another look perhaps another angle of Queensryche its shows great song writing great playing a great deal of thought went into everything. The CD is very well recorded and its one of the most underated pieces of work produced by any band. Its realy sad that artist like Queensryche are expected to play what the people tell them to soon everything would start to sound like Empire if the masses had there way. Look the multitudes are searching and wondering in vain is what they seak possible to be found in man? They killed the spirit of Elvis they killed the spirit of Rush with there demands now look Queensryche is dying Chris Degarmo has certainly gone and I would to if I had to please the thankles masses and bow down to what we the people want. If we know so much why dont we just make our own music BECAUSE WE KNOW NOTHING!! get this CD its great (thanks Chris for slaving for us)
With the popularity of complex, progressive rock on the wane, Queensryche stripped down their sound considerably, going for simpler arrangements and focusing less on orchestration and more on just playing rock and roll. The result is that while Hear in the Now Frontier is a strong effort, it's not as distinctive as their earlier albums. It does, however, have the Queensryche sound-sweeping guitar work, Geoff Tate's powerful voice, and an introspective awareness that manages to avoid pretension. The single "Sign of the Times" is a bit of social commentary similar to "Empire" or "Disconnected" from their earlier albums, but the album includes several hopeful songs as well, including "Some People Fly" and "The Voice Inside". The lack of complexity at first makes it seem as though Hear in the Now Frontier lacks substance, but this isn't the case; it's just not as dense as it used to be. --Genevieve Williams
