Circa 1990
Before I get into the album, I want to touch on reviews & criticisms I have read about Empire. I have read poor reviews & rave reviews. Most of the poor reviews dwell on the notion that Queensryche became commercial; went after the MTV money grab. Or the critics unjustly compare Empire to Operation: Mindcrime.
I want to clarify my stance on Empire and Queensryche at this point in their musical journey. The music writers have a vision, a statement or point they try to convey in the music. I don’t believe for a minute that they begin songwriting thinking, “this time we’re going to make hits for MTV and toss our creativity out the window. We‘re going to make millions.”
No. That is not my view of Queensryche.
Operation:Mindcrime is a masterpiece. Yes. I am very happy for the band for creating such a perfect piece of musical history. However, I am also intelligent enough to not expect any other creation from Queensryche to be
exactly like that album. I am going to listen to and critique Empire as a whole new piece of music. So….you won’t see me making any album comparisons.
The Album.
Iwill begin with my album picks:
From the first single & video released off Empire, I was enamored with the album. Empire is a damn good and unique song. The song makes a statement about government, street life, and crime. I Just Love It!
Of course, I have to mention the ballad and my all time favorite Queensryche song, Silent Lucidity. Written by, you guessed it, DeGarmo. The Orchestration is stunning. That voice, the vocal harmonies, the musicianship…..it leaves me speechless.
Tate said (as transcribed by
BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was no more special than any of the other songs that we were working on at the time. And the funny thing about that song was it almost didn't make the album. Our producer at the time said, 'I don't think it's as strong as the rest of the songs on the album. I think you should work on it some more or replace it with something else.' And at the time it didn't have all the orchestration in it; it was just acoustic guitar and vocal. And I think he was right — it needed to have something else done to it. And
Chris DeGarmo, our guitar player, he sent it off to
Michael Kamen, who did orchestration on it and had worked with us before on other albums and done movie soundtracks and everything. And
Michael sent us back the orchestration and we put it up in the studio and we listened to it with the track. And
Peter Collins, our producer, says, 'Okay, it's ready for the album now.' And he was right. It wasn't finished; it needed to have that finishing touch done to it. And we never thought that it would do what it did."
Another single off the album, Jet City Woman, is also excellent. It opens with a bass riff that is just as memorable as any guitar riff.
Della Brown, based on a true story of a homeless woman, is another very notable track. Killer bass, excellent percussion, and Tate’s voice alone reflects the sadness of the story.
Resistance, is a song that could easily have been on Operation: Mindcrime. It‘s heavy! The band opened their performance on the Building Empires Tour with Resistance.
By this time in Queensryche’s career, they had developed a “signature” guitar sound. You knew who was playing. Hand on Heart & One and Only definitely have that signature sound. Are they Fluff? Naw, not if you enjoy hearing them, which I do.
The album closer, Anybody Listening?, is a song seldom mentioned by critics, and it should be. It’s a Beautiful song with emotionally moving lyrics. Absolutely fantastic closure to the album.