Sweet Oblivion – Sweet Oblivion (feat. Geoff Tate)
Release Date: June 14, 2019
Italian modern metal icon Simone Mularoni (guitarist/bassist of DGM fame), drummer Paolo Caridi and keyboardist Emanuele Casali joined forces to create an album that Mularoni envisioned as a tribute to one of his favorite, most iconic progressive metal bands of all time; Queensryche. Now before you go throwing knives and spitting, it has been stated in black and white that this is not a Geoff Tate solo album. This is an album that Mularoni wrote and had hopes of Tate being interested. Obviously, Tate loved what he heard because he jumped on board to release the album Sweet Oblivion (featuring Geoff Tate).
Sweet oblivion is nothing short of stunning and in a lot of ways it sounds like a homecoming of sorts for Tate. The opening song, “True Colors” sounds like it could’ve jumped right off of the Rage for Order album and has Tate sounding so powerful and emotive. This song literally gave me goosebumps just hearing him pushing himself and challenging himself as a vocalist. “Sweet Oblivion” is a beautiful piece of songwriting mastery that showcases Tate’s versatility as a singer kicking off with a soft lower register only to take it to a whole other level with a chorus that is very reminiscent of “Breaking the Silence” from the Queensryche album Operation: Mindcrime.
The stand out track for me is “My Last Story.” The beauty yet painful emotion behind Tate’s vocals makes this song one of the best Queensryche songs never recorded. Mularoni obviously has deep love, admiration, and respect for Tate and Queensryche because if I didn’t know any better, I would swear that Tate wrote these lyrics. It’s almost as if Mularoni knows Tate on a whole other level that he was able to get into his mind a bit and produce a song that sounds as if it was Geoff’s own story.
Sweet Oblivion may be one of the most sadly overlooked albums of 2019 but as we all know, some of the greatest treasures are the ones we have to unearth and find for ourselves. In a lot of ways, Sweet Oblivion sounds like a very cathartic album for Tate. Sweet Oblivion captures the essence of albums such as Rage For Order, Operation: Mindcrime with the melodic approach of Empire and Promised Land. With all of the tired and worn out Tate vs. Queensryche bullshit, I can only hope people will hear this album for what it is and remember that Geoff Tate was not just the voice of Queensryche but that he was ½ of the heart, soul, and passion of that band.
Sweet Oblivion is an album that will complete you as a Queensryche fan and/or a Geoff Tate album. After hearing this album, it almost makes me wish that Tate would take this further but as we know, Tate is an eccentric artist who is never comfortable just keeping the same hand of cards. With that being said, Sweet Oblivion scratches that itch that I’ve had for so long to hear Geoff Tate be a part of something that sounds like a classic Queensryche lineup making an album in 2019. Do not pass on this album. If you do you are sadly missing out on something truly remarkable, beautiful, and timeless.
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