Geoff Tate is heading out this year celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Queensryche album Empire. Take & Co will not just performing the Empirealbum in its entirety, but they will also be performing 1986’s Rage for Order in its entirety as well. I figured I would use this as an excuse to write up a track by track review of both albums. I hope you’ll hear the magic in these albums that I did by giving them 100% of my attention.
In 1990 when the band released Empire when the first video/single for the song “Empire” was released, I was blown away by the song. It sounded so different from the Operation: Mindcrime album, and even as a 16-year-old metal fan, I was very much aware of their pretty drastic shift in gears. I knew I loved the song but I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the rest of the album. I anxiously awaited its release date and I was there to buy it at Turtles Records and Tapes the day of its release.
With Empire, I feel like that wall ripped down, and as a fan, I got to hear what it was that made these guys tick and what it was that made up these amazingly talented individuals. From the outside looking in, Empire may look like a band that dipped their toes into trying to make a commercially acceptable and very successful album. While this may be true, to think that this is all it was is to underestimate the ingeniousness of Queensryche. I spent some time watching interviews with Geoff Tate and Chris Degarmo from 2002 and it was fascinating to hear them talk about Empire with so much pride.
In a nutshell, DeGarmo stated that up to this point, Queensryche had immersed themselves in thematic aspects of songwriting. As artists, he and Tate both felt the need to step away from that aspect of writing and bring in a more personally connected aspect of songwriting, and on Empire, they fucking nailed it.
The criticisms of Empire run the gamut. I’ve heard everything from, “It doesn’t stand the test of time” to “I loved it as a kid, but as I got older, I liked it less and less.” There are plenty of albums from this era that I listen to today and I think, “Wow, that doesn’t sound as remotely good as I remembered it,” but Empire is not one of those albums.
Best I Can
What a fantastic opening. The haunting keyboards, the eerie kid’s voice (nothing is creepier than a kid singing in the first place), and Tate’s naked vocal intro before the band kicks into this positive, optimistic anthem makes for a stellar album opener.
“I want to be a busy man
I want to see a change in the future
I’m gonna make the best of what I have
I want to write for a magazine
I’m gonna be the best they’ve ever seen
I know I’ll win if I give it all I can
I won’t let go
Gotta make the grade, no I won’t let go
To be the best man, the best man that I can.”
It’s catchy, it’s fun, but it’s also very smart and musically inventive. The keyboards tend to annoy people, but I love the depth that it adds. It’s such a subtle thing but effective. The lyrics are so strong yet simple at attainable. It’s a powerful message and one that anyone and everyone can relate to. Queensryche still manages to set themselves ahead of the pack lyrically even by simplifying their strategy toward writing lyrics.
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The Thin Line
“Another hungry look in her eyes again
Pacing the floor
The hunt begins
Skin-tight leather provides my pleasure
Wake my fear, surge with the pressure
Walk away and leave forever, do I dare?”
Laugh all you want, but this has to be one of the fucking sexiest songs ever written. It’s like the metal version of Sade. It’s almost like this is what the Scorpions would sound like if they were a bit more lyrically smart. This particular song offers the listener a voyeuristic look into the life of who? DeGarmo? Tate? Who knows, but either way, this song offers a bit of transparency and lets the listener in on the private fantasies and life of whoever wrote it. Is it real or is it a product of Queensryche testing the boundaries of their fans? Either way, it’s a stellar fucking song. It’s dark, it’s sexy, it’s perverse, and it’s all the things that Queensryche only hinted at in the past put right out on the line for all to see.
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Jet City Woman
That opening bass line. There aren’t too many songs that I can think of that start with an opening bass riff that is as memorable as a guitar riff. “Ace of Spades,” maybe? Either way, this particular song kicks off with Eddie Jackson’s bass riff that would trigger roars of applause for years to come, and this song is quite spectacular. Lyrically it seems to pick up on the topic of desperation and longing that we saw on Rage for Order only simplified:
“Whenever I’m alone I’m thinking
There’s a part missing from my life
Wonder where I’d be without your love
Holding me together now I’m
Watching the time tick, tick away
Face grows longer every day
Fortunes are lost on the women I’ve seen
But without you I can’t breathe, you’re the air to me!
Waited so long, I can’t wait another day without you?”
Longing, desperation, and loss (or fear of loss) seem to be a pretty consistent theme in the lyrics of both Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo. Maybe it was this common thread of fear and emotion that made these guys such an amazing team. This is a great song, no matter how you break it down and analyze it.
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Della Brown
At this point in their career, I also have to say that this is probably my favorite Geoff Tate vocal performance. His voice is so emotive and versatile, and it draws me into the story. In a past interview, Geoff Tate told me that this song is based on a homeless person who used to see frequently. After hearing this story, I found myself even more drawn into the beautifully sad song.
“Street corner girl
Watch the crowd go by
Fill your tin can with life
Summer days tend to slip away
Like your men, you couldn’t make them stay
Hard to choose, whiskey, or a wife.”
On this song, drummer Scott Rockenfield’s performance stands out to me as some of his finest playing. For being such a busy, hard-hitting player, his ability to reel it in blows me away. The closing part of this song is also one of my favorite musical moments on the album. I sometimes wish it would go on longer than it does. “Della Brown” is one of those songs that I can listen to a hundred times and never get sick of. “Della Brown” is a song that pulls me into the story, both musically and lyrically.
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Another Rainy Night (Without You)
Much like with “Jet City Woman,” this song opens with a very memorable riff showcasing the dual guitar magic of Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton. While not my favorite of the singles, this song once again had me wondering if this was autobiographical or just touching upon a subject. Singing songs about love, love tried, and sexuality is all aspects of past Queensryche but never until this album were they so transparent and almost obvious.
“Listen, there’s a foghorn blowing from the coast tonight
Remember making love in the rain?
Strange how laughter looks like crying with no sound
Raindrops taste like tears, without the pain
I’m not much without you, can’t leave if I wanted to
Maybe that’s why you stay around.”
Lyrically, once again, Queensryche has this way of taking the most simple of topics and making an interesting and, at times, poetic song. I think that this is a pretty fucking cool thing for a band who for so long shrouded themselves in mystery and now are showing that they are flesh, blood, heart, and soul just like the rest of us; men capable of feeling all of the emotions that we feel only now they are finally taking the opportunity to share them in a way that makes them seem more human than ever.
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Empire
“I’m sorry. It’s um, starting to hit me like a, um, two-ton heavy thing.” The voice message left by keyboardist Randy Gane kicks off this song. What the fuck is that all about? One of these days, I’m going to ask Geoff Tate about that one. This song is one of the two songs that sound the most like Operation: Mindcrime era Queensryche both musically and lyrically.
“Johnny used to work after school
At the cinema show
Gotta hustle if he wants an education
Yeah he’s got a long way to go
Now he’s out on the street all-day
Selling crack to the people who pay
Got an AK-47 for his best friend
Business the American way.”
This song was a testament to what was (and still is) going on in our world. The youth of American seemed to be rising to the headlines with struggles of gang/drug violence. The world was watching as we were tied up in the Gulf War, and corporate greed was huge in the media eye. “Empire” has a timeless message that, unfortunately, still rings true from generation to generation.
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Resistance
“Empire” and “Resistance,” thematically and musically, both sound like second cousins to the material on Operation: Mindcrime. “Resistance” is a powerful fucking song and one of the musically strongest songs on the album. By strong, I mean heavy and impacting. The band thought so as well since they chose this one to be the opening song on their Building Empires tour.
“Protests in New York
Listen to the call of the wild
Brother, sisters carrying signs
Breathe deep before it’s too late
The sky is falling, burning your eyes
Down in New Orleans river’s boiling
Nothing living, nothing to eat
Thank the lord, daddy’s working eight to five
Paying the doctor, baby’s got cancer.”
“Resistance” is another time capsule that pretty much sums up all that was and still is wrong with the world. This song never gets old, and I stand by the fact that it’s one of the all-time greatest show openers. This song is strong, unforgiving, smart, and in your face. I also feel that this is another way of Queensryche using their musical soapbox to scream their observation of all that was happening and all that would happen. In a nutshell, this is Bono minus the pompousness and lame-ass voice.
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Silent Lucidity
No matter how overplayed people say, it is, “Silent Lucidity” is a truly timeless song. If I have to hear “They stole that from Pink Floyd,” one more goddamn time, I’m going to kick someone in the face. Anyways, this is a truly gorgeous song and I love the pure, simple beauty of it. The incredible orchestration in the song by Michael Kamen took this song to soaring heights, and it lyrically touches on the concept of the beauty and safety of dreams and even nightmares while immersed in sleep.
“Living twice at once you learn
You’re safe from pain in the dream domain
A soul set free to fly
A round trip journey in your head
Master of illusion, can you realize
Your dream’s alive, you can be the guide.”
“Silent Lucidity” is a song that still makes me teary because it triggers memories of my father who loved this song. Geoff Tate says in an interview, “A song like “Silent Lucidity” is timeless. It has a real human message to it that no matter what age you are, where you’re at in life, or what date or what the date is, it’s a song that will always connect with people.” I don’t think I could say any more than that.
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Hand on Heart
I love this song. I also love that no matter what these guys write, there is always that signature guitar sound that is unmistakably Queensryche. “Hand on Heart” is probably the simplest of songs lyrically on this album documenting a person’s “love at first sight” experience.
“All eyes were staring
You floated through the room
Armed with your razor smile cutting to the bone
My voice fell useless
You flashed a quick “hello.”
Feeling the fool,
Could you tell it showed?”
It’s a remarkable love song without being a full-on sappy hair band ballad. The bridge leading up to the chorus and the chorus itself is easily a couple of my all-time favorite Queensryche moments. That fact that even if they wanted to cheese it up a bit, yet they could still pull it off while giving me goosebumps and other feels make me love them even more for it.
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One and Only
This song is the only weak song on this album. “One and Only” once again has that signature sound and is musically a strong song as usual. Lyrically, “One and Only” acts as a continuation of the lyrical concept of “Hand on Heart” but not as strong.
“Back in eighty-six
February and a special number
I just had to know, is this feeling real?
I picked up the phone
I was one step closer to the danger zone
I knew she’d steal my heart away
But I know I couldn’t live without her love
Live without her love.”
This song almost sounds like a filler track in that if you shaved this one-off, you’d have an extremely solid ten-song album. With that being said, it doesn’t suck. Again, I didn’t hate it, and it’s far better than most band’s best songs but in this collection, “One and Only” didn’t possess the strength that the other songs on this album do.
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Anybody Listening?
What can I even begin to say about this song? Not only is it hands down one of Queensryche’s finest moments of their career, but it also serves as one of the single greatest album closers of all time. “Anybody Listening?” is easily one of my all-time favorite songs and my number one favorite Queensryche song. The lyrics are so moving and combined with one of the most beautiful musical arrangements I have ever heard.
“Long ago there was a dream, had to make a choice or two
Leaving all I loved behind for what nobody knew
Stepped out on the stage
A life under lights and judging eyes
Now the applause has died, and I can dream again
Is there anybody listening?
Is there anyone that sees what’s going on?
Read between the lines, criticize the words they’re selling
Think for yourself and feel the walls
Become sand beneath your feet.”
Have you ever heard a song that makes you feel like you are weightless and immersed in the visuals of ever word sung from start to finish? Well, this is one of those songs. The lyrics to “Anybody Listening?” touch on the experience of one leaving behind the comforting confines of life to chase a dream. As with most Queensryche songs, the lyrics seem to be autobiographical without sounding self-serving and unrelatable. The excitement, the exhaustion, the love, and living in the eyes of criticism is something all artists have had to endure. In a way, this is Queensryche’s way of proving that they are no different from us. Closing out the album with this song had me feeling as if I was descending from an out of body experience. I know that sounds corny, but “Anybody Listening?” has this effect on me.
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While writing this editorial, I listened to Empire a total of 8 times from start to finish. I kid you not, and guess what? Not only did I enjoy it every time but with each passing time, I found myself hearing things and connecting to things that I hadn’t before.
Empire proved to be a far more important album to me than I even remembered. Going back and re-visiting this album nearly 27 years later is akin to reconnecting with an old friend only to find that your connection now is stronger than it ever was in the beginning. Empire is very much a great friend that has found a new, lasting part in my heart, and it’s an album that I feel will only grow stronger and more connected to me as the years pass.
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