LIVE EVOLUTION

As far this group is concern I might not be the right person to give my views as I was originally not a die-hard fan of the band. I only knew the band one there was a review in www.dprp.net in I think 1998 about Operation:Mindcrime and I bought the CD. I enjoyed the album but I did not really explore further until I met some metal friends in Indonesia who suggested me other albums like Empire. Yeah, I think Queensryche is a good band even though I don't see a lot of prog elements in it. I miay be wrong. Couple months ago, my rock-mate Mamak lent me this DVD and I was amazed with the performance of the band and I told myself that I have to own this DVD. I was trying to locate this DVD locally but it was gone already. Finally I got a copy from my other rock- mate, Yos, who traveled to Sydney and gave me this DVD as gift. Wow! Many thanks, mate! Rock community ruleszz .!

Even though I'm not so familiar with all tracks featured in this performance but one thing for sure: this is an excellent rock performance full stop. It was filmed live July 27th and 28th, 2001, Moore Theater, Seattle, Washington. All members of the band perform to their fullest. Geoff Tate sings powerfully with all of excellent stage act and theatrical performance. He moves back and forth on stage dynamically and energetically. Sometimes he communicates with the audience with his body language while singing the lyrics. I think, he's one of the best rock singers in the world. His voice is truly clear and it sometimes goes into a very high register note.

Another musician that I put a full respect is the gentleman who sits at the drum stools. Yeah, Scott Rockfield. He's not just a drummer, I think. Besides his machine gun and inventive drummings, I love the movement of his hands as well as his body languages during the show. He does rock the theater! Great performance, Mr. Rockfield! Your style reminds me of Bonzo of Led Zeppelin and Neil Peart of Rush. But don't worry, you have your own unique style that I think all rockers all over the world would love.

Michael Witton does a lot of stunning electric guitar melody and solos. He does his job wonderfully, augmented with some melody and solos by Kelly Gray who also performs nicely. The guest singer Pamela Moore does great job in Suite Sister Mary in solo as well as duet with Geoff Tate. In fact, I always repeat this track many times because it's so attractive. Another tune that I always repeat is Roads To Madness - it was the tune that I heard through FM station, I really like it and the band performed this song wonderfully.

Sound quality is excellent - I play it very loud so that I can get dazzling drum sounds and stunning electric guitar sounds. Picture quality is excellent as well. If you love Queensryche you MUST have this DVD. Highly recommended. Keep on proggin' ..!

Progressively yours,

GW - Review #310

This is an outstanding DVD that captures the history of Queensryche but is plagued by a significant flaw.

First the good....extremely high production quality. The visuals are stunning, some of the best of any live DVD I've seen. The sound is also excellent, and especially shines in a 5.1 stereo mix. THe set-list is also very good, mixing the expected (Take Hold of the FLame, Silent Lucidity, Jet City Woman) with hidden gems (NM 156, Screaming in Digital). Heck, even the new songs from HITNF and Q2K work well, especially Hit The Black and The Right Side of My Mind. (My only complaints on the set-list is the absence of several songs from the CD version).

Taking all that into consideration...I'd be more than willing to give this 5 stars and rank it among the top live DVDs out there. Unfortunately, Kelly Gray is in the damn thing. You remember him don't you? The guy who replaced Chris Degarmo when he left QR after 15 years? Yeah, Kelly Gray, also known as Candlebox's producer. Yeah, he plays guitar as well.

Too bad he looks like a total dork and isn't much of a guitar player. You know how new guitarists will rely on incessant use of the wah-wah pedal to make up for the lack of skill? Yeah, that's Gray. He is so out of place among an accomplished band banging out Prog-metal classics that I cringe every time he's shown on screen.

Otherwise this is a great DVD..and if you're a QR it is a must-buy.

Look how the mighty have fallen.

Live Evolution is a terrific overview of the band that I consider to be THE Progressive Metal rock band. It also chronicles the band's quick decline in the late nineties and is an indicator of why the band are the way they are today. Fragmented.

First off, the sound on this live album is too good to be true. However, I was informed by a friend that this live outing was taken from a DVD of the concert, so let's assume that Queensryche were having an exceptionally good night.

This 2001 concert is chronological and starts off with great tracks from their debut EP and Warning album. These songs, such as London and Screaming In Digital, already have signs of progginess to them, even if they are very dependent on bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden for their inspiration. What makes these songs attractive is that they are smartly pulled out from the lesser tracks of those two albums while possessing great hooks and Geoff Tate's immediately likable and dynamic vocals. In fact, the backing vocals from Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson (guitar and bass, respectively) are stellar as well and add tremendously to the songs.

And adding is a key word with Queensryche. This live set admirably showcases just how effective Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield were as a rhythm section. Their incredible skills add to the music and never distract from it as overplayers like Portnoy and Myung from Dream Theater are apt to do times.

Another added dimension is the twin lead guitar work that was such a part of the eighties metal sound and has now been transferred to Queensryche courtesy of Wilton and new man Kelly Gray, who replaced long time member Chris DeGamo.

The concert deftly captures the band doing the best songs (and hits) from albums Operation Mindcrime, Empire and The Promised Land before the band inevitably run out of steam by the time the concert winds down with the dull material from Hear In The Now Frontier and Q2K.

What is immediately apparent is the band jumping back and forth from slick production and hooks to moody atmosphere and more bluesy playing, while losing their way. Permanently. Even the best songs from these two later albums sound subpar compared to the Mindcrime and Empire set.

Live Evolution may not be an essential album if you have Queensryche's key studio albums, but it does show exactly where the band went down hill and possibly why. 3 stars.