TRIBE

I anticipated the new QUEENSRYCHE release "Tribe" for many months. I saw the banner ad running for a long time on the web (Progressiveworld.net) so the advertising did work on me. I became very curious as to what this new effort would sound like, especially with the return of original guitarist Chris DeGarmo to the mix. The added anticipation of seeing them live in month did not give me any more patience in securing a copy of this CD either. Well now that I have it, I know why I was so excited. This album did not disappoint in any way.

They were on a hiatus for a bit, Geoff Tate recorded a solo album, and then they got back together to find the energy that made them so successful to start with. When you are together for a long time things can get stale and you loose your edge. Whatever they lost, they got back. The high level of musical forcefulness and emotion throughout the album is captured without fail and effectively. The first three tracks are strong statements that mark the return of a band that reigned supreme for many years in rock-progressive- metal. "Open," "Losing Myself" and "Desert Dance" has the oomph and crunching guitar riffs that is the trademark of their sound. Tate sounds as good as he ever has fronting the band and everyone else is right in line with him, pushing the intensity of their performance beyond the norm.

This is not just a musical is statement; it is a vehicle for expressing how the band feels about the world around them. The world tribe concept is the focus, with political opinions weaving in and out of every track. As the album cover indicates, the band has marked its territory with a symbolic return to the forefront of the progressive metal scene. I have to hand it to them, their steadfastness and wherewithal over the years is to their credit. This album proves to be some of their best work to date.

The album begins with "Open" and Geof Tate hasn´t lost anything on this song! I really good opener to the album basically telling us to open our minds! "Losing Myself" is almost danceable but nice. On "Desert Dance" things start to get a bit heavier. I have to warn everyone right now that this album lacks guitar solos!! (Hence the missing five star rating) "Falling Behind" is about how we are conditioned to keep up with the Jones´s or else we won´t be accepted into the Jones´s materialistic little group.

The next five tracks are all brilliant. "The Great Divide" is Geoff Tate looking at America , the way he sees things after Sept 11th. "Rhythm of Hope" is one of the most emotional songs Queensryche has ever written, truly stunning! The title track "Tribe" is a heavy, yet optimistic song. We have to realize that we are all members of the same tribe (the human race) "Blood" reflects Tate´s political view about the war in Iraq. He obviously thinks it was a gigantic mistake and tells us we were all lied to. Great song! "The Art of Life" is about spirituality and even has some lines by Carlos Casteneda in the lyrics. Probably the strongest song on the entire album. The last song "Doin´Fine" is a laid back song telling us to take some time off work to relax!

This is a great album. It´s a pity they don´t have enough guitar solos weaving through these songs, that would definitely make it a five star album.

3.5 stars. An improvement over the previous two releases but this record seems formulated, predictable and uninspiring to me.

Having said that there are six songs here that are quite good, including the opener "Open" that features some good upfront bass work as well as some excellent drumming. The two combine to create a heavy soundscape as they churn over and over throughout the song. "Losing Myself" lost me with the electronic sounds, and although it's catchy, modern and upbeat it seems out of place.

"Desert Dance" has an Eastern sound to it and is both upbeat and heavy, a good aggressive tune. Both "Falling Behind" and "The Great Divide" are both ok songs, but don't do a lot for me.The next four songs do though starting with "Rhythm Of Hope" a good uplifting song with prominent bass lines. "Tribe" is great ! A dark,heavy song that had me saying "This is more like it ! "With tribal like percussion and the cry "We're the same tribe", it all works to perfection. "Blood" is another good, heavy, uptempo song with great drumming. "The Art Of Life" is an intense, atmospheric song. The final song "Doin' Fine" ends the record on an uplifting and hopeful note.

A good record but for those of us who know what they are capable of, we have to wonder if the glory days are gone for good.

"Tribe" is the 8th full-length studio album by US heavy metal/hard rock act Queensrÿche. The album was released through Sanctuary Records Group in July 2003, almost 4 years after the release of the predecessor "Q2K (1999)". Since the release of "Q2K (1999)", guitarist Kelly Gray has left, leaving Queensrÿche a four-piece. Although it had been quite a few years between albums, Queensrÿche found themselves short of material before entering the studio to record "Tribe", and therefore opted to contact former Queensrÿche guitarist and composer Chris DeGarmo to hear if he would help contribute material for the album. DeGarmo accepted, but after writing some tracks, co-writing a few others, and playing some guitar parts, he left the sessions. Mike Stone was recruited to complete the recording sessions and ended up being hired permanently.

I´m not sure if it is DeGarmo´s presence or his songwriting contributions, which have done it, but after a couple of lacklustre albums, Queensrÿche have actually produced a pretty good quality heavy metal/hard rock album in "Tribe". Several of the tracks featured on the album are memorable (tracks like "Open", "Blood", and "Desert Dance") and the well sounding production also helps being out the best in the material. There´s a strong conviction behind the performances which is audible too and upon conclusion I´m left with a nice positive impression when the 10 track, 41:41 minutes album is over. Yes it´s not as interesting as the early releases by the band, and this more hard rock infused "mature" sound has a tendency to become a bit tedious, but on "Tribe" I think Queensrÿche have hit a good balance and a generally high quality songwriting level and therefore a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

An Indian summer

Released in 2003, "Tribe" is Queensryche's eighth studio album and the follow up to the disappointing "Q2K". With the departure (sacking?) without replacement of guitarist Kelly Gray, the band is now a quartet. Significantly though former mainstay of the band Chris DeGarmo returns as a guest, contributing both to the songwriting and on guitar. This appears to have an instant effect on the rest of the band, inspiring them to create something more in keeping with earlier successes. Future member Mike Stone also helps out as a writer and guitarist.

The loose concept of the album is based around the communal aspects of a "tribe", and in particular the post 9/11 unification of the people of the US.

The album opens appropriately with "Open", a song which musically has a passing resemblance to Deep Purple's "Perfect strangers" while lyrically, the song pleads us to "Open your eyes". This is one of no less than five (of 10) tracks which DeGarmo co-writes, his partnership being mainly with singer Geoff Tate. Some of the songs are actually highly commercial to the point of being potential singles. The slightly lighter "Falling behind" falls into this category, the chorus in particular being of the anthem type. "Rhythm of hope" also cruises towards, or indeed into, AOR territory.

The songs here tend to all be from the same mould, being around 4 minutes of mid-paced heavy rock. There's little if anything which is really progressive, or indeed original. On the other hand, Queensryche are simply doing what they do best, and delivering the kind of music their fans appreciate.

Queensryche - 'Tribe' 3 stars

Chris DeGarmo returns!

This was a mass improvement over the last two disasters put out. The return of Chris DeGarmo seemed to have an immediate impact on this dying band. I find the overall sound of the band improved by great measure, but the songwriting increased only slightly. For once, Geoff Tate sounds like he wants the band to succeed again, rather than resting on their laurels and creating real sub-par albums. The general sound of this album is some fast paced hard rock, with a lean towards, but not fully, metal. The worst thing about this album is the lack of guitar solos, especially with the return of the guitarist that made this band what it is. Still, they managed to put out something decent and good enough to impress fans and show others that they still have something left to demonstrate.

After a streak of lesser albums Queensrÿche finally made a comeback with their first semi-decent release in years.

Tribe features a solid track-list with a minor exception of the title track where the band obviously tried something new that didn't really work out too well. At least we can't blame them for not trying to evolve their sound here. Too bad there isn't a single stand-out track but after the two previous offerings I'll settle for whatever I can get. After all, the album has a nice flow from start to finish and can be considered a distant descendant of Promised Land, a follow up that never was but still somehow, sort of... is!

It's a real pity that this release have almost been completely forgotten by everyone since it's definitely among Queensrÿche's better albums. Still, from a general point of reference, better is not good enough for anyone unfamiliar with this band and their music. Therefore a good, but non-essential rating is definitely in order here.

**** star songs: Open (4:32) Losing Myself (4:12) Desert Dance (3:57) Falling Behind (4:28) Rhythm Of Hope (3:31) Blood (4:13) The Art Of Life (4:12) Doin' Fine (3:52)

*** star songs: The Great Divide (4:01) Tribe (4:39)

Total rating: 3,79

After the Q2K train wreck, QUEENSRYCHE took a few years off to get their sheeeeet together. They opted to keep the alternative rock sound going for a third album in a row which is kind of a shame since it's my least favorite era from them but I have to admit that third time's a charm and they got the sound right this time, at least for them. After a gazillion other things plaguing the band including Chris DeGarmo exiting stage left, not only did they survive the cataclysm but mended relations with DeGarmo so that he contributed guitar parts to some of the tracks on their eighth studio album TRIBE. Not exactly a full-fledged reunion but enough to prove a very salient point about the band known as QUEENSRYCHE. It is clear to me that DeGarmo was one of the major ingredients that made this band so magical. It is the albums that he is on that I like best and the rest are just missing that extra mojo to make it special.

TRIBE only reinforces this belief because it is the songs that DeGarmo contributes to that I find most appealing. There are exceptions like the title track. Although I find this album to have way too much filler, some of the tracks are actually quite good. I love "Open," "Losing Myself" "Tribe" and "Desert Dance." Scott Rockenfield's tribal drumming along with the grungy guitars and interesting bass lines is something hitherto never tried before as far as I know especially in an alternative rock context and Geoff Tate has honed his vocals at the point to fit in with this lower register type of music. Overall a good comeback after my least favorite album from the group but unfortunately nothing on here compares to "Promised Land" and before. Still a reason not to write them off entirely for a glimmer of hope has been sparked and some good tracks to boot. Unfortunately Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo butted heads a few times too many and DeGarmo departed for good after this brief reunification.

Geoff Tate and co. have certainly been dwindling for the last 15 years. Queensryche used to be known as one of the defining bands in the prog metal genre, but ever since 1997's Hear in the Now Frontier, they took on a more contemporary alternative style with hints of the old 'Ryche sound mixed in. What followed was an atomic bomb of backlash from fans who wanted the old classic sound of Queensryche back. So far, most attempts have still been in vain, but a couple of them have had some shining glimmers of the old days, including 2003's underrated Tribe.

One factor in attempting to bring success back to the band was to bring original guitarist Chris DeGarmo back to the fold for just this one album. However, when Sanctuary Records caught wind of this, they stated that DeGarmo returned as a permanent member, most likely to boost Queensryche's popularity and sales for the album. One thing can be said here: Chris's presence can clearly be felt here, and having him in the album marks a return to the quality not seen since Promised Land.

Unlike previous albums, Geoff Tate really keeps his vocals on the down low here, letting the other instruments shine. This also gives Tate a more diverse palette, especially in terms of the dynamics presented here. Every instrument is very balanced here as well, as supposed to the generally vocal/guitar fronted sound Queensryche usually possesses, giving every member a chance to show what they can do.

About the songs themselves, there are ten here, clocking in at 41:37. The short length of the songs keeps them from getting stale or boring, a problem Queensryche have been running into with some recent work (*cough* Dedicated to Chaos *cough*). "Open" is a great, well, opener and wastes no time cutting to the chase of the album's sound. There are explosive (though sometimes rather slow) choruses and sly verses that show more of that aforementioned diversity here. While I'm on the topic of diversity, this album also features the return of the saxophone used in Promised Land. On here, it's prominent on "Art of Life" and gives it a dark jazzy edge, fitting in with the rugged spoken verses.

A big highlight here is the title track, "Tribe." It starts out with a progressive 6/8 riff, and eases the distortion when the verse hits with more spoken vocals. The tension of the song never really lets up, though, until the chorus clashes with powerful soaring vocals and a heavy rhythm pacing things along. The song sounds like it could have been featured on Promised Land or even Empire to an extent.

Unfortunately, some latter-day Queensryche flaws are still present here, and heard the most on the final track, "Doin' Fine." I starts out promisingly enough, with a strong guitar riff and nice relaxed feel, but soon just turns lazy. Even with a short run-time of 3:54, the song drags on and on, and keeps you waiting for something interesting to show up. Really, that's the biggest problem with the album; Some songs are too draggy and lack the passion of the better songs. "Falling Behind" has a really apt song title in that sense; it starts out with a nice acoustic riff, but then just... never catches real fire.

However, the album is still very good, and is one of the best latter-day Queensryche albums you can get. Geoff Tate's vocals are still powerful, and Chris DeGarmo, while a bit restrained here, hasn't lost any of his touch. Overall, this is a solid album, and their best since Promised Land... that is, until American Soldier came along.

(Note: this review was originally from 2011)

(Originally published on Sputnikmusic)