EMPIRE

Listening diary 1st October 2021: Queensrÿche - Empire (heavy metal, 1990)

Although glam metal wasn't exactly the most aesthetically interesting movement, it's interesting to observe that right towards its end, there did seem to be a tiny bit of artistic development - right before grunge came along and wiped it away, of course. This, alongside W.A.S.P's phenomenal The Crimson Idol, represent what cock rock could have looked like with a bit more finesse and soul. Coming right after the pseudo-prog Operation: Mindcrime, Empire sees Queensryche return to a more song-oriented approach, but with a bit more passion and grit. The rock tunes here are melodious, catchy and anthemic, and have the kinds of choruses that get stuck in your head in a good way, rather than the irritating earworms of most glam metal. But the real knockout here is, of course, "Silent Lucidity". The band had hinted at a soul with moments on Mindcrime, but they never reached anything this beautiful. In fact, I don't think anything remotely connected to glam metal did, and I'd argue it being one of the most passionate ballads of classic metal.

The rest of the album does suffer from the same aesthetic drawbacks of cock rock, and the solos aren't exactly great, but there's definitely a lot more going for this than what you'd expect from its paper description.

7.3 (4th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction