PROMISED LAND

Since I first got into Queensryche, I've always seen this as the beginning of the end of their releases which captivate their audience. HitNF, Q2K, Tribe, even O:M2 have failed to make classics of themselves, but they are another story.

Promised Land seems to have that "African-Middle Eastern" sound to it, especially seen in I Am I and the epic title track. Both of these tracks remind me of a sprawling landscape and when I close my eyes I can see Geoff singing on top of a sand dune in the Sahara Desert. There are also some brilliant ballads including Bridge, Someone Else and Out of Mind which are sung with pure emotion by Tate.

Though there are some great and memorable songs on this album, there are a few I would skip over every time I'd put it into my CD player. Lady Jane and Disconnected are respectable in their own right, and the Middle Eastern Atmospheric feel is kept up in them, but they just lack the passion that I see in the other tracks on this album.

All in all this would have to be Queensryche's last great album before they drop off. Tate even brings in hs buddy the saxophone to add another dimension to the tracks. Promised Land is definately an experiment by Queensryche that has worked.