QUEENSRŸCHE - Condition Hüman

Well, I don't worry about the 70 thing, as it's never going to happen, BUT I have noticed that creativity from metal bands does fade as they get older....I see it time and time again from countless bands. I just accept it as the norm these days.



Actually, I don't hear the exact Tate Clone that some other people hear. I think Todd has a distinctive voice, and Tate's voice was more higher pitched, and he sang in a higher octave than Todd does.

Listen to a song on Rage, Warning and Empire and then listen to Todd and you can DEFINITELY tell the difference. Even so, I'm one that loves that style of singing, and I welcome more of it! Tate had a distinctive voice that no singer has or will ever be able to emulate. That's not a knock on Todd. I think Todd is making an effort not to sound "exactly" like Tate.

I just want a great singer with a great voice and that's what Todd brings. Even if he does sound like Tate, it doesn't matter because Tate doesn't sing like that anymore and of course many of us hunger for that style of singing...So someone has to pick up the Tab.

Again, we can't judge anything by 1 song.....When Mindcrime came out, the first sing I heard from it was "The Needle Lies" and I hated it...I kept saying, "worst song ever!" "plain and boring", but I love Operation Mindcrime as a whole. Although I still don't care for The Needle Lies.

I wholeheartedly concur, it reminds me of the Journey or Accept situation where you have a singer that can be a dead ringer for the original in a live setting but, of course, there is a difference. He covers the stuff we loved from the heyday damn good and on the new stuff, I would not even think he was aping Tate in his prime except for some of the inflections and dramatic annunciations... he admits to Tate being one his idols... it is only natural. He fits in damn good, hell better than Tim Owens fit into Priest IMO.

I actually hope he does bring out more distinctive aspects. Someone told me once, I think it was Brian Slagel from Metal Blade when he listened to our original singer.. who totally TRIED to ape Geoff. He said... There already is a Queensryche. Then I had Mike Gray who really in his own bands sounds a lot like Steve Perry meets Vince Neil, but when he was put into a musical landscape that is dramatic and calling for a certain theatrical delivery.. and musically demanding the vocalist do half-steps and certain scale notes... wham, you get nailed with being a Tate knock off, and then the whole band gets the Queensryche-alike treatment even if the music is very different.

Because Tater was first, really, to have the full range, and Dickinson was more Ian Gillian-ish and animal, not as how do you say... well, pretentious would be what a lot of people would call it. I think, it's just using emotional and technical range that only has been heard in Opera., not Rock... so, some people think of it as snooty or dramatic.

So, even Ray Alder got compared to Tate when he first came out especially on Parallels. It is always labeling, so I will credit Taterhole who secretly modeled himself after the first two Queen albums but said he didnt care for metal and his favorite band was the Cocteau Twins. Or else it would be Geddy Lee comparisons! (No offense to Geddy... he is not a baritone too..)

Always really pissed me off that Tate would not do The Three Tremors project with Dickinson and Halford!

Sorry, I never really will ever like that guy after the rude arrogant treatment to not just myself but other fans... at many shows we traveled great distances to see and paid for VIP. Then I heard from Scurlock or some insider he and his wife had a ten year retirement plan, didn't really associate with the band mates... they were going through the motions and hoping to cash in on Mindcrime II and do maybe another record or three then, he and Susan were going to spend the rest of their lives sailing the world on some boat he has been restoring. Then it all made sense. I usually don't disparage people... or try not to.. but Fuck that guy, he IS pretentious! And it gives ProgPower Metal a band rep, to be associated with an elitist prick. His new album is a horrible struggle to try to force musicians out of their element to recreate a QR type sound, it grabs you for a sec then you realize he is singing as he always did.. in character and not from his vulnerable and open heart, it is a theatrical facade that does not work anymore. EPIC FAIL.

I will buy Condition Hüman and support the guys, I feel like you have to hand it to people who overcame their oppressors and things holding them back and are out there working so hard and being so grateful to be free and get the chance to come alive again, Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson were in indentured servitude... now, they are vibrant and on fire! Kudos to them.
 
+1.

I don't think we'll see them reach the god-like levels of the 80s unless DeGarmo decides to rejoin the band. It's pretty obvious that while the whole band was great (and is again, with Todd), DeGarmo was the standout songwriter. Without him, the *overall* quality of the songs will never reach the classic heights. Individual songs might, but they lost their best/primary songwriter, IMO...that changes things.

Craig

I agree DeGarmo and Tate together had a chemistry, perhaps it became toxic.. it happens. They were the main creative force... but HiTNF was very heavily a DeGarmo record,... and then, he decided to go fly private jets for corporate clients.

So, perhaps he realized the magic had gone out of them and the whole thing? I just am pointing this out because so many people think the return of DeGarmo will resurrect the glory of a time and a tipping point where the underdog broke big and everything was firing on all cylinders. Sometimes lightning doesn't strike twice, and I imagine there is a lot of good reason on DeGarmo's part to have left when he did. He saw the writing on the wall. The label died, the headlining huge stadiums plans died, the band hit a wall, the music scene did too. Smart move to get an alternative career at that stage, then i guess it is a life balance thing whether he would really get back into being that creative tour de force he was, and, like Steve Perry and Journey, bad blood can cause the magic to die. maybe HiTNF was that point where it died. Sometimes you just grow out of things, and change in life.
 
Not as good as Guardian but that's a really great track. Still very solid. I'm looking forward to this one. Thanks for posting!
 
Excellent album - sure it's not going to top the '80s classics but damn if this isn't some of the best Queensryche in the last 25 years - there are elements of all their eras here, probably summed up in "Bulletproof" and "All There Was," but evident throughout. I'm sure there will be many who don't feel this is the devastating QR they were hoping for but give it at least a few listens, personally I can't wait to hear this material live!!!
 
Excellent album - sure it's not going to top the '80s classics but damn if this isn't some of the best Queensryche in the last 25 years - there are elements of all their eras here, probably summed up in "Bulletproof" and "All There Was," but evident throughout. I'm sure there will be many who don't feel this is the devastating QR they were hoping for but give it at least a few listens, personally I can't wait to hear this material live!!!

I agree it is very enjoyable, it is really catchy the first few times through. I think if some people listen to it unburden by expectations, they will find a very good album. And if you need to compare it to the rest of the catalog; while not as good as the classics it still holds its own against their strong material. If this was released post Promised Land, I think many people would have been happy.
 
I don't think of this as Queensryche, I think of it as a new band. QR was a band in the 80s that released a bunch of classics and then disappeared. I had already long given them up for dead so it's very easy for me to come into Condition Human with an open mind. It's a really solid album, lots of diversity, quality songwriting throughout and a great vocal performance. People should definitely listen to this because it's really nothing at all like what you'd expect.
 
One spin through, and a BIG two thumbs up to this disc. It sounds similar to the last album, but a LOT more "complete". The last album sounded too much like songs weren't fully fleshed out before they raced it out to compete with Tate. This one sounds like they spent a lot more time on the songwriting, and it really shows.

It's not as heavy as I expected either. The second half of the disc especially has a lot of more mid-tempo stuff, even though it still has a dark tone to it. Very, very pleased with this release.
 
Saw the Ryche last night in San Jose, Ca wth the Scorps and they were great. First time seeing them with La Torre and Todd really nailed the old material, he did things that I haven't heard Tate even pull off live, ever and that was my 26th time seeing Queensryche. Awesome!!! Arrow of Time was a very energetic song live too!

Bear
 
To be fair I've only listened to it a couple of times but I'm finding this album to just be extremely bland. So lifeless and unmemorable.
 
Hey, Zod, I wonder what you would think of the band's previous album with Todd if you gave it the kind of run that you did in your recent experiment. Personally, I think the songs are very well-written, and they reveal a little bit more with each listen. At the very least, a lot of the songs are more memorable to my ears than anything that the band released past the material on "Promised Land."
Heyt Met-Al, just checked back in on this thread and saw this post. In the simplest terms, I wasn't a fan. There are likely two reasons for that. First, the whole thing just bugs me. And without a doubt, that colors the way I see the music. That said, two, I just didn't think the songs were very strong. For what it's worth, I do think the stuff I've heard from the new record is much better. However, I still can't get past the fact that I feel like I'm listening to a band that's merely a Queensryche clone.
 
Agreed...I am so disappointed after the first listens. I'm going to keep trying, of course, in hopes that it will grow on me. But so far, while there are good moments, the choruses have no melodic movement and much of it sounds really samey IMO. I'm really surprised...I LOVED the 2013 s/t, and thought it was even better when I went back to it recently. Catchy, memorable, great. And the "Guardian" video had me really excited. I expected so much more from CH. Oh well, "Bulletproof" is really good, and I'll keep listening--hopefully the album will be a grower. :)

Matt

To be fair I've only listened to it a couple of times but I'm finding this album to just be extremely bland. So lifeless and unmemorable.