Queensrÿche "Promised Land"

Promised Land is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Queensrÿche and their highest charting record to date. It was released by EMI on October 18, 1994, four years after their successful Empire album. The album was re-released on June 10, 2003 in a remastered edition with bonus tracks.

The songs on this album are tied together firmly by the theme of success and how to deal with it, and reflections on American society and how that shapes our goals in life.

The album opens with "9.28 a.m.", a musique concrète sequence put together by drummer Scott Rockenfield. The band wanted to have a cool intro that was cinematic and moody, and Rockenfield was given complete freedom to make something. Rockenfield went out to record natural sounds using a portable ADAT tape recorder, which he sent through a rack of effects in his apartment and started designing his own sound effects out of it. Some of the recorded sounds also appear on other tracks on the record, such as the sound of a train on "Disconnected". "9.28 a.m." follows a soul from death through the ether into a reincarnation, and rebirth, followed by the sound of a crying baby. The title refers to the time Rockenfield was born.

"9.28 a.m." floats into "I Am I". This song is driven by a heavy riff and Geoff Tate's trademark vocals to a background of percussion instruments. Chris DeGarmo performs cello and sitar parts on this song as well as the guitar solo. After almost four minutes it merges into "Damaged", a more straightforward heavy rocker.

"Out of Mind" and the subsequent "Bridge" are more quiet acoustic pieces, both of whose lyrics were written by Chris DeGarmo. The last one deals with the relationship with his father, who died during the Promised Land sessions.

The eight-minute title track is the first track in the Queensrÿche catalogue to be credited to the entire group. It is a rather dark piece, full of Rockenfield tape effects, DeGarmo/Wilton twin guitar work and it marks Tate's first appearance as a saxophonist. On this track, the theme of the album is most present, as it deals with the drawbacks of success. It ends in a bar scene of people talking and drinking (slightly reminiscent of the ending of "Welcome to the Machine" on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, which deals with a similar subject matter). These sound effects merge into "Disconnected," a rather alienating piece dealing with the American consumerist society. It features Tate on sax again.

The subsequent "Lady Jane" deals with the similar theme of the influence of commercials. It is a heavy ballad featuring DeGarmo on piano and another twin solo.

"My Global Mind" is another more straightforward rock song dealing with globalization. After that, "One More Time" is an acoustic rocker, with lyrics much in the vein of the title track.

The album's final track, "Someone Else?", features just Tate on vocals and DeGarmo on piano.

Legacy

In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Promised Land at number 23 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original liner notes.

1. "9:28 a.m." Scott Rockenfield 1:44
2. "I Am I" Chris DeGarmo, Geoff Tate 3:57
3. "Damaged" DeGarmo, Tate 3:58
4. "Out of Mind" DeGarmo 4:35
5. "Bridge" DeGarmo 3:29
6. "Promised Land" DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, Rockenfield, Tate, Michael Wilton 7:58
7. "Disconnected" Rockenfield, Tate 4:45
8. "Lady Jane" DeGarmo 4:14
9. "My Global Mind" DeGarmo, Rockenfield, Tate, Wilton 4:21
10. "One More Time" DeGarmo, Tate 4:18
11. "Someone Else?" DeGarmo, Tate 4:44

Japanese Edition bonus tracks

1. "Someone Else?" (full band version) DeGarmo, Tate 7:13
2. "Real World" (from the soundtrack of the movie Last Action Hero) Queensrÿche, Michael Kamen 4:23

2003 CD reissue bonus tracks

1. "Real World" (from the soundtrack of the movie Last Action Hero) Queensrÿche, Michael Kamen 4:23
2. "Someone Else?" (full band version) DeGarmo, Tate 7:13
3. "Damaged" (live at The Astoria Theatre, London, UK on October 20, 1994) DeGarmo, Tate 4:00
4. "Real World" (live at The Astoria Theatre, London, UK on October 20, 1994) Queensrÿche, Kamen 3:45

Trivia:

-The band temporarily moved to a secluded island for the recording of this album.

-Comes bundled with a CD-ROM adventure game. The prize upon completion was an acoustic jam played by the band members themselves in the game's universe.

Music videos:

-I Am I

Recording information:

Recorded at home, in the Dungeon, at riad and at Big Log Stuios from summer of 1992 through Spring of 1994

Additional recording at Music Grinder

Mixed in Seattle at Bad Animals, Summer 1994.

Mastered at Precision Lacquer.