Description

Queensryches sixth studio album, Hear In The Now Frontier is widely regarded as the first true misstep of their career. While having a few initial signs of success, it ultimately faded from sight due to their label folding combined with the Seattle group’s futile response to a movement that had already passed. To add insult to injury, guitarist/bandleader Chris DeGarmo left the band shortly after its release despite (or perhaps because of) his overwhelming influence on its development. For the first time since the days of the EP, Hear In The Now Frontier sees the band emulating the styles of others as opposed to incorporating a wide variety of influences under a signature sound. Despite coming out a couple years after grunge was beginning to decline, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots are the album’s leading aspirations though one can also finds reference to U2, Pearl Jam, and what Metallica was doing around the time. In short, it’s a very basic record that puts a bunch of jams out there without any signs of a bigger picture. And while there aren’t any prog or ambient touches left, the band hierarchy isn’t too far off from the Promised Land dynamic. The guitars are still the prime focus and while there aren’t any strong riffs or solos on display, they do their job and are backed by a decent rhythm section. And like the EP before it, Tate’s vocals are what keep the music from sounding too generic. However, he has stuck with a mid-range approach that rarely ventures into extreme pitches. Much like Bruce Dickinson’s Skunkworks, Queensryche’s sixth full-length album is an experiment that is pretty enjoyable but ultimately came too late. Its reputation is deserved when you consider its plain presentation and the band’s over the top past, but it is worth looking into for grunge fans and makes for an entertaining character study. The opening track on the album, Sign Of The Times, were released as a single. Its a very direct track, a catchy and quick introduction to the new Ryche with the catchy chorus and straightforward-sounding guitars. Its basic 90s rock/grunge with subtle motions and Sign Of The Times is the most structurally intricate. The single also features the Japan only bonus track, Chasing Blue Sky and two live tracks from MTVs popular program Unplugged. This unplugged session was taped at the MTV studios in Los Angeles on the 27th of April 1992 and it showed that even Queensryche could tone it down several notches and be magnificent at it. Simply awesome stuff.

Track list:
1. Sign Of The Times
2. Chasing Blue Sky
3. Silent Lucidity-MTV unplugged
4. The Killing Words-MTV unplugged