‘The Warning’ was Queensryche’s first full-length album, and followed immediately after their debut EP the year before.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Queensryche
ALBUM: The Warning
LABEL: EMI America
SERIAL: ST-17134
YEAR: 1984
CD REISSUE: Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Geoff Tate – vocals * Chris DeGarmo, Michael Wilton – guitars, backing vocals * Eddie Jackson – bass, backing vocals * Scott Rockenfield – drums
Additional Musician: Michael Kamen – conducting, orchestral arrangement
TRACK LISTING: 01 N M 156 * 02 En Force * 03 No Sanctuary * 04 Deliverance * 05 Take Hold Of The Flame * 06 Before The Storm * 07 Child Of Fire * 08 Warning * 09 Roads To Madness
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Here’s another backfilling exercise, this time for the Seattle 80’s legends. ‘The Warning’ was Queensryche’s first full-length album, and followed immediately after their debut EP the year before. The band had been on the road during 1983, and had put the first steps in place for ‘The Warning’ by writing the material while in transit.
The album itself was produced by James Guthrie (Pink Floyd, Judas Priest, Ambrosia) over in London UK. According to Wikipedia, the material was influenced by popular culture of the time, including George C Orwell’s book Nineteen Eighty-Four.
The Songs
None of Queensryche’s metal noir was apparent at this stage of their career, the band still blasting out typical American heavy metal for the time. Only ‘Take Hold Of The Flame’ offered some commercial appeal, though none of the songs made the charts. The album itself went to #61 on the Billboard album charts, which was respectable enough for a young band on the rise.
Queensryche’sound back then was quite clinical and clean in comparison to other acts of the day, and they were quite advanced technically, when you think of what the American metal scene was like back in the early 80’s. Singer Geoff Tate added a Rob Halford tinge to the vocals, so obviously the Judas Priest comparisons were thrown around liberally at the time.
In Summary
To support the album, the band hit the road in support of KISS (Animalize tour) and Iron Maiden (Powerslave tour). It was still considered early days for Queensryche, and they would soon hit the big leagues with their next two albums: ‘Rage For Order’ and the 2LP epic ‘Operation: Mindcrime’.
The 2003 reissue included three extra bonus tracks. As an aside, singer Geoff Tate had a bit to say about the album’s final mix, declaring that the band thought it was awful, unplayable even. There’s a bit more to read on Wikipedia. Makes for good bedtime reading.
Videos
Take Hold Of The Flame
