The Warning (1984)
---11/8/21
I embraced Queensryche at the very beginning with their brilliant Judas Priest styled EP. When word surfaced that their first full length was going to be more "progressive" I could hardly sleep I was so excited. In 1984, progressive rock mixed with metal was still more of a fantasy than a tiresome burden. After buying the LP on Day 1, I was so very disappointed. Some years later I ditched it. OK, there is the CD on the thrift shop shelf, let's try it again. Hey, this is pretty good metal actually. Not progressive of course, but not too far off the NWOBHM sound they had perfected a year earlier. Geoff Tate was (is, I suppose) a great singer.
---2/20/26
I sold off that CD only to get both the LP and CD back in recently. The LP condition wasn't the best, so into the show box it goes. Let's try this album one more time.
I'm also creating a page here, since I know I will speak highly of that aforementioned debut EP whenever I get around to listening to my copy again. And I'll try to be more patient with their more commercial breakthrough albums that were still a few years away (I wasn't too keen on them real time). Two of those titles are here in my vast inventory, so who knows when they will be touched. Queensryche, like Metallica, are a band who has a great following, and then suddenly fell out of critical favor and put out a series of low rated albums (seven straight according to RYM). At least in Queensryche's case it appears they have rebounded nicely in the last decade plus.
When hearing early Queensryche with an Iron Maiden perspective, the music opens up nicely. They had similar approaches during this era, though Maiden were far more advanced with Powerslave in 1984. But if I consider the previous Piece of Mind instead, then we have some parallels worth considering. I mean, seriously, Geoff Tate was something special as a talented singer. As was Bruce Dickinson. The metal quotient, that is the heaviness of the guitars, is somewhat muted. That would be another resemblance with the almighty Maiden. Judas Priest gets thrown out as a comparison all the time, but that was more considering their EP, and Priest were a different (and lesser) animal by 1984 themselves. To tie the Maiden knot is the closing track is also The Warning's progressive rock statement. One has to remember that in 1984, metal bands had mostly steered clear of prog for fear of losing street cred or whatever image one had to project in those days.
The problem was... Iron Maiden were something of an exception in that era. The metal movement had moved on to heavier realms as Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, and the German contingent of groups were taking everything to the next level. Meanwhile bands like Fates Warning were prepping the world for a true mix of prog rock and metal. Where does Queensryche fit? I read a review where someone felt the band was "holding something back". I feel the same way. Not heavy enough, not progressive enough, not innovative enough. Yet it's a solid effort throughout. From an historical perspective, including my own personal history, I think I should hold onto the CD this time.
Ownership: EMI-Manhattan (CD). Acquired in 2026.
Former ownership: 1984 EMI America (LP). Acquired in 1984.
9//84; 11/8/21 (notes); 2/20/26 (review)
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