UMUR "American Soldier" is the 11th full-length studio album by US hard rock/heavy metal act Queensrÿche. The album was released through Rhino Entertainment in March 2009. After playing on "Tribe (2003)", and becoming a permanent member of the band on "Operation: Mindcrime II (2006)", guitarist Mike Stone made his last appearance on a Queensrÿche album on the covers album "Take Cover (2007)". Therefore "American Soldier" was recorded by the four-piece Geoff Tate (vocals), Michael Wilton (guitars, backing vocals), Eddie Jackson (bass, backing vocals), and Scott Rockenfield (drums, percussion).

Stylistically the music on the album is hard rock/heavy metal and unmistakably the sound of Queensrÿche. Although there are many differences, there are also some similar traits to especially two of the band´s previous releases and in some ways the music sounds like a combination of the music style "Promised Land (1994)" and "Tribe (2003)". The use of saxophone on a couple of the songs of course leads my thoughts toward the former while the dark mood and heavy riffing remind me of the latter.

"American Soldier" is a concept album where the lyrics (as the title suggests), are about American Soldiers in times of war and peace. As the liner notes say: "This record is dedicated and was inspired by stories from soldiers who have served America during times of war and peace. Thank you!". A celebration of the men and women who have made sometimes great sacrifices to keep America safe. The stories are generally melancholic and are meant to bring awareness to the problem that many war veterans have a hard time adjusting to society when they return home after serving their country in foreign lands. There are also some tracks about having to deal with a bad conscience having killed people in the line of duty. The songs are centered around the powerful vocals and strong vocal lines by Geoff Tate. There´s a guest appearance on the song "Home Again" when Geoff Tate sings duet with his 10 year old daughter Emily Tate. The tracks feature many samples with soldiers speaking about their experiences which works well for the atmosphere of the album.

Not surprisingly the musicianship is top notch and "American Soldier" also features a professional and well sounding production, but in the end the album becomes a bit too predictable and formulaic vers/chorus styled and a slightly more playful and adventurous songwriting approach could have elevated the album to a higher state, because "American Soldier" definitely has the potential to be something special. As it is it´s an album featuring some moments of excellence, but also quite a few more unremarkable parts. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

Time Signature If I were king...

Genre: alternative/progressive metal/rock

True, this album does not reach the standard of the Queensrÿche classics of the 80s and 90s - and it probably is not intended to be like those albums, given that Queensrÿche tend to reinvent their sound very often.

However, it does contain some elements that are reminiscent of some of the stuff found on albums like "Rage for Order", "Operation: Mind Crime", and "Empire" in the form of a couple of solid hard rocking riffs every now and then. It also seems to have some of the same dark atmosphere found on "The Promised Land", which suits the lyrical content quite well. It's no "Hear in the Now Frontier" either - fortunately - but, unfortunately, it does contain some grungy elements that make one think of "Hear in the Now Frontier".

But, surely, "American Soldier" is one of the better Queensrÿche albums of their post-2000 career, and as a mildly progressive alternative metal/rock album, it works fine.

Pelata Queensryche has taken something of a beating over the last several years amongst Metal fans. The band once revered for unquestionable Metal classics like The Warning and Operation: Mindcrime has been branded something of a washout on the backs of albums like Tribe and Q2K. Some fans blame the band’s perceived decline on the departure of founding member Chris DeGarmo back in the 1990′s, but if they remember correctly, many of them hated his last album with the band, Hear In The Now Frontier, as well. So, what is it? Is it a loss of talent? Is it the absence of a key band member? Honestly, I don’t think its either of these things. I think it’s the case of a band becoming something that a lot of fans just aren’t able to follow. If we look back at Queensryche’s entire catalog, we can see/hear that no two albums are really that much alike. The closest two would be the self-titled EP and The Warning. But from then on, the band never really did the same thing twice. When a band changes that much, they’re bound to eventually change a bit too much for some of the original audience. The one commonality amongst the band’s earlier work, however, was something they seem to have let go of at some point…intensity.

All of this brings us to the band’s current album, American Soldier. Once again a conceptual offering, this time the band takes on the lives and events of the people who make up the US Armed Forces. Tate took on the daunting task of interviewing several veterans from several different conflicts to get their stories and then transform them into song. Now, this is both an interesting and admirable undertaking. What could/should be a more intense listen than the plight of a war veteran? On the surface it seems to have the potential to be a masterful epic. What we get, however, is something other. The first 2 tracks, “Sliver” and “Unafraid”, are quite honestly boring and weak. Both sound like b-side or box-set material. They do not set the tone for the record, the way opening tracks should. The first has the shouting “drill sergeant” voice-over which, honestly, sounds dumb. And with lyrics like “it’s time to sack up and let go of your mothers”, it becomes almost laughable. I get it, I just don’t like it. Then the second basically replaces verses with interview sound-bytes (apparently from Tate’s interviews with the soldiers). No verses, just talking over the music then the chorus which, honestly, has a decent hook.

Things don’t begin to show signs of life until “Hundred Mile Stare” comes around. This begins to show that the band we all remember is still in there somewhere (yet never really gets going) while the next track, “At 30,000 Ft.”, is a perfect example of what the band could be in this day and age. It’s got great mood and intensity and that classic, dark Tate vocal delivery. There are a couple more instances of this scattered throughout the record, like on “Remember Me” (a haunting, moody track ala “Spool” or “Someone Else”), “Man Down” (which has vintage Queensryche guitar harmonies and Tate even blending in the high notes), and “A Dead Man’s Words” (showing glimpses of that old spark of intensity). Sadly, a large portion of the album seems to sort of run together and just lay there with only a few tiny rays of light breaking through the grey monotony. Even the choice for first single, “If I Were King”, is just kind of flat and lifeless.

So, here we are with another Queensryche album…another album that many of the early fans will no doubt dislike immensely. And, while there’s not a lot on this album that will keep me coming back, there are hints of what made Queensryche great…but sometimes hints aren’t enough. It’s not quite as bad as the haters will try to convince you it is, but it’s also nothing to write home about.

J-Man A Solid Effort From Queensrÿche!

I find Queensrÿche to be a fairly inconsistent band overall. It's actually kind of a shame because Operation: Mindcrime was a genre-defining album, but aside from that they haven't released many other great albums. Maybe only 3 other albums of theirs are worthy of a four star rating. And in those albums they show their excellence, but they really haven't shown it much since Promised Land.

With American Soldier, Queensrÿche has a sort of return-to-form, and this has some really great songs on it. Nothing on this album is "bad" so to speak, but there is a fair amount of filler, with a good portion of the songs really not being memorable at all. There are a few great songs that ultimately overrule the weaker ones, but that doesn't deny the fact that a good half of this album is not anything special.

On top of that, this album does get pretty formulaic very quickly, and it can get very predictable. There are a few small twists in a few songs, but for the majority it is standard verse-chorus-verse American heavy metal music. This is not nessacerily a bad thing, though. Some of my favorite albums are just straightforward metal. I'm just pointing out that this isn't even remotely progressive. This ends up being a little bit of a problem being that this album is an hour in length. Simply put, this album doesn't have enough standout content to be worthy of an hour of my time. While it is by no means bad, there is nothing here that hasn't been done before.

With that said, there are some great songs here, and the musicianship is top notch. Queensrÿche won't have a 10 minute shred fest, but they show what they're worth in American Soldier. A few great guitar solos, some memorable riffs, excellent vocals from Geoff Tate, and great melodies make this album far from failure. However, you will notice the same flaw burdens the majority of the album in the track-by-track review.

THE MUSIC:

"Sliver"- An upbeat riff opens up the first song. It almost sounds like rapping occasionally on this song, but soon Geoff Tate delivers a pretty good vocal performance. This song initially made me think "what happened?", but I now find it to be a pretty solid opener. If you were to listen to this song after finishing up Operation: Mindcrime, you would realize that Queensrÿche has a much different, more grunge-oriented sound here, in contrast to their earlier traditional heavy metal direction.

"Unafraid"- The second song here is very strong, and is one of my favorites on the album. After a short spoken word introduction, a light drum riff, vocals and guitar enter. A heavy riff follows that, but the chorus is really catchy here. It has a great guitar solo later in the song.

"Hundred Mile Stare"- After a brief opening, a rhythmic guitar and drum riff enters. The vocals here are pretty good, and I like the use of multiple vocal parts. It's got a good enough chorus, and some nice bridges.

"At 30,000 Feet"- The spoken word introduction portrays the feeling of being at war well, and soon a beautiful guitar rhythm enters. The chorus is particularly good in this song. Another solid song.

"A Dead Man's Words"- An ominous guitar melody is the theme to this song, and a metal section soon follows. This has some pretty good use of keyboards thrown in to make this song kind of cool. The chorus can get pretty annoying though.

"The Killer"- This song starts with an upbeat riff, and this is a pretty fast moving song. I love the verses, and this has some great melodies, and the chorus is pretty good. Another pretty predictable song, but that doesn't take away from the fact that this has some excellent songwriting.

"Middle of Hell"- A drum beat opens up this rather unmemorable song. Despite a pretty good guitar solo, there is nothing here that really stands out. Of course it's every bit as predictable as the earlier songs, but this doesn't have the excellent riffs and melodies the other ones have.

"If I Were King"- By about now the album starts to get boring. I'm not going to lie, but there are a few good songs near the beginning and end, but the middle is pure filler. I kind of like the verses here, but this song is very formulaic, and by about now I'm waiting for something unexpected to happen. Unfortunately, this song doesn't respond to my requests.

"Man Down!"- The verses are painfully annoying. They're clearly trying to relive their glory days in the late 80's and early 90's, but it isn't working out. I like the chorus though, and it has a nice contrast between the guitar riff and vocals. Not a terrible song, but it could have been a lot better.

"Remember Me"- What a change over the past few songs! The last three songs on this album are all the highlights, and this is when the album really begins. A moody verse, and beautiful chorus make this song very good. Of course, it still is verse-chorus-verse, but it is a very solid composition.

"Home Again"- This is my personal favorite song on the album. This portrays the feeling of a father at war exchanging letters with his daughter. The duet between Geoff Tate and his daughter Emily fits the mood of this beautiful song perfectly. If more of the album had been like this I swear I would have given it a 5. It is definitely worth hearing this song at all costs, though.

"The Voice"- After the excellent previous song, Queensrÿche follows it up with another highlight of the album. I absolutely love the riffs on this song, and I think Geoff Tate does an excellent job vocally. Again, I can't help but see the excellence in this song that isn't present on the rest of the album. The excellent ending gets me every time.

Conclusion:

American Soldier has a lot of potential. The last 3 songs are pure gold, but a good amount of the album is forgettable. If Queensrÿche would have made this a shorter album, or put more great material here, this would be one of the best 2009 albums. Unfortunately, that isn't true. However, this album is worth hearing for any Queensrÿche fan, or anyone who's looking for some pretty good prog metal. Nothing here brings anything new to the genre, but for people looking to play it safe with a very professional and high-quality band, American Soldier may be for you. 3 stars is deserved for such an album.

Nightfly In the late eighties Queensrhyche released 3 albums, Rage For Order, Operation Mindcrime and Empire that sealed their reputation as one of the greatest metal bands of the day. The following album, Promised Land although decent enough failed to live up to their 3 previous metal behemoths. Then followed a string of poorly received albums until in 2006 Queensrhyche made the bold decision to release Operation Mindcrime II. At the time the music press would have you believe that it was a massive return to form for the band. In truth whilst being better than anything they'd released in years it was still in the main fairly average. The same claims are now being made about American Soldier, one reviewer in a well known monthly music magazine even going as far as to say it's their best album ever. Well whilst I wouldn't agree with such a bold claim I will go as far as to say it is their best since Empire.

American Soldier as the title suggests is about.well.er. the plight of American Soldiers. As you might imagine it's quite a dark album which works well with Queensrhyche's musical delivery. Voices of real soldiers talking about their feelings and war experiences are blended in with the songs. In the case of Unafraid its pure overkill though, a soldiers voice present throughout almost the entire track, way too loud in the mix too.

Despite the admirable sentiments of the album and giving a voice to soldiers what really sets it apart from the bands post Empire output is the sheer musical quality of the songs. There's some excellent riffs and tunes here - highlights being Hundred Mile Stare and At 30,000 Feet which really can compete with Queensrhyche at their best. What stops this album from reaching those heights as a whole though is too many of the tracks whilst being very good just lack that killer punch to match the likes of I Don't Believe In Love or Silent Lucidity to name 2 classics.

So overall, a genuine return to form though not up there with their best albums but one that any fan of the band will be happy to have in their collection. Very good but not quite making the excellent grade; 3 ½ stars.

kluseba I honestly considered buying this album as I thought that the concept sounded interesting and as I really liked the first single and intense ballad "If I Were King". It was a true shock to me to see so many negative reviews on that side then, so I decided to listen to the entire album before purchasing it as I wasn't quite sure about buying it anymore. I finally expected the worst and the beginning of the album is indeed horrible. But later on, I discovered a couple of hidden gems so that my final rating isn't that negative.

Let's talk about the songs right now. The first two tracks are amongst the worst ones the band has ever written in almost thirty years. "Sliver" is a rap rock track with weak lyrics and probably the worst song Queensrÿche have ever written. It's sure that such a bad opener influences a lot the general atmosphere and first impression of an album and they did the worst choice here. This song is too be avoided at all costs, there is nothing profound, intelligent or original about this track. "Unafraid" is not much better, the lyrics are even worse and the song is entirely composed of interview citations of veterans that have such an awful sound quality that it sounds like if someone was farting underwater. The chorus is dumb and boring, the music one dimensional and bad. Maybe this track is the second worst track Queensrÿche have ever written. Until now, the album isn't worth one single point.

The next three songs are good average tracks. "Hundred Mile Stare" turns the page then and is a classic melodic Queensrÿche rocker. The first two minutes of the track are enjoyable, the last minutes seem endless and annoying and repeat always the same patterns but though this song is finally mediocre, it is way much better than the first two songs. "At 30,000 ft" is the first really good song on the record. It begins with a beautiful melody and an interesting drumming. The tune begins as an enjoyable ballad with a truly energetic and passionate vocal performance before exotic guitar riffs and sound effects create a surprising and finally very progressive middle part. "A Dead Man's Words" is a rather modern, dark and haunting piece of music and has slightly Industrial Metal and Asian folk influences. The vocal performance is slow and underlined by strange sound effects. This mixture seems to be strange but the song is a great experience and gets really hypnotizing even though there are maybe two minutes of boredom towards the middle part of the track. The ending of the song is worth the patience and one of the most beautiful and memorable parts of the entire album.

The next two songs are quite mediocre songs. "The Killer" begins as a melodic and very harmonic song with classical band trademarks such as a very dramatic vocal performance and great tribal drums as well as memorable guitar leads. But the whole effort is destroyed by a mall core main riff and an extremely silly chorus. "Middle Of Nowhere" starts with a soft drumming and develops a haunting atmosphere with a good guitar riff. But after a promising beginning, the song doesn't evolve and gets very long and annoying.

Now, there are still the best songs to come on this record. "If I Were King" is a brilliant ballad and especially brilliantly sung. It's a rather traditional but highly emotional song and the spoken word passages fit in here which isn't the case for many of the songs on this record. "Man Down!" is the second single of the album after the previous ballad and one easily understands why because the dark and heavy riffs are catchy and probably the best musical parts of the album and vocal performance is very melodic. "Remember Me" kicks off with a beautiful and dreamy guitar play and is a very harmonic and beautiful performance. This song is easily amongst the best songs on the album and keeps the level high. "Home Again" has a mystical and haunting introduction. Acoustic guitars underline the brilliant father meets daughter vocal performances by Geoff Tate and his daughter and this turns out to be one of the most interesting and authentic songs on the record, a truly well done experiment. The final "The Voice" is a very atmospheric introduction with sirens, thunder and spoken word passages before the real songs kicks off with exotic oriental guitar riffs. This final highlight is one of the most haunting tracks on the record and a pleasant grande finale that i didn't expect after the weak beginning of the album.

So, this album is somehow divided and two parts and not quite consistent. It starts in the worst possible manner before there are many enjoyable, diversified and emotional songs towards the end. When the band tries to get a personal approach to the songs and doesn't put the citations and sound samples at the center of the attention, this album works really well but as they often let different people tell to many details and hesitate to give a personal and artistically touch to the record, the band somewhat loses it and doesn't succeed its mission in the end. But honestly said, the last five tracks of the album are beautiful progressive rock or melodic metal gems that any fan should like if we don't consider the main topic's boundaries with the superficial lyrics and horrible sound samples. In the end, this is still an enjoyable though not great album, somewhat like the second part of "Operation:Mindcrime" that has been a good album in general, but a disappointment in the historical context to the band's greatest effort. So, I may give you and advice: Ignore the concept, skip the first tracks filled with underwater fart poetry and enjoy the bubbles of genius in the last five tunes or so of "American Soldier".