Frequency Unknown

by Queensryche

Overview

Since there are now two bands named Queensryche, we'll sort out that this is the one led by founding vocalist Geoff Tate, created after he was fired in 2012 and rushed out the tepid solo album Kings & Thieves in the fall. The lineup of Tate's Queensryche includes some heavyweight hired guns: bassist Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot), guitarist Kelly Gray (Queensryche 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane, guitarist Robert Sarzo (Quiet Riot), and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio). Producer Jason Slater also plays bass here. In addition, Tate enlisted the help of some equally well-known guests on these ten tracks including K.K. Downing (Judas Priest), Ty Tabor (King's X), Craig Locicero (Forbidden), and Paul Bostaph (Slayer) to name a few. In addition to the new tracks are four "bonus cuts," re-recordings of Queensryche classics: "Jet City Woman," "Silent Lucidity," "I Don't Believe in Love," and "Empire." Opening track and first single "Cold" (essentially a flip-off to former bandmates) has an enormous Locicero riff that recalls the band's glory days. "Dare" offers crisp drumming, excellent guitar work, and a killer bridge. But not all the news here is good. As a whole, Frequency Unknown suffers from subpar, muddy sound, which basically mars the entire record. Tate's voice is often pushed toward the mid-level of the mix instead of up front where it belongs. What, after all, is a Queensryche record without him wailing right up front? He's still got a hell of a voice from what we can hear of it here. On the plus side, there are some terrific songs, including "Life Without You," "Fallen," and "The Weight of the World," which are well-crafted prog metal tunes, and some killer rockers such as "Slave" and "Running Backwards," but their barely present vocals and muddy guitar sounds kill their impact. The re-recordings of classic tracks were totally unnecessary. The bottom line on Frequency Unknown is that while it's easy to understand why Tate would want to be the first to issue a recording under that band's name in order to claim legitimacy (especially since there are lawsuits involved from both sides), it was recorded with lack of a real recording budget -- at least for a Queensryche album. The fault for this may lie with Dead Line's parent label, Cleopatra, whose catalog is notorious for sketchy sound quality, and here it really shows. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	09/15/2023
Label:	Dead Line Music
UPC:	0889466330520
Rank:	5007

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Queensryche   Primary Artist
Brad Gillis   Soloist,Guitar
Dave Meniketti   Guitar,Soloist
Evan Bautista   Drums
Simon Wright   Drums
Emily Tate   Vocals (Background)
Randy Gane   Bass,Voices,Keyboards
Robert Sarzo   Guitar,Soloist
Miranda Tate   Vocals (Background)
Craig Locicero   Guitar (Rhythm)
Martin Irigoyen   Bass,Drums,Guitar
Jon Levin   Guitar,Soloist
Chris Cannella   Guitar,Soloist
Nina Noir   Spoken Word,Vocals (Background)
Paul Bostaph   Drums
Kelly Gray   Guitar,Soloist
Chris Poland   Guitar,Soloist
Geoff Tate   Vocals
Ty Tabor   Guitar,Soloist
Jason Slater   Bass,Soloist,Theremin,Keyboards
Rudy Sarzo   Bass
K.K. Downing   Guitar,Soloist

Technical Credits

Brian Perera   Executive Producer
Glenn Fricker   Mixing
Billy Sherwood   Mixing,Arranger
Fred Coury   Mixing
Voytek Kochanek   Mixing
Michael Wilton   Composer
Randy Gane   Composer,Lyricist,Orchestration
Maor Appelbaum   Mastering
Marc Mozart   Mixing,Mastering
Anthony Clarkson   Artwork
Chris Cox   Composer,Composer
Lukas Rossi   Composer
Martin Irigoyen   Composer
Chris DeGarmo   Composer,Lyricist
Anthony Focx   Mixing
Geoff Tate   Composer,Lyricist
Jason Slater   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Pete Amato   Mixing
Juergen Engler   Mixing
Jeff Albright   Publicity
Andy Dequara   Engineer
Chris Lif   Mixing