Revolution Calling - Queensrÿche (1988)

"Who do you trust when everyone's a crook?" is the question Queensrÿche posed in 1988 with the track "Revolution Calling" from their 1988 prog-metal masterpiece "Operation: Mindcrime." The song is the first full song on the album, and serves to set the scene for the rest of the story- and it is a very bleak scene, that is almost prophetic when viewed from our vantage in the year 2011- 23 years after it was written. I'm sure everyone has been exposed to all the volatile political news over the past few years, and, no matter which side you support, or even if you refuse to support any side- we can all agree that something is terribly wrong (although we could debate forever what actually is wrong and how to fix it!)

"Revolution Calling" describes a world mired in corruption, and political upheaval. The government is portrayed as corrupt and ineffective at best, and outright hostile to the public at worst. This idea, though penned 23 years ago, should have a familiar ring to it. The song goes one step further, and implies that things are bad enough that some people feel that an open revolt is long overdue- the story unfolds as various characters take advantage of, and/or allow themselves to be manipulated by this sentiment. Rather than talk about it, watch the video, and read the lyrics (below the jump), and see how much it reminds you of current events.

American Soldier vs Food.... (Queensrÿche)

So I was channel surfing when I stumbled onto a repeat of the Travel Channel's "Man Vs. Food Nation" where host Adam Richman helps coach challengers through outrageously large, outrageously spicy, or sometime both, eating challenges. I've watched the show but not on a regular basis- usually just catching whatever reruns are on, so I stopped to watch since it was an episode I hadn't seen yet.

It got really interesting when I noticed that the guy attempting to pack away a massive 6-pound muffaletta sandwich was proudly wearing a Queensrÿche T-shirt from their "American Soldier" tour. Something seemed familiar, but I couldn't place it until I googled the episode guide- this was none other than A.J. Fratto, former crew chief for the Blue Angels Navy Flight Demonstration Squandron, lead singer of the metal band Below the Stitch in Pensacola, Florida. Back in 2007, AJ was approached by Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate to lend his voice to the "American Soldier" album. On the following tour, AJ went along to play the part of *The* American Soldier, opening the set, and taking the stage with the band.As a result, AJ retired from his 15 year military career to pursue his lifelong dream of singing professionally, and hasn't looked back since.

(Warning! Spoilers after the break!)

New Dream Theater track available for streaming...

Dream Theater is back with their first recording in 25 years without Mike Portnoy behind the drum set.  Mike Portnoy's spot is now occupied by Mike Mangini - who held five of the World's fastest drumming records form 2002-2005 including an amazing 1247 single strokes in 60 seconds using matched grip. Mike has also appeared on The Discovery Channel show "Time Warp" (season 1, episode 16) demonstrating extreme drumming for the show's time bending high speed cameras.

Dream Theatre has released a stream of their first post-Portnoy single, "On the Backs of Angels" from their upcoming album "A Dramatic Turn of Events" which is due to be released on September 13th, 2011.

Adrenaline Mob New Album Teaser...

Former Dream Theater and Avenged Sevenfold drummer Mike Portnoy has a new project that is about to come to fruition. He's teamed up with singer Russell Allen (Symphony X), Guitarists Mike Orlando (Sonic Stomp) and Rich Ward (Fozzy), and bassist Paul DiLeo to form a new band called Adrenaline Mob, and have nearly completed their debut album.

On Friday, June 24, the Adrenaline Mob performed their first live gig in New York City, and gave the metal world a sneak peek of their new album, and did a few covers of old favorites. There does not appear to be a release date set, but it wold appear that the album will be arriving relatively soon.

Mike Portnoy stated to AOL Noisecreep "I've listened to these tunes so many times already and all I want to do is go out and play them live with this band. I've always had lots of side projects in my life, but what's exciting for me is knowing that Adrenaline Mob is bigger than that. This is a real band with a real future and 11 new songs that I think the fans are going to flip for. This last year for me has been such an emotional rollercoaster, with lots of dramatic highs and lows, so to be in this place right now with these guys and this music — let's just say it's a very happy place for me."

The band respectfully asked their fans to not post recordings of the new material online, but the band has released a teaser clip featuring short sound bytes from their upcoming album, check it out below:

Around the World - Queensrÿche (2011) - pre-release track

Queensrÿche has (pre) released a single from their upcoming album "Dedicated to Chaos" for download from their official facebook page.

The track is very telling- while it is a well crafted song in it's own right, it represents a very different musical direction than the sound from the band's heyday before the departure of guitarist Chris DeGarmo in 1997- which will no doubt disappoint many fans who have been hungry for another prog-metal magnum opus like their 1988 "Operation:Mindcrime" production.

I have to hesitate to label this track as "Progressive Metal" - it really is not. On the "progressive" side of the coin- I can see it as an experiment with different styles, but is it metal? Not really, in my book.

Dedicated to Chaos - Queensrÿche (2011) - early sneak peek available

Progressive rockers Queensrÿche has not enjoyed the same levels of success they had in the 1990s back before guitarist Chris DeGarmo left the band, but they have still been producing music and touring.

June of 2011 will mark the release of their 12th studio album, entitled "Dedicated to Chaos," and the band's 30th anniversary. Frontman Geoff Tate likens the album to their very successful 1990 release, "Empire"



On the official Queensrÿche website, Geoff Tate has stated that the album is a "clash and slash of musical experimentation anchored by the pulse of digital code." On the Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles website, Tate has also divulged "It's kind of a modern approach to song arrangement - utilizing different sound effects and sounds sources; playing the instruments in a different way than what we have before; really experimenting a lot with the structure of rhythm and bringing it into what's modern." 

The album will be available in late June, but the album is available for pre-order, and audio samples are up on amazon here for anyone who wants to get a sneak peek.