Customer Reviews

Tribe

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(29)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Queensryche - my favorite rock band of all time. Personally, their last great CD was 1994s dark & moody "Promised Land". Since then they have released fairly mediocre albums both sonically & commercially.
With "Tribe" they return to their roots of hard-edged riffs, awesome melodies, & great lyrics. All the songs are very well crafted, reminiscent of "Empire".
Chris DeGarmo joined the rest of the band during the production of this CD & you can feel the difference. Don't believe me?? Listen to the "The Art of Life".
Enjoy & turn it up!!! Make sure your receiver goes to 11 :)

Tribe starts off with the powerful "Open". The song starts with a basic guitar chord pattern over flowing vocals. Nothing revolutionary, but it still works. The lyrical theme of the song is not being narrow minded, "open your eyes, and your mind." Nothing too cerebral, but yet, it rocks in its simplicity. The album continues forward with "Losing Myself". Losing Myself has an interesting drum intro, that segues into some soft vocals. The guitar builds in a growing crescendo, along with the vocals, "Push it further baby, careful with this burnout now!" This song is a perfect listen while driving, and perhaps this has to do with Geoff Tate's motorcycle trip across America (Neil Peart anyone?) that fueled his lyrics for this album. Next up is, "Desert Dance" which has a great guitar lead in the intro. Not the complex Queensr˙che of yore, but it still rocks. The first three songs on Tribe set a great, fast paced, rocking intro for the album, but "Falling Behind" slows things down for a while. Falling Behind is another stellar track, "We're running so fast to keep from falling behind." I like the simple guitar lead during the chorus, it fits well with the more laid back approach to songwriting found on Tribe. "Great Divide" is one of personal favorites from Tribe and is proof that the Wilton/Tate writing team is nothing to take lightly. "Take the flag we wave, the freedoms that we sing. Without respect for one another, it doesn't mean a thing." Tate still is singing with emotion after all these years. "Rhythm of Hope" starts off slow like Falling Behind, and while not one of my favorites, it's still a good song. The title track starts thing off with some crunchy heavy guitars that quickly get your attention. Tate delivers the lyrics in a near whisper until the chorus, "We're the same tribe." This album seems to be about the human condition, as observed by Geoff on his trip. "Blood" starts off quietly, with a decent guitar lead in the vein of Desert Dance. "It's all gone wrong and there's blood on our hands." Scott Rockenfield delivers some great drumming during the chorus. With "The Art of Life" we're beginning to near the end of the album, but the quality is still high. The Art of Life starts off heavy, like the title track. There's some simple, but interesting guitar work during the verses. The Art of Life is a DeGarmo/Tate track, and is quite good. Lastly we have "Doin' Fine" which doesn't sound like anything else on the album, and makes for a decent closer. "And I know that we'll all be fine." Indeed.

The key to enjoying Tribe is to take it for what it is, and not compare it to the Ryche's past works. Just listen to the album, and enjoy it for what's there, because it contains some very good songs. Sure, there's a distinct lack of guitar solos, but these songs don't need them; they are still tight compositions and more then worthy of their place on a Queensr˙che album. The band is still in fine form as well. Sure, Geoff isn't always wailing like a banshee, but that's just not necessary here. Tribe is an enjoyable, and unique album from Queensr˙che.

Fist off, this CD includes some of the best songs Queensryche has ever written, namely 'Open', 'Desert Dance', 'Rhythm of Hope' and 'Tribe'. Unfortunately, also includes 3 extremly poor songs, the last 3. 'Falling behind' and 'Great divide' are just fair, tasteless, odorless. About half album could easily have been pulled out from Mr. Tate's solo career, since the atmospheric mood, mellow rhythm and melody feel totally ballad-esque. It is my impression that since De Garmo left (he had lost direction and focus already before 'Hear ITN Frontier'), Tate took hold of the wheel, and the mellow results are, to me, disappointing. It is sad to hear Rockenfield almost falling asleep throughout the entire record, unable to (or ordered not to) deliver any substantial performance. Great Jackson does nothing I couldn't do myself. Half the songs are laid back, lacking 'tempo', screaming for a speed-up. Still, Tate is such an incredible singer so powerful, so precise, but feels like songs were composed in order for him to show the different ranges he can work at. I saw them live yesterday, and the live show they fixed for 'Tribe Tour' is real good, and he's matured as a frontman to really excel. Worth the concert, but not the record. Still, 4-5 songs are real great. Is it so hard to pull out an ambitious record a la 'Rage', 'Mindcrime' or 'Empire'?. All this introspective laid-back stuff just won't cut it for me. Such a pity to waste all this talent in pseudo-transcendental-minimalist songs. We need 12 songs like 'Open'.

If you are a fan of Operation: Mind Crime, don't buy this album. If you loved Empire, don't waste your money. If you pine for the days of the early, raw Queensryche, buy a compilation album. However, if you like todays uninspired, musically-challenged, cheese-whiz processed, I hate my mommy because she spanked me "metal" that seems to be in vogue, then this is a must have album. Gone are the days of blazing guitar riffs, memorable melodies and thought provoking lyrics. Listening to this album was like chewing on tin foil. It gave me that sad feeling that one gets when seeing a loved one suffer the effects of a dibilitating disease such as Alzhiemers or Parkinsons. All you can do is sit back and watch their decline as they become more and more distant. I had hoped for a new CD that would really reach in and grab my soul like Mindcrime, but this was not the case. Tribe is more closely akin to Q2K than anything else. Like producing a sequel to a classic movie, Queensryche should have stopped while they were ahead, after Empire.

Much was expected when it was announced that original guitarist Chris DeGarmo would be involved in some of the recording sessions for the new Queensryche Album "Tribe", for those expecting yet another Mindcrime Clone, you won't get your wish. But for those who loved Queensryche during the height of it's success (The "Empire" and Promised Land" era) they will love this CD.

The new album has something to offer for everyone. What was different about the last two Queensryche studio releases, 1997's "Hear In The Now Frontier" and 1999's "Q2k" was that while both albums contained some good music. There weren't many memorable songs that stood out. Certainly if you were picking a Greatest Hits Queensryche compilation, you wouldn't pull much material from those two disks. "Tribe" is a total turnaround. This CD contains some terrific and thought provoking material that is very memorable. The Album is themetic in that it's themes seem to draw from a post- September 11th atmosphere and on events surrounding the Iraq war. The questioning and searching of oneself, of America, of going to war, of the Bush Administration, on the Middle East situation. There is simply a LOT of SUBSTANCE here. This is a no-fluff zone folks, which is what endeared so many to Queensryche in the first place. The band has always been about making you think and feel and question during times when some of their peers were merely singing about hot babes and fast cars(see the 1980's) the Ryche were about so much more. Highlighting some of the songs:

The first single, "Open" is a direct questioning of the Bush administrations bravado and policies, as the chorus goes:"Open your eyes!!!, just see what you want to see!!, Open your eyes!!! you see yours isn't the only way!! Open your eyes!!!, to you everyone is blind! The guitar is pretty heavy here and the solo, is an assault on the senses, beginning with a heavy bass line and then sequeing into a powerful guitar riff.

The second song "Losing Myself" is a lighter, fun kind of song, that makes you want to hop in the car and head down the road at a fast speed! (but not too fast!)

"Desert Dance" the 3rd song, is almost worth the cost of the CD alone. Folks this song ROCKS. Terrific guitar, and layers of riffs similiar to that of "Damaged" from the "Promised Land" album. This song requires a LOUD volume setting.

Next is "Falling Behind" sort of a mid-tempo ballad with an accoustic guitar that almost has an Indian flavor to it. parts of This song lyrically touches on the conflict in Israel. A moving song that evokes thought.

Then you have "The Great Divide" a mid tempoed rock song similiar to say, "Promised Land" or "Disconnected" from the "Promised Land" Album. A very good song. "Rhythm Of Hope" is the closest thing to "Silent Lucidity" that the Ryche has done since "Empire", the string arrangements are beautiful and the song is so inspiring. "Tribe" the title song has a very heavy guitar riff, this is a powerful song. "Blood", is a deep song that centers on the Iraq conflict. Similiar in tone to "My Global Mind" from Promised Land with a little less heavy guitar. The album closes out with "The Art Of Life" a very heavy mid-tempo riff, I think this song is a masterpiece. A terrific tune. The CD ends with "Doin Fine", I think the title pretty much explains the song. Unlike "Someone Else" at the end of the "Promised Land" record, "Doin Fine" closes "Tribe" out on a positive note. It's the second lightest song on the record along with "Losing Myself."

Folks, this album is terrific. Queensryche's best since 1994's "Promised Land"!!

I remember the hype surrounding this album when it was about to be released: Chis DeGarmo was back with the band and not only wrote some of the tracks but played on them as well. Most people hailed it as the best Queensryche record since Promised Land and a return to form.

Sadly, many spins later this record is still everything that is wrong with the band this days: uninspired, unoriginal, emotionless music, crafted to fulfill recording obligations and nothing more. You can hear on the first listen that the band chemistry just isn't there, many of the songs sound like bad leftovers from the "Hear In The Now Frontier" days. Sure, DeGarmo is contributing, he is contibuting those awful guitar lines we all hated in the aforementioned record and nothing more.

Only songs worth mentioning and in my opinion worthy of the Queensryche name are "Blood" and "The Art Of Life", check the samples and hear for yourself these gems.

Let's hope that these guys make a better effort with the upcoming sequel to Operation: Mindcrime, we all know that they can do it.

Technically flawless. Insightful lyrics. Rhythmically tight. All evidence of professional musicians who know what they're doing. But that's where the praise stops for Queensryche's "Tribe." On this album, the songs don't do much to play to the strengths of each band member. The songs feel like the band was just trying to play it safe, to find a middle-of-the-road approach.

In short, the album would have been a success for any other band, but this fails for Queensryche because they have the 20+ year reputation of being QUEENSRYCHE -- whether a listener's first experience with 'Ryche was "Queen of the Reich" or "Silent Lucidity," Queensryche made their mark in uniqueness.

There is little unique about "Tribe", nor is there any overall distinction from track to track. Drummer Scott Rockenfield plays a similar beat through each song and singer Geoff Tate rarely strays from the "safe" low/mid-tenor. In fact, the only distinction "Tribe" bears is its distinct mediocrity.

Long-time fans of Queensryche may find themselves wondering when the monotony and blandness will give way to something mindblowing and attention-grabbing. Expectations of a rehash of "Operation: Mindcrime" or "Empire" are, of course, unrealistic, but both albums bore their own unique stamp in the Queensryche repertoire and declared unambiguously that they were QUEENSRYCHE albums -- no one else's!

"Tribe", unfortunately, doesn't bear that image and blends into the background of middle-of-the-road songs.

I was expecting Tribe to be a great comeback for Queensryche considering the fact that Q2k was a major let down. I heard Open and was hoping for greatness,but instead heard their lowpoint.The only reason to see this band live is to hear the old stuff.I believe sadly that Queensryche is incapable of making in more decent albums.This cd is sadly a waste of time.

While not nearly their best, "Tribe" is a significant improvement over the abysmal "Q2K" and the mediocre "Hear in the Now Frontier." Based on their last three albums, "Promised Land" marked the pinnacle of the band's creative output, though they continue to perform amazingly live (check out "Live Evolution"). As much as I'd love to see another "Operation Mindcrime," "Empire," or "Promised Land," I'm not sure the band has it in them anymore. I think fans will be satisfied with this disc, but not blown away. Unfortunately, I don't think newcomers will find much here to their liking.

Read "Dice's" review of this CD. He pretty much sums it all up.
I really like a couple of tracks on this CD. A few tracks are decent and a few tracks just plain suck. Anyone who has given this CD a rating of 1 or 5 stars is being a little too biased. I wanted to give this CD a 2 1/2 star rating so I had to bump it up to 3 stars because 2 stars seemed a little too low. Now I have to decide if I want to hang on to this CD or get rid of it. It's really that close of a call. In the meantime I'll keep listening to my other four Queensryche CD's; Operation Mindcrime, Empire, Promised Land (my personal favorite), and their "Greatest Hits".