Warning [Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Queensrÿche | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 6, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B0000931Q3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,288 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The Warning began Queensryche's road to rock royalty. With its Orwellian themed lyrical content, stunning vocals & sheer musicianship, this conceptual prog-metal album helped launch their long tenure in the rock charts. Recorded in London in 1984, their debut LP was produced by James Guthrie (Pink Floyd) who truly captured the tenacity of this young quintet in the studio setting. Thanks in part to amazing tracks like "No Sanctuary" and "The Warning," this LP has truly been a fan favorite for years. Friday Music is pleased to announce the first time audiophile vinyl release of The Warning. --This text refers to the Vinyl edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Diamond in the Rough, February 17, 2005

By 

Michael Pope (Clinton, MS United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warning (Audio CD)

I bought "Operation: Mindcrime" on cassette when I was 13 and I remember being absolutely spellbound by it. So, a few months later while in a record store I eyed "The Warning" and immediately bought it with my hard-earned allowance money. Of course, I expected another Mindcrime...I was pleasantly mistaken. I'm 28 now and just picked up the remastered CD version of "The Warning" a few weeks ago. I am still surprised at the freshness and youthfulness of the music after all these years.

Geoff Tate has been one of my favorite metal vocalists for many years. Famed for his voice's operatic texture and a range about a mile wide, he doesn't disappoint here. My favorite aspect of "The Warning"'s vocals is the lyrical phrasing. The actual rythmn of the words takes you on a roller coaster-like journey through the album. Tate's word choice on this album is also sharp and intelligent, using "50 cent words" without sounding melodramatic or overdone.

The guitars of Wilton and DeGarmo compliment each other well, both taking turns shredding on every track. I seem to notice Eddie Jackson's bass more distinctively on this remastered edition (which is a plus). Rockenfield's drumwork is practically flawless in keeping time and tends to throw the listener a few rythmic curves every once in a while (to see if you're really paying attention!).

Without sounding too critical, "The Warning" is probably not what a neophyte Queensryche listener should start off with. This is due mainly to the fact that this album is not radio-friendly, even though I think I remember hearing "Take Hold of the Flame" on rock radio a few times. Try the two classics: "Operation Mindcrime" and "Empire"; then move to "Rage for Order" and "The Warning".

Progressive metal fans will like this album because it sometimes has hints of early Fates Warning (John Arch era). Though "The Warning" is purely original, one can feel a strong Iron Maiden influence in the music.

Choice cuts are "Deliverance", "Take Hold of the Flame", "Before the Storm", and the 9+ minute epic "Roads to Madness". The extra tracks on the remastered edition are filler at best - I usually stop the CD after "Roads to Madness".

P.S. The band's photo for the album (on the inside cover of the remastered edition) is one of the coolest (and yes, cheesiest) photos in heavy metal. I'm diggin' the all-black leather and eerie green mist motif!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take hold of the flame!, March 14, 2006

By 

J. Lancaster "Venonymous" (Salt Lake City, UT. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warning (Audio CD)

When you first hear this album from the first song 'Warning", and you hear passages like, "The child of centuries, forgotten in time/You talk in circles of rhyme/Seer of places future and past/The warning you gave us is surely our last/...Warning!" You know this isn't the newer Queensryche that a lot of people are used to from the mid-nineties on up, absolutely not...it's far better!

Well, what can I say that most of the other people haven't said? This particular Queensryche disc, will in my opinion, always be my favorite for the incredible range that Geoff's vocals exude, and the abundant melodical guitar passages on this album. It has a very special meaning to me and many others that grew up with this incredible band back when they first came out of nowhere and opened up our minds to a whole new genre of metal! I don't think I would've gotten into a band back then if it wasn't for this album!

True, many people praise 'Operation Mindcrime' as their best work. I agree to only some extent, because it's a different beast; "Mindcrime" is a concept album fueled by modern day atrosities in religion, politics, and greed. "The Warning" is also a concept album, which takes you on a futuristic journey detailing what happens to mankind in the future when he eventually realizes his own demise from the very machines he has created, essentially, the computer age. As evident in the song 'N M 156', "Uniform printout reads end of line/Protect code intact leaves little time/Erratic surveys, free thinking not allowed/My hands shake, my push buttons silence/The outside crowd/One world government has outlawed war among nations/Now social control requires population termination."

Where did these hauntingly surreal lyrics come from? George Orwell's book, 1984! This served as a catalyst for the mood and imagery on this album.

Moving on, I still get chills sometimes when I lay there and listen to 'Roads To Madness' (topping out at almost 10 minutes) in the way that it takes you through an incredible array of powerful and emotional vocals that make you wonder how Geoff Tate get's enough energy to make it through this in live performances! After a little over 7 minutes into the song, it's tempo takes off and shreds through about another 2 minutes to end leaving you feeling like you really were there in the story line. A song like this is a fine example of why he will always have a top position as one of the best rock vocalists in history.

But that's only a couple songs out of many great tunes on this album! I think what really stands out on this album (besides Geoff Tate's vocals of course) is the incredible emotions displayed by guitarist's Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, with their dual-lead guitar structures and beautiful melody lines along with Scott Rockenfield's extremely fluent and solid percussion work you can't ignore the incredible sonic journey it takes you through.

I'm very impressed with the new '24 bit Remastered' version I just received! It is definately an improvement over the original disc! I've started re-collecting all of the new 24 bit remastered versions now because of the better quality.

So, in closing, if you really want to know where Queensryche started their journey (besides their first EP from 1983 which is great, but more raw sounding of course) and hear them before they changed into a more commercial sound, buy this and put the headphones on and prepare to experience the beginnings of the Progressive Metal era from one of the masters!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best CDs ever, in the history of the rock genre., July 31, 2001

By 

I. MUNOZ (Montreal, PQ, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Warning (Audio CD)

This is one the finest metal CDs I've ever heard. A meticulously crafted album, with musical arrangements very well equilibrated and smart lyrics. Guitars are sober and accurate, while drums and bass are spectacular in the rhythmic baseline. I can't believe how mature sounds this band here, after listening their first public release, the Queensryche EP, which was a good attempt but still lacked of the sophisticated musicianship the band started showing from "The Warning".

You must remember that 1984 was a good year for metal fans, and I think that "The Warning" was one of the big protagonists of that show. There is no bad theme in this album. "Warning", "En force", "Deliverance", "Before the Storm" (those choirs!) and "Child of Fire" are bombastic, powerful, and at the same time beautiful and magnificent...; "No Sanctuary" and "Roads to Madness" are soulful and majestic. The latter, whose orchestration was done by Michael Kamen, is a real masterpiece and a vocal exercise of virtuosity by Geoff Tate, who also peaks to the heaven in "Take Hold of The Flame" (which is, by the way, one of the biggest songs ever written by Queensryche). "N M 156" is a weird song, very authentic, with harmonies that are not so common in the rock world.

Five stars is few to qualify this album, which is a refined expression of the best heavy metal and progressive rock heritage. Clever and brilliant. Worth the price, and even more!