QUEENSRYCHE'S TRIBE

When you've been a band for 20 some years, how do you continue to make original music without repeating yourself? How do you keep from falling into the trap that so many bands like AC/DC and Aerosmith fall into-- making the same album every two years? Each song becomes interchangeable with the next. Someone from those bands should ask Queensryche.
Tribe marks the 'Ryche's tenth album. While retaining elements of the band's trademark sound, it pushes off in new directions previously untapped. Many songs are based on Scott Rockenfield's rhythmic tribal drumming; beefy guitars running exotic scales, while Geoff Tate's voice runs from low, dangerous "Gonna Get Close To You" tones, to high-pitched energetic chants.
While incorporating world music (most apparent on "Desert Dance" and the title track) they have also added a heavier Alice In Chains-style chugging into some of the new tunes. Tribe reflects flecks from past albums (especially Empire) without repeating itself, and the new intensity present in the band is stunning.
Many of the album's songs are dark visions of the direction the world is taking under the present regime. But Queensryche has clearly found a fusion between their recent themes of self-discovery, while commenting on the political aspects of our world. The difference between the way topics like this are handled by Queensryche as opposed to other bands is in their mature approach.
They're asking questions about the world and the listener that aren't easy to answer, but they don't wallow in despair. There is always a feeling of hope. Somehow, by thinking about things and asking questions, we can find a way out. Juxtaposing lyrics like these against the world-influenced music may suggest the answer in and of itself. Maybe the answer lies in the past. Perhaps they are hinting that we've gotten too far away from our roots. With an album this finely crafted, I doubt that anything like that could be chalked up as just coincidence.
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