Okay, let me start by saying that I really like Queensrÿche. No, really. Does that sound too defensive? Does it make me sound like I feel guilty about the way that I feel about this record? Well, maybe I am a little guilty. I don't know, maybe not "guilty". Disappointed, perhaps. Yes, that's a good description of how I feel, disappointed, and a little let down.

You see, I know that Queensrÿche are capable of so much more. One listen to "Operation: Mindcrime", and you know that not only do these guys mean business, they also happen to know what they're doing, which is a useful talent for anyone in the progressive metal business. There's no doubt that this album sounds like Queensrÿche, and I can't really fault the technical aspects of the music, it's just that it's not... it's not as good. And I don't know why.

I've listened to this record a few times now, hoping that it'll grow on me, and that I'll see what the band is trying to say. It's not working though. Sure, it's a good enough record, the first track Open features a great chorus with plenty of hooks, the occasional touches of electronica here and there aren't overdone, and the lyrics are certainly deep and complex. There are a couple of changes in the band formula, such as the absence of a large number of guitar solos (this could be seen as a good thing, or a bad thing), and the fact that the music seems to be influenced a lot by mainstream alt-rock, which again, can either be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. The requisite "eastern" influence is even packed onto this album, displayed most obviously in the introduction of Desert Dance. The band execute it well enough, not turning it into a crutch or a cliché, but it's been done so often now that I wonder if they couldn't have found some other culture to plunder for musical ideas.

So what's my problem? Well, probably what I said above lies at the root of it. This record is "good enough". It's not brilliant, it's not visionary, and it doesn't sound like the band is even trying particularly hard. It's a tribute to their talent as musicians that they can go lazy and still pump out a passable album, but this release is just a bit too dry and bland to really do justice to their name. It's not terrible, but you shouldn't accept a record like this when you know that a band can do better.