Promised Land (Queensrÿche album)

Promised Land
Studio album by Queensrÿche
Released October 18, 1994
Recorded At home, The Dungeon, and Big Log Studio, Seattle, Washington,
Triad Studios, Redmond, Washington,
Music Grinder Studio, Hollywood, California,
August 1992 – May 1994
Genre Progressive metal, progressive rock
Length 48:03
Label EMI
Producer Queensrÿche and James Barton
Queensrÿche chronology
Operation: Livecrime
(1991)		 Promised Land
(1994)		 Hear in the Now Frontier
(1997)
Singles from Promised Land
  1. "I Am I"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Bridge"
    Released: 1994
  3. "Someone Else?"
    Released: 1995
Music sample
"I Am I"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[3]
Q[4]

Promised Land is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Queensrÿche and their highest charting record to date. It was released by EMI on 18 October 1994, four years after their successful Empire album. The album was re-released on June 10, 2003 in a remastered edition with bonus tracks.

Song overview

The songs on this album are tied together firmly by the theme of success and how to deal with it, and reflections on American society and how that shapes our goals in life.

The album opens with "9.28 a.m.", a musique concrète sequence put together by drummer Scott Rockenfield. The band wanted to have a cool intro that was cinematic and moody, and Rockenfield was given complete freedom to make something.[5] Rockenfield went out to record natural sounds using a portable ADAT tape recorder, which he sent through a rack of effects in his apartment and started designing his own sound effects out of it.[5] Some of the recorded sounds also appear on other tracks on the record, such as the sound of a train on "Disconnected".[5] "9.28 a.m." follows a soul from death through the ether into a reincarnation, and rebirth, followed by the sound of a crying baby. The title refers to the time Rockenfield was born.

"9.28 a.m." floats into "I Am I". This song is driven by a heavy riff and Geoff Tate's trademark vocals to a background of percussion instruments. Chris DeGarmo performs cello and sitar parts on this song as well as the guitar solo. After almost four minutes it merges into "Damaged", a more straightforward heavy rocker.

"Out of Mind" and the subsequent "Bridge" are more quiet acoustic pieces, both of whose lyrics were written by Chris DeGarmo. The last one deals with the relationship with his father, who died during the Promised Land sessions.

The eight-minute title track is the first track in the Queensrÿche catalogue to be credited to the entire group. It is a rather dark piece, full of Rockenfield tape effects, DeGarmo/Wilton twin guitar work and it marks Tate's first appearance as a saxophonist. On this track, the theme of the album is most present, as it deals with the drawbacks of success. It ends in a bar scene of people talking and drinking (slightly reminiscent of the ending of "Welcome to the Machine" on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, which deals with a similar subject matter). These sound effects merge into "Disconnected," a rather alienating piece dealing with the American consumerist society. It features Tate on sax again.

The subsequent "Lady Jane" deals with the similar theme of the influence of commercials. It is a heavy ballad featuring DeGarmo on piano and another twin solo.

"My Global Mind" is another more straightforward rock song dealing with globalization. After that, "One More Time" is an acoustic rocker, with lyrics much in the vein of the title track.

The album's final track, "Someone Else?", features just Tate on vocals and DeGarmo on piano.

Legacy

In July 2014, Guitar World ranked Promised Land at number 23 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[6]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "9:28 a.m."  Scott Rockenfield 1:44
2. "I Am I"  Chris DeGarmo, Geoff Tate 3:57
3. "Damaged"  DeGarmo, Tate 3:58
4. "Out of Mind"  DeGarmo 4:35
5. "Bridge"  DeGarmo 3:29
6. "Promised Land"  DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, Rockenfield, Tate, Michael Wilton 7:58
7. "Disconnected"  Rockenfield, Tate 4:45
8. "Lady Jane"  DeGarmo 4:14
9. "My Global Mind"  DeGarmo, Rockenfield, Tate, Wilton 4:21
10. "One More Time"  DeGarmo, Tate 4:18
11. "Someone Else?"  DeGarmo, Tate 4:44
Total length:
 48:03

[7]

Personnel

Band members

Album credits

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
1994 Billboard 200 (USA)[8] 3
Swedish Albums Chart[9] 6
German Albums Chart[10] 10
UK Albums Chart[11] 13
Swiss Albums Charts[12] 14
Oricon Japanese Albums Charts[13] 16
Dutch Albums Chart[14] 16
RPM100 Albums (Canada)[15] 28
Austrian Albums Chart[16] 38
Singles
Year Title Chart Position
1994 "I Am I" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 8
RPM100 Hit Tracks (Canada)[18] 76
1995 UK Singles Chart[19] 40
"Bridge" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 6
UK Singles Chart[20] 40
RPM100 Hit Tracks (Canada)[21] 58
"Disconnected" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 32

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1994 Platinum (+ 1,000,000)[22]
Canada CRIA 1994 Gold (50,000)[23]

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Promised Land - Queensrÿche". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  2. ↑ Webber, Brad (15 December 1994). "Queensryche Promised Land (EMI)". articles.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  3. ↑ Eddy, Chuck (21 October 1994). "Album Review: 'Promised Land' Review". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  4. ↑ "Queensrÿche - Promised Land". Q: 142. December 1994.
  5. 1 2 3 "Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche) 2013 Interview on the Signals of Intuition". The Signals of Intuition. 99.1 CJAM-FM. 2013-05-25. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  6. ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Promised Land liner notes (original US edition). EMI Records. 1994.
  8. ↑ "Promised Land Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  9. ↑ "Queensrÿche - Promised Land (album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  10. ↑ "Album – Queensrÿche, Promised Land". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  11. ↑ "Queensryche Promised Land Chart Stats". Chart Archive.org. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  12. ↑ "Queensrÿche - Promised Land". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  13. ↑ クイーンズライク - クイーンズライクのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  14. ↑ "Queensrÿche - Empire (Album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  15. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 60, No. 16, November 07 1994". Library and Archives Canada. 7 November 1994. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  16. ↑ "Queensrÿche - Promised Land (album)". Austriancharts.at (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  17. 1 2 3 "Promised Land Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  18. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 60, No. 18, November 21, 1994". Library and Archives Canada. 21 November 1994. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  19. ↑ "Queensryche I Am I Chart Stats". Chart Archive.org. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  20. ↑ "Queensryche Bridge Chart Stats". Chart Archive.org. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  21. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 60, No. 26, January 30, 1995". Library and Archives Canada. 30 January 1995. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  22. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Queensryche. Retrieved on 2013-02-15.
  23. ↑ "CRIA Gold and Platinum Search: Queensryche". Music Canada. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
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