''Empire'' is the fourth full-length studio album by the American
heavy metal band
Queensrÿche, released on September 4, 1990. The album stands as Queensrÿche's most commercially successful release, reaching triple-platinum status.
The primary single, the
power ballad "
Silent Lucidity", reached number 1 on the
Mainstream Rock Tracks
Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...
and number 9 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
"Silent Lucidity" was also nominated in 1992 for the
Grammy Awards
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The album won a 1991 Northwest Area Music Award for Best Metal Recording.
In a June 2019 interview, former vocalist Geoff Tate announced his intentions to perform the entire album live in 2020 to celebrate its 30th anniversary. He also said that there will be a new 30th anniversary edition box set.
Reception
''Empire'' has received generally positive reviews from critics since its release.
AllMusic praised the album, selecting the songs "Jet City Woman", "Empire", and "Silent Lucidity" as the album's best tracks. The review stated that the band went for "a song-oriented approach that is more
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
and less metal" with lyrics that talk about social and physical handicaps in "Best I Can" and issues such as poverty and regret in "Della Brown" and romance with "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" and "Hand On Heart". The reviewer concluded by praising the band's mature sound and the work of producer
Peter Collins.
[
'' Record Collector'' gave the 20th anniversary edition of the album a generally positive review. The reviewer called the album a "very pleasant, but only intermittently gripping" listen, identifying the songs "Best I Can", "Silent Lucidity", and "Jet City Woman" as some of the band's best material. Comparing ''Empire'' to the band's earlier albums, '' The Warning'' and '' Rage for Order'', the reviewer wrote that it is "a little boring". The reviewer concluded by calling the live CD accompanying the re-issue "flawless", making it a "worthwhile reissue".]Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
's " Comfortably Numb". Begrand had a mixed reaction to the live CD and referred to the cover of " Scarborough Fair" as being "abysmal".[
Jim Farber of '' Entertainment Weekly'' was highly critical of the album. He criticized both the album's progressive metal riffs, calling them "tuneless bombast", and the dire nature of the lyrics. Farber concluded his review by calling the band members "relentless killjoys".]
Track listing
Personnel
;Queensrÿche
* Geoff Tate – vocals, keyboards
* Chris DeGarmo – six-string and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards (on "Best I Can"), lead guitar (on "Best I Can", "Jet City Woman", "Silent Lucidity", "Anybody Listening"), harmony vocals (on "Anybody Listening"), backing vocals
* Michael Wilton – six-string and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, lead guitar (on "Empire", "Resistance", "Another Rainy Night")
* Eddie Jackson Eddie Jackson is the name of:
*Eddie Jackson (chef) (born 1980), American NFL safety and Food Network host
* Eddie Jackson (safety) (born 1993), American football player for the Chicago Bears
* Edward Jackson (footballer) (1925–1996), Australian ...
– bass, backing vocals
* Scott Rockenfield – drums, percussion
;Additional personnel
* Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements on "Silent Lucidity", conductor
* Randy Gane – answering machine message on "Empire"
* Robert Bailey – keyboards, keyboard programming
;Production
* Peter Collins – producer
* James Barton — engineer, mixing at Royal Recorders Studios, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Lake Geneva is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located in Walworth County and situated on Geneva Lake, it is home to an estimated 8,105 people as of 2019, up from 7,651 at the 2010 census. It is located about 40 miles southwest of Milwa ...
* Marcus Ramaer – assistant engineer
* Dan Harjung – mixing assistant
* Paul Northfield — engineer on tracks 6, 12, 14
* Neil Kernon — producer and engineer on track 13Bob Ludwig
Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...
– mastering at Masterdisk
Masterdisk is an American multimedia company in New York, located at 8 John Walsh Boulevard in Peekskill. They provide production services such as audio mastering, vinyl cutting and enhanced CD and DVD production.
Their clients include such no ...
, New York
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
* List of glam metal albums and songs
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire (Queensryche album)
1990 albums
Queensrÿche albums
EMI Records albums
Albums produced by Peter Collins (record producer)
Albums recorded at Greenhouse Studios