''Promised Land'' is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...

and their highest charting record to date. It was released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

on October 18, 1994, four years after their successful ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' album. The album was re-released on June 10, 2003, in a remastered edition with bonus tracks.

Song overview

The album opens with "9.28 a.m.", a

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, ...

sequence put together by drummer

Scott Rockenfield Scott Rockenfield (born June 15, 1963), also known as SRock, is an American drummer and composer. He is best known as the drummer for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, which he co-founded in 1982, and the hard rock band Slave to the Syste ...

. The band wanted to create a cinematic and moody intro, and Rockenfield was given complete freedom to make something. Rockenfield recorded natural sounds using a portable

ADAT Alesis Digital Audio Tape (ADAT) is a magnetic tape format used for the recording of eight digital audio tracks onto the same S-VHS tape used by consumer VCRs. Although it is a tape-based format, the term ''ADAT'' now refers to its successo ...

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

, which he processed through a rack of effects and designed his own sound effects out of it. Some of the recorded sounds appear on other tracks, such as the sound of a train on "Disconnected". "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." segues into " I Am I". This song is driven by a heavy riff and

Geoff Tate Geoff Tate (born Jeffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959; he later changed his first name to Geoffery or Geoffrey) (Pp. 11, 48). is an American singer and songwriter. He rose to fame with the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, who had commercial ...

's vocals to a background of percussion instruments.

Chris DeGarmo Christopher Lee DeGarmo (born June 14, 1963) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a rhythm and lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche from their formation in 1 ...

performs cello and sitar parts as well as the guitar solo. After almost four minutes it merges into "Damaged", a straightforward heavy rocker. "Out of Mind" and the subsequent "

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

" are quiet acoustic pieces, with lyrics 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 dark piece, full of Rockenfield tape effects, DeGarmo/Wilton twin guitar work, and marks Tate's first appearance as a saxophonist. On this track, the theme 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 "Welcome to the Machine" is the second song on Pink Floyd's 1975 album ''Wish You Were Here''. It features heavily processed synthesizers and acoustic guitars, as well as a wide range of tape effects. Both the music and the lyrics were written b ...

" on

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 ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

'', which deals with a similar subject matter). These sound effects merge into "Disconnected," an alienating piece dealing with American consumer society. It features Tate on sax again. The subsequent "Lady Jane" deals with the similar theme of the influence of commercials. It is a ballad featuring DeGarmo on piano and another twin solo. "My Global Mind" is another rock song dealing with globalization. After that, "One More Time" is an acoustic rocker, with lyrics in the vein of the title track. The album's final track, "Someone Else?", only features Tate on vocals and DeGarmo on piano.

Legacy

In July 2014, ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' ranked ''Promised Land'' at number 23 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original liner notes.

Personnel

;Queensrÿche *

– vocals, saxophone, keyboards *

– lead & rhythm guitar, piano, cello, sitar *

Michael Wilton Michael F. Wilton (born February 23, 1962) also known as The Whip, for how fast his fingers "whip" around the guitar fretboard, is an American musician, best known for being a guitarist and songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, w ...

– lead & rhythm guitar * Eddie Jackson – bass guitar *

– drums, percussion, tape effects ;Production *Queensrÿche - producers, engineers, mixing at

Bad Animals Studio Studio X (formerly known as Bad Animals Studio and Kaye-Smith Studios.) is a music and media recording studio on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle, Washington, United States. Originally part of thKaye-Smith Enterprisesmedia conglomerate founded by ...

, Seattle, Summer 1994 *James Barton – producer, engineer, mixing *Phil Brown – assistant to the producer *Tom Hall – engineer *Eric Fischer – assistant engineer *Matt Gruber – mixing assistant *Don Tyler - digital editing *

Stephen Marcussen Stephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California, United States. He has been mastering music since 1979. Biography Marcussen's introduction to music recording happened in 1976 when, at ...

– mastering *

Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist and member of the Premier Artists Collection (PAC) who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared on some Rush ...

– art direction, design, illustrations

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Promised Land (Queensryche album) Queensrÿche albums 1994 albums EMI Records albums Albums produced by James Barton (producer)