Album Review — Sweet Oblivion
Sweet Oblivion featuring Geoff Tate — S/T
Geoff Tate has been quite active since leaving Queensryche. He released a solo album, an album under the Queensryche moniker, then a trilogy of albums under the name Operation:Mindcrime. Now Tate has been recruited by Frontiers to work with some Italian musicians on a new project called Sweet Oblivion.
Tate seemed to shy away a bit from the old school Queensryche sound up until now, but with Sweet Oblivion we hear him singing songs closer to the earlier Queensryche catalogue. This record didn’t get a lot of hype, but I think it’s deserving of a track by track review.
True Colors — Cool guitar intro that sounds like old Queensryche. Tate comes in with a very Mindcrime vocal. Great chorus. The sound is a great mix of very early Queensryche, Mindcrime and Empire. Nice guitar solo followed by what sounds like a keyboard solo, but definitely not cheesy keyboard. Really strong start.
Sweet Oblivion — Very similar guitar riff to start this one as the opening track. Then into dual guitars reminiscent of Mindcrime, then the verse that’s very Jet City Woman sounding. The chorus also has an Empire-like sound to it. The album sounds like a modern take on peak Queensryche. Tate sounds right on. He may not have the crazy range he once had, but his voice is still very strong and there’s plenty of range to make things interesting. The guitar playing is so far is excellent. Another very good song.
Behind Your Eyes — A little keyboard at the start but another heavy guitar riff follows. A really cool pre-chorus leads to a chorus where Tate pushes his range a bit more and pulls it off. Another strong guitar solo. This sounds like the record that could have been the bridge between Mindcrime and Empire. Three for three to kick things off.
Hide Away — Tate sounds a little like Bruce Dickinson to kick off Hide Away. Musically, this one sounds more Mindcrime than anything has so far. The verses reminds me quite a bit of The Mission. We get a little piano and that classic deep voice before the guitar solo. This is more like classic Queensryche than anything they released after Empire. Anyone that thinks Tate left Queensryche because he couldn’t sing it anymore will see that just isn’t the case. Another winner.
My Last Story — A little more mellow to start this one. Tate is a master at voice inflection to convey a story and he’s still got it. The song kicks in around the one minute mark and it’s classic Queensryche. I really like this chorus. I’m not sure who wrote these songs, but whoever did understood what made classic Queensryche so good. It’s moody and heavy and melodic and Tate’s voice and inflection takes it to the next level. So good.
A Recess From My Fate — Another classic sounding song from the start. They have nailed the guitar sound and although there’s some keyboards now and then, this is definitely a guitar record. This one has all the classic elements without sounding like a specific era. Another keyboard solo follows the guitar solo which works, although being a guitar guy, I’d much rather hear a longer guitar solo.
Transition — If Tate wasn’t singing these songs, they would still sound like Queensryche songs. This band has really captured that sound that you instantly recognize. Tate’s vocals bring authenticity. Transition is a good song, but not one of the standouts.
Disconnect — A little more mellow to start this one. We don’t hear the very low or very high registers of the past, but Tate starts this one a little lower here. This one sounds a little post-Empire to me. Has a similar feel to “Anybody Listening”. I really like this song. Lots of emotion in the vocal. It’s not a ballad, but it’s definitely a slower tempo than most of the songs here. Tate can sing anything as he has one of the greatest voices of all time, but his voice really shines on a song like “Disconnect”. An album highlight for me.
The Deceiver — Mindcrime sounding drums kick off The Deceiver. Keyboards layer in which is one of the few non-Queensryche moments of the record. For me, this one could have gone one more step toward the early Queensryche metal sound. The guitar solo is really strong, but I would have liked this one to have a little more teeth to it. It’s a good song, but maybe a bit of a missed opportunity.
Seek The Light — The album closer is another really good song. I like when bands make a statement to close an album, so I would have preferred to place “Disconnect” here, but I do like this song.
Up until now, this year has been full of big expectations that haven’t quite been met. But now we get a record that I didn’t even know was coming out until a few weeks ago and it’s easily the best record I’ve heard this year. It’s so good to hear Geoff Tate doing what he does best. It’s not a perfect record as I think the band could have pushed the envelope a bit more at times, but we get ten really strong songs that take me back to my favorite era of one of my favorite bands without sounding old. Well done.
95 out of 100.
Track Listing
- True Colors *
- Sweet Oblivion *
- Behind Your Eyes
- Hide Away
- My Last Story *
- A Recess From My Fate
- Transition
- Disconnect *
- The Deceiver
- Seek The Light
*Best Songs