Empire (Queensrÿche album)
1990 studio album by Queensrÿche
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Empire is the fourth studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche, released on September 4, 1990. The album is Queensrÿche's most commercially successful release, reaching triple-platinum status.[16] The primary single, the power ballad "Silent Lucidity", reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.[17] "Silent Lucidity" was also nominated in 1992 for the Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.[18] The album won a 1991 Northwest Area Music Award for Best Metal Recording.[19]
- Vancouver Studios in Vancouver, Canada
- Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington (tracks 6, 12–14)
| Empire | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 4, 1990[1] | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Pop metal,[2][3][4] progressive metal | |||
| Length | 63:23 | |||
| Label | EMI USA | |||
| Producer | Peter Collins | |||
| Queensrÿche chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Empire | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"Silent Lucidity" | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10[10] |
| Entertainment Weekly | D[11] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [12] |
| Select |   [13] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| PopMatters | 6/10[14] |
| Record Collector | [15] |
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 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.[9]
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".[15] PopMatters reviewer Adrien Begrand also reviewed the album's 20th anniversary release. Begrand called the album an "enigma" that's "beautifully produced and features some of the band's quintessential songs, but at the same time it's a rather bloated, conceptually scattershot piece of work containing filler that honestly has not aged very well". Begrand praised the songs "Empire", "Another Rainy Night", and "Silent Lucidity", calling them the album's best tracks, favorably comparing "Silent Lucidity" to Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb", which also includes orchestra arrangements from Michael Kamen. Begrand had a mixed reaction to the live CD and referred to the cover of "Scarborough Fair" as being "abysmal".[14]
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".[11]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Best I Can" | Chris DeGarmo | 5:30 |
| 2. | "The Thin Line" | DeGarmo, Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton | 5:42 |
| 3. | "Jet City Woman" | DeGarmo, Tate | 5:20 |
| 4. | "Della Brown" | DeGarmo, Scott Rockenfield, Tate | 7:04 |
| 5. | "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" | DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, Tate | 4:44 |
| 6. | "Empire" | Tate, Wilton | 5:07 |
| 7. | "Resistance" | Tate, Wilton | 4:47 |
| 8. | "Silent Lucidity" | DeGarmo | 5:45 |
| 9. | "Hand on Heart" | DeGarmo, Tate, Wilton | 5:30 |
| 10. | "One and Only" | DeGarmo, Wilton | 5:52 |
| 11. | "Anybody Listening?" | DeGarmo, Tate | 7:40 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Last Time in Paris" | DeGarmo, Tate | 3:51 |
| 13. | "Scarborough Fair" (produced by Queensrÿche and Neil Kernon, recorded in 1986[20]) | Traditional | 3:51 |
| 14. | "Dirty Lil Secret" | DeGarmo, Tate | 4:07 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Resistance" | 4:33 | |
| 2. | "Walk in the Shadows" | DeGarmo, Tate, Wilton | 3:56 |
| 3. | "Best I Can" | 5:16 | |
| 4. | "Empire" | 5:11 | |
| 5. | "The Thin Line" | 5:43 | |
| 6. | "Jet City Woman" | 5:30 | |
| 7. | "Roads to Madness" | DeGarmo, Tate, Wilton | 9:32 |
| 8. | "Silent Lucidity" | 5:43 | |
| 9. | "Hand on Heart" | 5:17 | |
| 10. | "Take Hold of the Flame" | DeGarmo, Tate | 5:10 |
Personnel
- Queensrÿche
- Geoff Tate – lead 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 – 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
- Marcus Ramaer – assistant engineer
- Dan Harjung – mixing assistant
- Paul Northfield – engineer on tracks 6, 12, 14
- Neil Kernon – producer and engineer on track 13[20]
- Tom Hall – engineer on track 13,[20] assistant engineer on tracks 6, 12, 14
- Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk, New York
- Evren Göknar – 2003 and 20th anniversary edition remastering at Capitol Mastering, Hollywood
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[37] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[38] | Silver | 60,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[39] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||