Promised Land
1994
A very impressive album. It demonstrates
remarkable musical maturity and hones the deep meaning that Queensryche's
lyrics have always demonstrated. This album is the continuation of
the band's masterpiece, Operation: Mindcrime. It definitely lives
up to the challenge. The aftermath of Nikki's sad downfall is the
subject of the album. We see how he gains a new perspective on his
life and himself, how he deals with being a part of society again, and
the lingering pain of his past life, all the way up to the surprising end.
The songs describe how he observes the world around with his new outlook
and how he still struggles with the past. We gain more perspective
into Nikki himself, learning more about what he feels, why he feels it,
and what caused him to be the way he was, and is. The songs of this
album seem vague and hard to grasp, or may appear to have very different
meanings from what they actually have, when considered as stand alone pieces
of music. But when considered together and, more importantly, with
the events detailed by Operation: Mindcrime in mind, they become very clear
and easy to understand. I am very familiar with this album, so I
will describe each song in turn.
List of Songs:
9:28 AM (1:43)
I AM I (3:56)
Damaged (3:55)
Out of Mind
(4:34)
Bridge (3:27)
Promised Land
(8:25)
Dis con nec ted
(4:48)
Lady Jane (4:23)
My Global Mind
(4:20)
One More Time
(4:17)
Someone Else?
(4:38)