I clearly remember buying this EP on vinyl when it came out; there was a hefty buzz generating in the Metal world about this band from Seattle. According to magazines of the time (Hit Parader, Circus, etc.) the band had recorded their music on their own, presented it to a label, and were signed. While I never looked deeper into the story, there was no denying the impact on Metal music that this 4 song EP would have. With the opening track "Queen Of The Reich", we are introduced to tasty Metal riffs and a banshee of a vocalist in Geoff Tate. The high notes that Tate achieves clearly seem to be able to shatter glass. Given its 1983 release, this is an album that has set the bar higher for bands who choose to blend power and progression with a little more melody. Developments in this genre will offer bands like Dream Theater and Fates Warning the ability to better follow their own unique paths. The remaster is superb since it also offers a great amount of live tracks that were recorded in Tokyo back in 1984. The tracks originally appeared on the VHS tape Live In Tokyo and as you listen you will hope, as I do, that the film resurfaces on DVD sometime in the near future. These live tracks are pretty clean considering the year and ability Queensryche had that early in their career. Tate announces to the audience that many tracks are from their forthcoming album Warning and from there the group delivers most of this album. It's fantastic to hear a concert from this early in Queensryche history and I cannot see any fan thinking differently.
They did a great job on the remasters and include enhanced tracks and liner notes on each of them. Photos that reflect the time period are also included, which make this more fun to read. If you don't already own any of the early editions of the band's catalog, this will give you a good reason to start. Grab this CD and see where it all began.
Track Listing
- Queen Of The Reich
- Nightrider
- Blinded
- The Lady Wore Black
- Nightrider
- Prophecy
- Deliverance
- Child Of Fire
- En Force
- Blinded
- The Lady Wore Black
- Warning
- Take Hold Of The Flame
- Queen Of The Reich
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