- Dedicated to Chaos
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Dedicated to Chaos Studio album by Queensrÿche Released June 28, 2011 Genre Rock Length 53:55 Language English Label Loud & Proud Records Producer Kelly Gray Queensrÿche chronology American Soldier
(2009)Dedicated to Chaos
(2011)Dedicated to Chaos is the twelfth studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche. The album was released first in Japan on June 21, 2011, and a week later in the USA on June 28, 2011, and is the band's first album for Roadrunner Records' Loud & Proud label.
Contents
Background
The album was first announced in late August of 2010, following Queensrÿche's signing with the Loud & Proud label of Roadrunner Records.[1] Drummer Scott Rockenfield commented on the album, saying "It's huge rock but with a great dance vibe to it, real modern dance. It’s kind of like Rage through a time tunnel, bringing it into the now. There are a lot of electronic elements to it. It’s a big rock thing that is going to have a lot of color to it — it’s good and really intense”.[2] In an October 2010 interview with Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, vocalist and primary songwriter Geoff Tate revealed some information about the upcoming album:
We are planning on a spring release. It will be a very strong collection of songs. The topic of the album is all over the place. There's a lot of different subjects we tackle. The sound and the writing direction is probably more focused on rhythm than any of our records have been. Scott and Eddie are contributing a lot to the composition of this record, so there's a lot of focus on rhythm structure and keeping things very rhythmatic and moving. It's got a lot of very intricate bass/drum work on it that perhaps hasn't been featured on earlier albums. Therefore it's going to have a very modern sound to it. Music these days, outside of hard rock and metal, is really rhythm-oriented. There's a lot of movement to it. So we're kind of going with that as a feature on this record. Still, there's a lot of interesting guitar work as we try to push the guitar into different areas as well, while trying to stay away from the bone-head stuff like the chunk-chunk-chunk kind of thing. We're using the guitars in a more melodic sense. The band is producing it with Kelly Gray, our longtime friend and engineer. We've got about three-quarters written and recorded.[3]
The album title was revealed as Dedicated to Chaos on March 29, 2011, with Tate calling the album "a clash and slash of musical experimentation anchored by the pulse of digital code”. A summer tour in support of the album was also announced.[4] The album art was unveiled on April 13.[5] The album's track listing was released on May 5.[6]
Songwriter and former producer Jason Slater had the following to say about the recording process surrounding the album: "The band was at London Bridge for 10 days or something (sic) like that recording drums. I went for the first few days,but it was obvious my input wasn't welcome. I tried to make some suggestions about mic placement so the drums wouldn't sound like they have on every other KG (producer Kelly Gray) recording and so that there would be some options during mixing so the drum sound could be tailored to each song,but it was all ignored,so I worked by myself on other songs. We recorded rhythm guitars at Scotts studio with Parker and Whip and it was the same story. One amp,one guitar sound and every idea or input ignored. I moved on from there to working on songs with Randy. We had a good time, got a lotta stuff done. I worked alone with Scott for a little over a week,but pretty much everything we brought back got shit on. Ya gotta understand the set up,they were using all Kelly's recording equipment set up in a room that only he really had access to so everything had to go through him and be presented to Geoff. If whatever was brought in didn't fit Kelly's agenda (whatever the hell that was) the presentation to Geoff would be wrought with unfixable problems that only Kelly could fix.......Through great struggle of course,but the hero always came through and magically fixed the unfixable .... It was like magic!!! I don't know how we got MCII done without him. It's kinda strange but ever since MCII everything I've brought in has had a shit load of problems, my hard drives don't work unless I plug them into a computer, I seem to write parts in the wrong key,the guitars I record are out of tune....all manner of problems,but the minute I get home and start working on something else it's as though a curse has been lifted and none of these problems exist. It's one of the craziest coincidences (sic) I've ever experienced. [1]"
Track listing
No. Title Written by Length 1. "Get Started" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:33 2. "Hot Spot Junkie" Eddie Jackson, Geoff Tate 3:57 3. "Got It Bad" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:45 4. "Higher" Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 4:00 5. "Wot We Do" Jason Slater, Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 3:45 6. "Around the World" Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 5:10 7. "Drive" Jeff Carrell, Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 4:53 8. "At the Edge" Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 6:03 9. "I Take You" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:50 10. "Retail Therapy" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 4:13 11. "The Lie" Kelly Gray, Eddie Jackson, Geoff Tate 4:18 12. "Big Noize" Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 6:35 Special Edition Track listing No. Title Written by Length 1. "Get Started" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:33 2. "Hot Spot Junkie" Eddie Jackson, Geoff Tate 3:57 3. "Got It Bad" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:45 4. "Around the World" Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 5:10 5. "Higher" Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 4:00 6. "Retail Therapy" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 4:13 7. "At the Edge" Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 6:03 8. "Broken" (Bonus track) Randy Gane, Kelly Gray, Geoff Tate 3:51 9. "Hard Times" (Bonus track) Scott Rockenfield, Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 5:32 10. "Drive" Jeff Carrell, Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 4:53 11. "I Believe" (Bonus track) Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 3:29 12. "LuvnU" (Bonus track) Randy Gane, Kelly Gray, Geoff Tate 3:53 13. "Wot We Do" Jason Slater, Randy Gane, Geoff Tate 3:45 14. "I Take You" Jason Slater, Geoff Tate 3:50 15. "The Lie" Kelly Gray, Eddie Jackson, Geoff Tate 4:18 16. "Big Noize" Kelly Gray, Scott Rockenfield, Geoff Tate 6:35 Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [7]
Metalholic [8]
Sputnikmusic [9]
The album has received mixed reviews. Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia wrote, "Queensrÿche are virtually unrecognizable nowadays, which is possibly worse than ripping themselves off."[7] Sputnikmusic staff reviewer Trey Spencer criticized the album, writing "Dedicated to Chaos is [...] a whole new chapter in the band’s sound [...] that most long-time fans will probably wish was never written."[9]
Chart Positions
The album debuted at #70 on the Billboard 200, the lowest charting full-length album for the band in its history. The band's last album, American Soldier, peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200.
External Links
References
- ^ "QR Signs with Roadrunner / Loud & Proud". Queensrÿche official website. August 27, 2010. http://www.queensryche.com/2010/08/27/qr-signs-with-roadrunner-loud-proud/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Queensrÿche’s Scott Rockenfield Talks New Album, New Label". Attention Deficit Delirium. August 25, 2010. http://www.bryanreesman.com/blog/2010/08/25/queensryches-scott-rockenfield-talks-new-album-new-label/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "QUEENSRŸCHE's Geoff Tate Talks About New Album". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. October 30, 2010. http://www.bravewords.com/features/1000851. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "“Dedicated to Chaos” – This Summer!". Queensrÿche official website. March 29, 2011. http://www.queensryche.com/2011/03/29/dedicated-to-chaos-this-summer/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Dedicated to Chaos Album Cover". Queensrÿche official website. April 13, 2011. http://www.queensryche.com/2011/04/13/dedicated-to-chaos-album-cover/. Retrieved April 26, 2011.
- ^ "Chaos Track Listing Revealed". Queensrÿche official website. May 5, 2011. http://www.queensryche.com/2011/05/05/chaos-track-listing-revealed/. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
- ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Dedicated to Chaos - Queensrÿche". Allmusic. http://allmusic.com/album/dedicated-to-chaos-r2197774/review. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
- ^ Rose, Rustyn. "Review: Dedicated To Chaos". Metalholic. http://metalholic.co/cd-review-queensryche-dedicated-to-chaos/. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ^ a b Spencer, Trey (June 23, 2011). "Review: Dedicated To Chaos". Sputnikmusic. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/44148/Queensryche-Dedicated-to-Chaos/. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
Geoff Tate • Michael Wilton • Eddie Jackson • Scott Rockenfield • Parker Lundgren
Chris DeGarmo • Kelly Gray • Mike StoneStudio albums The Warning • Rage for Order • Operation: Mindcrime • Empire • Promised Land • Hear in the Now Frontier • Q2K • Tribe • Operation: Mindcrime II • Take Cover • American Soldier • Dedicated to ChaosLive albums Compilations Extended plays Singles "Queen of the Reich" • "The Lady Wore Black" • "Take Hold of the Flame" • "Warning" • "Walk in the Shadows" • "Gonna Get Close to You" • "Breaking the Silence" • "Eyes of a Stranger" • "Revolution Calling" • "I Don't Believe in Love" • "Last Time in Paris" • "Empire" • "Silent Lucidity" • "Jet City Woman" • "Best I Can" • "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" • "Anybody Listening?" • "Real World" • "I Am I" • "Bridge" • "Breakdown" • "The Right Side of My Mind" • "Open" • "I'm American" • "The Hands" • "Welcome to the Machine" • "If I Were King" • "Man Down!" • "Wot We Do" • "Get Started"Related articles Categories:- 2011 albums
- Queensrÿche albums
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