Review by Daniel for Queensrÿche - The Warning (1984)

Even though it may not often be regarded as a truely classic release, Queensryche's debut full-length "The Warning" represents a significant point in the development of the heavy metal genre nonetheless because it gives us our first real signs of the progressive metal sound that we know so well today. The band's self-titled E.P. from the previous year had offered the odd proggy section here & there but still sat much more comfortably amongst more traditional heavy metal brethren like Judas Priest & Iron Maiden overall. Well hold on to your hats people because “The Warning” is an entirely different beast. 1979's “From The Fjords” album from US heavy metallers Legend & the 1980 debut record from Finnish heavy metal outfit Sarcofagus entitled “Cycle Of Life” were close enough to progressive metal to cause some conjecture around who was the earliest exponent but the difference here is that the progressive elements are so tightly entwined with the metal ones that they become one unified sound whereas those more obscure examples tended to have a prog rock track followed by a heavy metal one leading into another prog rock one if you know what I mean. The metal & prog weren’t unified before but Queensryche clearly had a very specific & well-defined sound in mind for their first album & it works as a cohesive unit. Plus, the production job on “The Warning” takes a direction that has a lot more in common with early 80’s progressive rock than it does with metal too & in doing so gives the album a completely different feel to not only Queensryche’s earlier material but anything the global metal scene had experienced to the time. It’s much spacier & shows a lot more ambition in its scope so I genuinely think that “The Warning” can be described as the root of the modern progressive metal sound. I mean the link to a band like Dream Theater is really obvious after listening to this album. It’s easy to imagine that Queensryche were probably their favourite band in their formative years. Coincidently, you’ll find plenty of interviews where the band say that they absolutely hate the production job on “The Warning”; that it ruined the record & that they can’t listen to it without cringing. Front man Geoff Tate has openly stated that the record label took total control of the way the album sounded & that the guy that they employed to do the mixing refused to accept any input from the band & had no prior experience with Queensryche or any sort of hard rock band for that matter. He also said that the album went $300k over-budget which is pretty astounding for a metal debut of the time.

For a bit of perspective, I googled Val Garay who was responsible for mixing “The Warning” & here’s a list of some of the artists he’s worked with: Kim Carnes, Mr Big, Bonnie Rait, Dolly Parton, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, Sarah Brightman, Kenny Rogers, Santana, Reel Big Fish, Joan Armatrading…. I’ve gotta say that I can see where the band were coming from based on that list but does the album really sound all that bad? Well it definitely doesn’t as far as I'm concerned but I can certainly see why Queensryche would have been dissatisfied given their NWOBHM influences. The rhythm guitars aren’t very up-front in the mix & the guitar solos don’t sound as shredding as we’d usually expect from a US heavy metal album of the time. Geoff Tate’s voice also dominates the mix which isn’t terribly surprising given his abilities & status. But all of these things aside I still really enjoy the sound of “The Warning”. You may have heard of producer James Guthrie before as he was the guy responsible for producing the song “Better By You, Better Than Me” for Judas Priest’s “Stained Class” record which impressed the band enough to score him the gig for their follow-up album “Killing Machine” which sounded great in my opinion. Well he’d certainly gone on to bigger & better things after that time with Pink Floyd’s epic 1979 double concept album “The Wall” & the subsequent follow-up, 1983’s “The Final Cut”, being the major feathers in his cap. And once you learn that, everything really does seem to fall into place because “The Warning” is a much more expansive undertaking than pretty much any metal album that had been released to the time. There are loads of production effects employed with beautifully constructed vocal harmonies, highly professional multi-tracking & the subtle use of keyboards all adding a lot of interest & contributing to a darker & more somber atmosphere than was ever hinted at on the EP. It’s really not all that hard to link these sort of elements to Guthry’s Floydian past actually.

Queensryche’s earlier material was definitely faster, heavier, & simpler than its younger brother which predominantly sticks to a mid-paced tempo which is a touch less riffy & a lot more melancholic. “The Warning” is a substantially more ambitious undertaking too with longer, more drawn-out compositions & a far more complex approach to the riff structures featuring the regular use of odd time signatures. The Judas Priest & Iron Maiden influences are still very obvious. Especially the Maiden one which has noticeably increased since the debut with a lot greater use of guitar harmonies; all performed with stunning precision. But the Rush influence is equally as important here too. Particularly in the outstanding drumming of Scott Rockenfield which is a real highlight here although I also love Eddie Jackson’s bass lines. The band is pretty amazing as a whole really & I can only wish that some of the guitar solos sounded a little more shreddy because I don’t think they have quite the impact that the ones on the EP did.

Singer Geoff Tate once again proves that there’s pretty much daylight between him & the rest of the field when it comes to sheer talent. His performance here is more theatrical & emotive than before with a greater use of his higher register. In fact he may even go a little too far with the theatricality at times but it’s hard to deny that most of the greatest moments on the album are centred around his soaring & perfectly executed vocal harmonies. He’s almost an enigma at this stage & the fact that the lyrics are all written around themes drawn from George Orwell’s classic novel “1984” only works further into Geoff’s strengths.

The tracklisting is very consistent with no weak tracks included but I do feel that it starts & finishes with some of the less impressive numbers which nullifies the overall feeling of quality just a touch. Tracks 4-8 see Queensryche hit a real sweet spot though. Particularly the double punch of “NM 156” & the single “Take Hold Of The Flame” which are amongst my favourite tracks from 1984.

Overall “The Warning” really works for me. The more ambitious & progressive approach has only been positive in my opinion, even though it’s clearly made for a less obvious listening experience that requires a greater level of attention & commitment from its audience. But I don’t think there’s much doubt that I sit right in the middle of the target audience that Queensryche had in mind for this record so I have to admit that I rate it slightly higher than the band’s more celebrated debut. It’s a very solid piece of progressive metal indeed.