QUEENSRŸCHE

Time to tell it like it is. QUEENSRŸCHE's "Dedicated to Chaos" is a sure bet to have fans and critics fiercely divided. The Seattle stalwarts have damn sure earned the right to experiment, push boundaries, and do whatever the heck else they want to do. And that is essentially what they've done since that first very self-titled EP was first released in 1982, but never have they pushed so far past what can be generally described as progressive hard rock and heavy metal boundaries. That's the part that is going to drive insane those folks that measure a QUEENSRŸCHE album's worth against the standards thus far established. To date said standards haven't included a creative take on pop-based rock with a creatively rhythmic bump and soulful bounce, some of which does indeed have a danceable quality, as drummer Scott Rockenfield admitted about "Dedicated to Chaos". Then again, once could go as far back as 1986's "Gonna Get Close to You" or 1990's "Silent Lucidity" for that matter in noting that QUEENSRŸCHE are no strangers to edge-teetering and outside-the-box thinking. In any case, the short of it is that "Dedicated to Chaos" is a high-quality rock album. If it is a reformulation of a past album that you seek, then you should stop reading now.

What you must first understand is that "Dedicated to Chaos" is full of good songs. The aforementioned pop-basis is certainly present, which really only means that the tunes are written with bona fide hooks. But just as important, if not more so, is the fact that the rhythmic chunk and musical coloration involved constitute a collective X factor. That's due to the varied guitar work of Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren, Eddie Jackson's fat 'n happy bass lines and Rockenfield's creatively percussive display of stone groove and moving meter.

Getting started with "Get Started" the band's contemporary rock approach is at the very least fresh. It is on songs like "Got it Bad" though on which the music of "Dedicated to Chaos" shares more similarities with the likes of U2 and DAVID BOWIE (including Geoff Tate's largely mid-range, finely nuanced vocal style) than DREAM THEATER or FATES WARNING, whilst retaining an identity that is somehow still QUEENSRŸCHE. That's even more so the case on the poppier "Around the World", while the funk is brought to the fore on "Higher" with its pumpin' bass and steamy saxophone lines. The quintet funks it up a bit on "I Believe" as well; along with "At the Edge", it is also one of several tunes that feature smartly incorporated electronic effects and keys. Some tunes are "tougher" and more traditionally rock oriented, at least from the standpoint of the riffing ("Retail Therapy", "I Take You"),but all come with interesting rhythm textures and a pop foundation. That's just as much the case with the breezy, contemporary rock of "Hard Times" and "Big Noize". While there is nothing close to a throwaway here, the spacey, keyboard wash of "Broken" adds little. By the same token, "Luvnu" and "Wot We Do" are worth the time investment, but wouldn't necessarily have been missed in an effort to shorten a 16-track album. Through it all Kelly Gray's production is again a perfect fit, making "Dedicated to Chaos" an album you'll want to hear up close and personally.

Boundary-busting in and of itself does not a good album make. The beauty of "Dedicated to Chaos" is that it is experimental only in the sense that the direction is a new one for QUEENSRŸCHE. "Dedicated to Chaos" is not flawless or devoid of the occasional irksome moment, but far more often it is infectious, rhythmically impacting, and intelligently composed. Nicely done.