By Vinnie Apicella

Upon listening through all of these fourteen tracks contained herein, it suddenly dawned on me that I was essentially listening to two different bands. In fact, I still can't believe this is the same Queensryche that first broke big in metal circles with songs like "Queen of the Ryche," "The Lady Wore Black" and "Take Hold of the Flame." A band which has continually held dear, those progressive qualities that can be rewarding enough to allow growth as musicians and their fanbase, yet risky enough to alienate themselves from their own history, Queensryche has always remained one of the top talents in rock circles. Their new "Greatest Hits" package is by no means a signal that the well's run dry or that impending retirement is lurking around the corner-their new "Q2K" release is evidence of that. In fact, I'm not quite sure why this is even being brought out at the moment-there's obviously not some down period happening that calls for a temporary bridge toward the next project, but still in all, this career spanning collection is all any fan could ask for. Although maybe another few outtakes or extra B-sides would've added a little more flavor to it, but there are in fact two concluding bonus tracks called "Chasing Blue Sky," another of their ballad-types, and a new full band version of "Someone Else? From "Promised Land" which really adds a boost to what was otherwise a fairly hollow seven minutes worth of listening transparency. From start to finish, the music can be divided into two halves, with the first catering to the earliest work beginning with their magnificent self-titled EP, up through the "Mindcrime," and then beginning with the highly successful "Empire" ending off with some of the lesser known, maybe unjustifiably dismissive "Hear in the Now Frontier" material. For me, I'd have taken everything off of "Rage for Order" and "Operation: Mindcrime" and been done with it, but what can you do? A great thing about these collections, aside from offering a selective look toward a band's rich history for those not in possession of their catalog, is that the songs usually always get digitally done up. And how great is it to hear those rough early tracks like "Queen of the Ryche" and "The Lady Wore Black" with a clear production? There's about two selections from each album here and most of what fans would expect, but I was surprised that "I Dream in Infrared" made the cut over "Gonna Get Close to You" from the "Rage…" album, though pleased. Queensryche's talent as musicians still to this day hold an astounding influence on numerous bands having emerged on the scene-though this clearly is directed to the earlier days when the band was more apt to exploit their instrumental ingenuity. They may never again equal the success first achieved on the remarkable "Operation: Mindcrime" release from '88, one of the finest conceptual releases ever, but though their popularity's waned a little in recent years, all they've accomplished cannot be denied. This "Greatest Hits" package at long last gives them their just due and provides one with a listenable history for a band that began way ahead of their time and who may never be fully appreciated today until twenty years after their absence!

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