If you had told me in the early 2010s that Geoff Tate would redeem himself from being the laughing stock of classic metal, I wouldn’t have believed it. From shitting on his own fanbase and spitting on his bandmates, to throwing cellphones and poorly attempting to co-opt the Queensrÿche name for his own cookie cutter modern metal band/album, this man had done everything in his ability to self sabotage his past reputation as one of the finest voices in metal. Yet in 2019, the unthinkable happened: Geoff Tate out Queensrÿched Queensrÿche! That year, his ex-bandmates released their third album with current frontman Todd La Torre, The Verdict. As a huge fan of Queensrÿche, and particularly the first two La Torre albums, there was something about The Verdict and its accompanying tour that left me underwhelmed. Yes, it was enjoyable, but aside from a handful of tracks, it lacked that classic Queensrÿche magic. Tate used this as an opportunity to strike back with the Frontiers fueled Sweet Oblivion.
Like many acts on the Frontiers roster, Sweet Oblivion isn’t necessarily a band. The drastic turnover in personnel from the 2019 self titled debut to this album, Relentless, is proof. If anything, it’s “Frontiers and Friends” with special guest Geoff Tate on vocals. Now as much as fans like to give Frontiers founder Serafino Perufino crap for this practice, I tend to be more sympathetic. There’s nothing wrong with assembling an all star project if there’s a purpose behind it. And there most certainly was a purpose behind assembling Sweet Oblivion: Get Tate to return to the classic Operation: Mindcrime/Empire sound. Sweet Oblivion did an exceptional job accomplishing this goal. The question is, how well is Relentless able to continue the streak?
As I mentioned in the last paragraph, aside from Tate, not one “member” remains from 2019’s debut. Whereas the primary architect of Sweet Oblivion was DGM guitarist Simone Mularoni, Relentless is helmed by Frontiers veteran Aldo Lonobile. Last year, Lonobile played a big part in one of the best Savatage albums never written, Archon Angel’s Fallen. Is Lonobile able to do for Tate what he did for Zak Stevens? Not really, but he sure as hell tries. Relentless is loaded with progressive melodic guitar riffs and leads, played in the same manner that put Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo on the map. On cuts like “Strong Pressure”, “Let It Be”, and “Fly Angel Fly”, I almost had to do a double take. Lonobile draws heavily from the Wilton/DeGarmo formula and rightfully so. Their soaring guitars were just as integral to the Queensrÿche formula as Tate’s equally soaring vocals.
Overall, Relentless showcases the musicianship of Operation: Mindcrime and the radio friendly sensibilities of Empire, with a sheen of modern production to top it off. This release leans more on the modern side of things than the debut, resulting in an occasionally sterile production and musical redundancies throughout, though not enough to derail it entirely. What it lacks in musical charm and cohesion, it makes up for in the immaculate voice of Tate. Skeptics will ponder how much of the vocals on here are “actually” Tate’s and how much is merely studio magic. I’m going to assume the former. I’ve noticed in recent years that Tate has found himself in a comfortable spot vocally. Instead of straining like he was for decades, he’s making the most of what he’s got and not abusing it. The acoustic ballad, “I’ll Be the One”, is an excellent example of the current state of Tate’s voice.
With all due respect to Tate and the Frontiers camp, I hope Relentless is the last chapter in the Sweet Oblivion saga. If they continue at this current rate, I can see Sweet Oblivion turning into a new Sunstorm; becoming more diluted with each release until Tate himself is booted for John Arch or James LaBrie or some other prog metal vocalist. And then we’ll hear a bunch of he said/she said justifications from both camps, further compromising the integrity of Frontiers. But I’ll leave such a storyline in the back of my head as a worst case scenario. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy this competent effort at classic Queensrÿche.
6 out of 10
Label: Frontiers Records
Genre: Progressive Metal
For fans of: Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, Threshold