Dedicated to Chaos
Encyclopedia
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.
. 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”. In an October 2010 interview with Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
, vocalist and primary songwriter Geoff Tate
revealed some information about the upcoming album:
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. http://www.anybodylistening.net/breakdownroom/index.php?topic=2141.msg34433#msg34433"
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."
, 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.
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
band Queensrÿche
Queensrÿche
thumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton....
. 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
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
' Loud & Proud label.
Background
The album was first announced in late August of 2010, following Queensrÿche's signing with the Loud & Proud label of Roadrunner RecordsRoadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
. Drummer Scott Rockenfield
Scott Rockenfield
Scott Rockenfield is the drummer for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche and the band Slave to the System....
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
Rage for Order
Rage for Order is the second studio album by heavy metal band Queensrÿche, released in 1986 on EMI America Records.-Track listing:- 2003 CD reissue bonus tracks :# "Gonna Get Close to You " - 5:46...
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”. In an October 2010 interview with Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles
-External links:* *...
, vocalist and primary songwriter Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate is an American singer and musician, who rose to fame in the 1980s with the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche...
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. ScottThe 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. The album art was unveiled on April 13. The album's track listing was released on May 5.Scott RockenfieldScott Rockenfield is the drummer for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche and the band Slave to the System....
and EddieEddie Jackson (musician)Eddie Jackson is the bass guitarist for the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche. He has been with the group since 1981, when they were known as The Mob....
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 GrayKelly Gray (musician)Kelly Gray is an American record producer and musician. He started playing guitar in the late 1970s as a founding member of MYTH, a progressive rock band in the suburbs of Seattle, Wash...
, our longtime friend and engineer. We've got about three-quarters written and recorded.
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. http://www.anybodylistening.net/breakdownroom/index.php?topic=2141.msg34433#msg34433"
Track listing
Reception
The album has received mixed reviews. Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia wrote, "Queensrÿche are virtually unrecognizable nowadays, which is possibly worse than ripping themselves off." SputnikmusicSputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
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."
Chart Positions
The album debuted at #70 on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, the lowest charting full-length album for the band in its history. The band's last album, American Soldier
American Soldier (album)
American Soldier is the tenth studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche; it is a concept album released on March 31, 2009. The album debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200...
, peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200.