Saturday 1 November 2014

No Sanctuary (Queensrÿche, 1984)

I'm not particularly fond of the hardest incarnations of prog, but I sometimes come across tracks like this one and say: "Well, that's great... and prog!". "No Sanctuary", taken from the album "The Warning", is basically a so-called powerful ballad (who on Earth invented this label?) and still it has all the main features of my favourite genre: tempo changes, skillful playing, beautiful melodies, and also a rather complex arrangement. Then, I must admit, Geoff Tate's voice is perfect, being strong and sensitive in the same time, so well supported here by the rest of the band's vocal harmonies.

This was the band's first proper album, after a self-titled EP.

The mood is somewhat suspended out of time, and it seems to me a gate is opening to another dimension, especially during the quietest instrumental interlude. There are so many different colours in the soundscape of this track, so many emotions, so many fires we see from a distance. In short, I recommend it to my open minded prog friends out there. And to the non-prog ones, too.

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