Hear in the Now Frontier

Hear in the Now Frontier
Studio album by
Queensrÿche
ReleasedMarch 25, 1997
Recorded1996
StudioSixteenth Avenue Sound, Nashville, Tennessee,
Studio Litho, Seattle, Washington
Genre
Length57:15
LabelEMI
ProducerPeter Collins
Queensrÿche chronology
Promised Land
(1994) 		Hear in the Now Frontier
(1997) 		Q2K
(1999)
Singles from Hear in the Now Frontier
  1. "Sign of the Times"
    Released: 1997
  2. "You"
    Released: 1997
  3. "sp00L"
    Released: 1997 (promo only)
Audio sample
"Sign of the Times"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB[4]

Hear in the Now Frontier is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Queensrÿche, released in 1997. It was partly recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, the home studio of Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, and was engineered and mixed by Toby Wright, who had recently worked with Alice in Chains.

The album debuted at No. 19 but quickly vanished from the charts. Hear in the Now Frontier features a more basic, stripped-down musical style than anything the band had released to date. Many listeners criticized the band's shift to a more mainstream sound.

Despite the reaction, the singles "Sign of the Times" and "You" received substantial airplay. Both tracks, as well as "Some People Fly", would later be featured on best-of compilations. Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche, a 2007 compilation, also takes its name from the song.

The song "All I Want" features guitarist Chris DeGarmo on lead vocals, the only time to date that any band member besides the incumbent lead vocalist had done so on a studio track. After the album's release, DeGarmo left the band.

Tour

During Queensrÿche's tour in support of Hear in the Now Frontier, their longtime label, EMI Records USA, went bankrupt and was merged into Virgin Records America. Queensrÿche was forced to use their own money to finance the remainder of the tour, during which founding member Chris DeGarmo announced he was leaving the band.

DeGarmo would return to play and co-write five songs for Tribe in 2003, but did not officially rejoin.

The band played only half the album on its 1997 tour, with five songs still unplayed as of 2021: "Cuckoo's Nest", "Hero", "Miles Away", "All I Want" and "sp00L". However, "sp00L" and "Hero" have been played by Geoff Tate's band during his 2002 tour to supporting his solo album.

The tour setlist also included "The Lady Wore Black", "Take Hold of the Flame", "Revolution Calling", "The Mission", "I Don't Believe in Love", "Breaking the Silence", "Spreading the Disease", "Eyes of a Stranger", "Empire", "Jet City Woman", "Silent Lucidity", "Another Rainy Night", "I Am I", "Damaged", and "Bridge". "Walk in the Shadows", and "Della Brown" were played a few times as well.

This was the last tour that Queensryche's popularity level allowed them to play large venues and amphitheaters.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sign of the Times"Chris DeGarmo3:33
2."Cuckoo's Nest"DeGarmo3:59
3."Get a Life"DeGarmo, Geoff Tate3:39
4."The Voice Inside"DeGarmo3:48
5."Some People Fly"DeGarmo, Tate5:17
6."Saved"DeGarmo, Tate4:09
7."You"DeGarmo, Tate3:54
8."Hero"DeGarmo5:25
9."Miles Away"DeGarmo4:32
10."Reach"Tate, Michael Wilton3:30
11."All I Want"DeGarmo4:06
12."Hit the Black"DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson3:36
13."Anytime / Anywhere"DeGarmo, Jackson, Tate2:54
14."sp00L"DeGarmo, Tate4:53
2003 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Chasing Blue Sky"Scott Rockenfield, Tate3:41
16."Silent Lucidity" (live at MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 1992)DeGarmo5:24
17."The Killing Words" (live at MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 1992)DeGarmo, Tate3:52
18."I Will Remember" (live at MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on April 27, 1992)DeGarmo4:01

Personnel

Queensrÿche
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[5] 25
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[6] 41
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[7] 25
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[8] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 19
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 60
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[11] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 13
UK Albums (OCC)[13] 46
US Billboard 200[14] 19

References

  1. ^ Hill, Gary. "Hear in the Now Frontier - Queensrÿche". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  2. ^ Golemis, Dean (April 4, 1997). "Queensryche Here in the Now Frontier (EMI)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  4. ^ Eddy, Chuck (March 28, 1997). "Hear in the Now Frontier Review". EW.com. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "Ultratop.be – Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  6. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3173". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  7. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  8. ^ "Queensrÿche: Hear in the Now Frontier" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  10. ^ イーンズライク - クイーンズライクのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  11. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  12. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  13. ^ "Queensryche | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  14. ^ "Queensryche Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2022.