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Promised Land is the fifth studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche and their highest charting record to date. It was released by EMI on 18 October 1994, 4 years after their successful Empire album.
The songs on this album are tied together firmly by the theme of success and how to deal with it, and reflections on American society and how that shapes our goals in life.
The album opens with a piece of musique concrete, "9.28 a.m.", put together by drummer Scott Rockenfield. The song follows a soul from death through the ether into a reincarnation, and rebirth, followed by the sound of a crying baby which then floats into "I Am I". This song is driven by a heavy riff and Tate's trademark vocals to a background of percussion instruments. Chris DeGarmo performs cello and sitar parts on this song as well as the guitar solo. After almost four minutes it merges into "Damaged", a more straightforward heavy rocker.
"Out of Mind" and the subsequent "Bridge" are more quiet acoustic pieces, both of whose lyrics were written by Chris DeGarmo. The last one deals with the relationship with his father, who died during the Promised Land sessions.
The eight-minute title track is the first track in the Queensrÿche catalogue to be credited to the entire group. It is a rather dark piece, full of Rockenfield tape effects, DeGarmo/Wilton twin guitar work and it marks Tate's first appearance as a saxophonist. On this track, the theme of the album is most present, as it deals with the drawbacks of success. It ends in a bar scene of people talking and drinking (slightly reminiscent of the ending of "Welcome to the Machine" on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, which deals with a similar subject matter). These sound effects merge into "Disconnected," a rather alienating piece dealing with the American consumerist society. It features Tate on sax again.
The subsequent "Lady Jane" deals with the similar theme of the influence of commercials. It is a heavy ballad featuring DeGarmo on piano and another twin solo.
"My Global Mind" is another more straightforward rock song dealing with globalization. After that, "One More Time" is an acoustic rocker, with lyrics much in the vein of the title track.
The album's final track, "Someone Else", features just Tate on vocals and DeGarmo on piano, and this stripped down approach makes for a highly emotional closure to this very introspective album.
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