Hear in the Now Frontier

Hear in the Now Frontier
Studio album by Queensrÿche
Released	March 25, 1997
Recorded	1996
Genre	Heavy metal, progressive metal
Length	57:15
Label	EMI America
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Entertainment Weekly (B) 3/28/97
Queensrÿche chronology
Promised Land (1994) Hear in the Now Frontier (1997) Q2K (1999)

Hear in the Now Frontier is the sixth studio album by progressive 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 #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, and some fans and critics pointed to the grunge genre - rooted in Seattle, near where Queensrÿche formed - as being a major influence. 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.

Touring

During Queensrÿche's tour in support of Hear in the Now Frontier, their longtime label, EMI America Records, went bankrupt. 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 6 songs still unplayed to date including: "Cuckoo's Nest," "Hero," "Miles Away," "All I Want," "Anytime/Anywhere," and "sp00L." However, "sp00L" and "Hero" have been played by Geoff Tate's band during the 2002 tour supporting his own solo album.

Track listing

1. "Sign of the Times" (DeGarmo) – 3:33
2. "Cuckoo's Nest" (DeGarmo) – 3:59
3. "Get a Life" (DeGarmo/Tate) – 3:39
4. "The Voice Inside" (DeGarmo/Tate) – 3:48
5. "Some People Fly" (DeGarmo) – 5:17
6. "Saved" (DeGarmo/Tate) – 4:09
7. "You" (DeGarmo/Tate) – 3:54
8. "Hero" (DeGarmo) – 5:25
9. "Miles Away" (DeGarmo) – 4:32
10. "Reach" (Tate/Wilton) – 3:30
11. "All I Want" (DeGarmo) – 4:06
12. "Hit the Black" (DeGarmo/Jackson) – 3:36
13. "Anytime / Anywhere" (DeGarmo/Jackson/Tate) – 2:54
14. "sp00L" (DeGarmo/Tate) – 4:53

2003 CD reissue bonus tracks

The album was re-released on June 10, 2003 with the following bonus tracks:

15. "Chasing Blue Sky" – 3:41
16. "Silent Lucidity (Live - MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on 27 April 1992)" – 5:24
17. "The Killing Words (Live - MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on 27 April 1992)" – 3:52
18. "I Will Remember (Live - MTV Unplugged, Los Angeles, CA on 27 April 1992)" – 4:01

Credits

• Chris DeGarmo – vocals, guitar
• Geoff Tate – vocals
• Michael Wilton – guitar
• Eddie Jackson – bass
• Scott Rockenfield – drums

with

• Steve Nathan - Keyboards
• Matt Bayles - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
• Hugh Syme - Art Direction, Design
• Toby Wright - Mixing, Recorder
• Dimo Safari - Art Direction, Design

Charts

UK #46 USA #19 Germany #19

In U.S. the album sold about 330,000 copies to date (2006)