Artist: Anarchy-X
Label: Self-released
Release: 2003
Rating: 3/5
Some more interesting guys from Italy, this time taking on the great art metallers Queensryche. It takes guts to do something like that. There’s no need to waste words on the technical chops, let alone the money you have to sink in so that the instruments, in the studio or on stage, crack and pull in a properly “Queensrychian” way. All of that goes without saying. The problem, of course, is the vocals in a “tribute to” band like this. Max Bastasi looks nothing like Geoff Tate, but he’s extremely lucky that in the registers that make Tate such a special and unique singer, his voice actually manages to nail Tate’s true color and intonation. That alone pretty much justifies Anarchy-X’s reason for existing and playing.
Tone of voice is one thing, expressive power and explosiveness another. Vocally, he just can’t reach Geoff Tate. In the higher to highest registers he turns thin and porous, and carrying the power from the mid-range up into the top lines is his weaker spot. As mentioned, what saves him is a tone that’s very close to the original. Melodically, his articulation gets decently near the original, but he doesn’t hide quite a few problems with singing in English. That’s a classic flaw of Italian bands, by the way. He likes to swallow the odd vowel, the wrong stress is sometimes distracting, and at the same time the melody he creates drifts away from the original by Geoff Tate (and so from Queensryche). It’s unbelievable how, in the brutally difficult Queen Of The Ryche, the vocalist manages to happily climb over the difficulty levels of the seemingly untouchable Geoff Tate. Taking the criticisms listed above into account, of course, but in the overall tally of good and bad they’re by no means fatal to the final picture of Anarchy–X.
The band’s instrumental side has studied the Queensryche repertoire with real pride. In Anarchy-X’s hands, Damaged is especially solid, the easiest track of the chosen repertoire to pull off. They really set things on fire in the opener Walk In The Shadows (the production is miles away from the original, of course), and the guys don’t hide their daring either, having tackled Suite Sister Mary. A female vocal is unavoidable here, and the dialogue between Max and Valeria fully meets the required standard. Of course, this EP doesn’t manage to capture the eerie atmosphere of the original. I missed richer keyboard arrangements in the background and bigger contrasts in the choral vocal backing behind them. Even in Silent Lucidity the guys are a touch too coarse, and once again there’s no proper balance between the guitars and the background. The guitars push to the front.
It all comes down to money. This isn’t the eighties or the early nineties anymore. Times are changing, and the money in mainstream rock goes elsewhere. If Queensryche had it to create their magnificent body of work, Anarchy-X simply don’t have it to copy it perfectly . Then again, without Queensryche there would be no Anarchy X either. And there’s one more thing. A copy mustn’t be better than the original. And it isn’t. But it is very good. Of course, with a “low budget” you can only get so far, but with Anarchy-X, know that we’re dealing with a seriously clever band that can get close to the originals and bring them to life with total competence. Instrumentally they’re very strong. The vocals were of course the core of the analysis this time, but that’s how it goes with all “tribute to” bands. Mission accomplished for Anarchy-X.
Lineup
Max Bastasi – vocals
Fabio Lentola – guitar, backing vocals
Marco Vaona – guitar, backing vocals
Massimiliano “Alien” Barbieri – bass guitar
Luca Roggi – drums
Valeria Colombo – vocals on #4
Tracklist
1. Walk In The Shadows
2. Damaged
3. Revolution Calling
4. Suite Sister Mary
5. Silent Lucidity
6. Queen Of The Reich
7. Someone Else?
