Hump Day Hot Ticket: Queensrÿche “Hellfire”

Band photo

Since I started this weekly feature earlier this year, it has mainly been a place to shine a spotlight on lesser-known bands. However, I never made it a rule that this feature could only be about unsung talent. In fact, I expressed my hope that as time went on, I would also have the opportunity to showcase more well-known bands.

OK, so it probably comes as no surprise to anyone who reads or follows this blog that eventually, I would review a Queensrÿche video for this feature. I have written about this band so much here that it has been said in jest that this site should be renamed “Rÿche the Darkness”. I get it. Queensrÿche are one of my all-time favorite bands. They make up part of my “musical Holy Trinity” (those who know me or read this blog should know who the other 2 bands are—those who don't...well, if I told you, then you would have no incentive to keep visiting here to find out!). The music of Queensrÿche has been with me for over 2/3 of my life. There was a time when their music was the only thing that pulled me through one of the darkest times in my life. Over the last several years they have experienced a resurgence that reminded me just how—and why—they earned such a valuable place in my personal musical hierarchy. So yeah, their music means a lot to me, and you could probably say I am more than a little passionate about it. Maybe I do write about them a lot, but perhaps if you look at it from the perspective I have just presented, you can understand the reasons for this.

However, all personal feelings aside, Queensrÿche is a damn good band that values musical proficiency over image. They are perfectionists with a strong work ethic. The band has such high regard for their fans to the point where they will let a little blog like mine review their video without the whole “my people call your people” nonsense that can sometimes take all the fun out of writing reviews...but wait, I am being biased again, aren't I?

One aspect that really embodies these good traits, to me, is Queensrÿche's approach to music videos. Considering that the band's rise to fame began at around the same time MTV was new, they became known for incorporating evocative visuals to further express the thought-provoking points they made lyrically. So when Queensrÿche began their return to form a few years ago, part of the excitement, for me, was seeing their 11-minute “Ad Lucem” video: a song featuring 2 full songs and 2 shorter pieces, combined to tell a story that looked more like a mini-mystery movie than a music video—which is what made it fascinating. It was reminiscent of all those conceptual videos the band used to make back in the ’80s and ’90s, and to a fan like me (who loves conceptual videos, as I have written here before), it was exciting to think of what else they could come up with. Granted, we no longer live in the MTV age, and music videos are not the big event they used to be, but they are still a helpful promotional tool and can still be a great way for a band to take their creative vision to other levels. With the release of Condition Hüman, Queensrÿche has kept on that road and with the release of their “Eye9” video, showed a more eclectic side to their videos without losing the ability to craft a story within those few minutes.

The latest video for “Hellfire” is vintage Queensrÿche both musically and visually. The video's concept is based on the horrific events surrounding Malaysian flight MH17 in July 2014; which was deemed “the deadliest airliner shootdown”. Socio-political lyrical content is what Queensrÿche is known for, so a video for the song is a perfect platform to make a strong statement—and they do.

The video takes place in a news studio, where reporters are expressing panic and confusion behind the scenes, and a man at the control panel is manipulating what is seen and heard (not much unlike actual news stations today!). Among this are real-life images of the actual tragedy: of the plane wreckage, missiles launching through the air, and violence in the streets, as the news reporters back in the studio helplessly watch on. No punches are pulled; the footage shown is graphic, it's disturbing, it's real. Insanity like this is an everyday part of life for many people all over the world, and turning away won't change that, even when the reporters in the news room try to do just that. Seeing the clips of military tanks rolling through the city, then switching to the image of flowers and teddy bears left at the site of the tragedy is powerful stuff indeed. That same imagery makes a riveting statement about the sometimes-contradictory nature of humanity: how we can inflict such violence upon each other in one moment, yet find it within ourselves to reach out and comfort one another in our grief in the next. The footage used in the video matches the lyrics to a tee, and the storyline of a frustrated news reporter who grows increasingly angry as the video goes on, until she is compelled to throw up her hands and walk off the set in the end—I think that perfectly represents the collective disgruntlement that so many people seem to feel these days.

For more information on Queensrÿche, or to purchase their latest album, Condition Hüman, visit the band's official website.