Reviews (page 5 of 14)
I haven't listened to Queen outside of the hits, so this album was new to me. I didn't know what to expect. How could Queen have an album where not even 1 song is a massive hit you hear everywhere? I still don't know the answer to that question, but, this album has songs that rip. Favorite tracks: Father to Son Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen
Definitely old-school storytellers. While our audio playback today is comparatively lush, it was kinda fun to hear the channel separation of old.
Not perfect but SLAPS
Classic
I love how you can hear the foundation for what they would become with this album.
They were incredible and a major piece of rock music history. I still don't enjoy their music.
Forgot how fun it is to listen to Queen
Favorite: seas of rhye
This is the most 70's classic rock queen has sounded. This album reminds me of that entire decade. It's not their strongest but you can get the feeling of where they are planning on going. I would have picked other albums of theirs but it's a solid choice and a deeper dive into Queen. Not sure it needed to be on the list though.
Loved it can’t expressed in words how good of an album this was didn’t expect less from queen though
A great album. First listen just made me appreciate more how Queen crafted the sound they did.
168/1089 dare i say a better album than A Night At The Opera?? I still liked it but that album suffered from Bohemian Rhapsody so much of a hit that the other tracks couldn’t hold up and felt filler-ish. This one feels focused, intentional and consistent with its tracklisting i saved 7/11 (all except procession, White Queen, Funny How Love Is and Nevermore) faves: Fairy Feller…, Ogre Battle, Father and Son, Some Day One Day 74/100
Patchy not a huge fan of Queen but the loser in the end was brilliant
*listened before the project* I really love the first two albums of Queen
Favourites: White Queen (as it began) = I really like the melody and the backing vocals that are quite ethereal and then the grainy guitar comes in to contrast it. Freddie's voice is soft but the questioning guitar makes it seem like not is all as it seems. The march of the Black queen = I love the guitar and the whole song
Maybe I'm not the target audience for this album. Come to think of it, the only Queen song I really like is probably because David Bowie is in it. Undeniably a good record, just too theatrical/ musical coded for my liking.
Can never go wrong with Queen
Wer Queen nicht kennt, dem ist nicht zu helfen.
love the instrumentals
Queen is one of them most misrepresented bands in all of rock history from a modern perspective shaped by Greatest Hits comps and constant radio play of their singles. The tone of Queen is unmistakable. What people miss is how unabashedly nerdy a majority of their music is. One of the best songs on the album is about how Mom’s should be cooler and not losers. Half the songs are fantasy stories that Led Zeppelin would find indulgent. I wouldn’t consider this a favorite album at all, but I like how it’s undeniably Queen with awesome harmonies, intricate song structures, heavy driving tough-as-nails music, but weirder songs that I haven’t heard a million times. It’s perfect for when I’m in the mood for some 70s heavy glam.
very unique and energetic sound
Mid
I LOVE QUEEN
Is this the real life
Huh, so that’s why Queen is the goat.
A phenomal piece, but The Black Queen is where it falters. It's missing something to make it perfect. It's close though
Best friend was good til he started to moan at the end. Sweet lady was good I really liked the guitar and drums. Seaside rendezvous was silly. Bohemian Rhapsody is phenomenal as always
This album is good, but it's not Queen's like super bangers. I'm noticing a trend in this list that it seems to bias towards early sounds which founded the bigger success later, which is cool, but I kind of rate on the class of the album itself not exactly in its precedence in time.
Growing up, I never “got” early queen and only really started to enjoy their output from Sheer Heart Attack onwards. It’s enlightening to listen to this again. Am surprised how I’ve grown towards this now. It’s almost prog at times and rocks hard when it gets going. Putting it into rotation. Heard enough to suggest that repeat listening will bear fruit…. 3 for now
I liked this a lot. Doesn’t have many of the classic queen songs on it, but it’s a band discovering their sound. I’ll always take an album where dorks sing about fairy tales.
While Freddy Mercury was cool and Queen are clearly incredible musicians, their grandiose theatrical style has never appealed to me. Singing nonsense doggerel about ogres and fairies doesn't help. Pompous, po-faced, showy and ridiculous.
Didn't recognize a single song on this one, but still has that definitive Queen sound.
This album consistently provides that original rock orchestra base flavour that laid the solid foundation for Queen but Freddie Mercury was just building up and had not yet found his wings to soar .
Honestly, not great, I thought this was pretty disappointing. I love Queen’s biggest hits, some of the best music of all time, but I’ve never really fallen in love with many other albums. Especially after hearing she heart attack, which I gave a five, this one is pretty dang rough outside of a few tracks. Two out of five.
👍🏻
145 albums and THREE have been Queen. Sorry Queen you don't deserve three albums on a list of things to hear before I die. This is the weakest of the three and I wonder if Brian May was on the committee. This is their prog era and it's just songs about Ogres and other bullshit. Unfortunately, I don't think they were all that good at prog. It’s all technique and nothing else. Freddy’s range! May’s layered guitar parts! Words about fantasy worlds! Prog!
Forgot how good this album is. Much more consistent than sheer heart attack, but other than a couple tracks it's not quite on the same level as some of the stuff from night at the opera or innuendo. March of the black queen is a 10 though on par with bohemian rhapsody
Probably the best Queen album imo. Really flows nicely and is never uninteresting
Wasn’t a huge fan at the start but really picked up after that with some bangers
One of my favourite Queen albums. Full of fantasy allusions a big noise.
Really good album, not my favourite of theirs but still thoroughly enjoyed.
It is Queen, but this is not my Queen i like.
On the one hand, it's not the strongest album. On the other, it's fucking Queen singing about a fucking OGRE BATTLE
Before listening: Wait, a Queen album with a bunch of songs that I've never heard of before? Guess Queen became more famous after this album, but I kinda assume most Queen songs were equally famous. Also I'm gonna assume this is where Quest got the name Ogre Battle from, lemme just double-check - yep sure did, lol. After listening: Yeah, this was heavier than I expected from Queen. I liked it! I can see why this album doesn't have as many famous songs, since it's more of a 40 minute long song/symphony. But it was very cool and makes me wonder what else Queen did, that isn't mentioned as often as their more popular songs.
I was almost about to give this a pretty cynical review, but after listening to it a second time this morning, I warmed up to it a lot more. I guess I just wasn't in the mood for rock opera yesterday. Once again, I'm a little too busy with festive period nonsense to give this the detailed appraisal it probably deserves, as there's a lot going on in this record. To summarize though, it's a pretty good listen! Favourite tracks: Father to Son, Ogre Battle, The March of the Black Queen
Never heard these before, but pretty nice overall.
This album was mostly unfamiliar to me, apart from Seven Seas of Rhye, which I absolutely loved as an 10, 11-year old. It brings strong memories of listening to the Queen Greatest Hits while playing a fantasy role player book called City of Thieves. The entire album seems to fit that genre for me.
Really finding their sound. Little heavier and more serious at times
Again absolute genius
It's pretty good. Mercury is always good on vocals, but May and especially Taylor's vocal performances are also pretty good on here. I feel like it's missing a banger stand-out track though.
meh
I think someone else on here had this one recently and gave it a 5; I won’t go that far, but this was very good. A grand total of zero of their hits on on here, but it’s not noticeable at all. It’s crazy that some of these tracks weren’t popular. A fun listen; it’s cool that I keep discovering new sides to a band that I thought I knew well. 4/5
Tenho este disco em minha coleção e nunca me dei conta do quão bom ele é, talvez pela qualidade ruim das gravações.
achei ruim glr
pior que eh bem diferente dos HITS da banda né mas eh isso aí. hard rock + progzinho leve. bom pra quem gosta e não incomoda também. mas não eh mto minha pira!!
Definitely a banger, even with none of their most popular songs
I really like the style of Queen II. It feels raw, ambitious and much heavier than the sound Queen would eventually become known for. There is a roughness to it that I really enjoy, and the combination of heavy guitars, theatrical ideas and progressive elements makes the album feel exciting and unpredictable. It is definitely over the top at times, but that is also part of the charm. I like hearing Queen before everything became more polished and refined. For me, this heavier and slightly more chaotic version of the band is far more interesting than a lot of their later material. 4/5
Queeeeeen
Love some early Queen. Bunch of talented nerds.
Totally unlistenable
Everything by Queen is iconic. This album is no exception.
I'm a certified Queen hater so this probably comes as no surprise but I found this album boring and stale. It's not the worst thing, I didn't actively want to get it over with really but I just don't enjoy how Queen puts songs together. They hit the middle point of not being very heavy but not being folky enough that just grinds at me.
Much more metal than I expected. Lots of epic guitar riffs but I can see why Zeppelin got all the attention.
I don't think I've ever listened to this album before even though I feel like I've listened to quite a lot of Queen in my day. It's pretty clear to hear that this is the album where Queen really start to develop their trademark sound, but it's not quite the Queen we know yet. Some of the hardest/heavy Queen I've ever heard. Standouts The Looser In The End The March Of The Black Queen 4/5
Damn good.
Sounded emptier than the other queen albums I've heard. Freddie was flexing with the vocals though, definitely an interesting listen.
I've never listened to this queen album before. Has an excellent Queen dramatic vibes, especially Ogre Battle! There is no wrong this band can do in my mind. Thanks for the rec!
I don't love Queen, not sure why.
Queen can’t do any wrong!!
I liked queen and was looking forward to finally getting one of their albums…. it was def fun but probably not my fav of theirs
Terrible. Just terrible
Good album. Expected more from queen
Not a Queen album that I’m familiar with. But not really one that I think I’ll be spending too much time with, either. Perfectly fine.
not my favorite of theirs but still solid. Definitely a different sound/vibe
I feel like this would be the soundtrack to a really goth remake of Alice in Wonderland. The guitar is actually heavenly 9/10
It's Queen doing prog. Curious selection from their catalog to represent them in this list, given that it doesn't have any of their well-known hits. I do like Queen and I'm a fan, but because of their ubiquity on the radio I never had any of their records, so I had never heard this one straight through. The typical Queen musicianship and studio wizardry are in evidence and provide for a lively and fun listen and the fantasy-flavored lyrics are just bonkers. The March of the Black Queen reminded me a little of Elton John's Love Lies Bleeding in some spots. Epic, stately, straight-up full-force rock magnificence. I really enjoyed this one - it's got all you could ask for from a great rock record and Queen in general. Surprising that their sound was fully realized on only their second album.
Me initially: I don’t recognize a single track in this album. Me as it went on: Ok, I get it—this album rocks. I don’t think I could point to a single song in this album that really shines above the rest, but as a whole, this album is near perfect. Before this, I liked, didn’t love, Queen. But this album increased my appreciation for the band substantially. It earns my 11th 5/5.
Queen is so wonderfully bombastic and operatic. Queen II delivers perfectly on that approach. Freddie’s incredible vocals elevate the high energy guitar and powerful keyboard to an almost fantasy quality. The harmonies and backup vocals add so much to giving this entire album a sense of adventure and journey. Absolutely worth your time to fall in love with this album.
Pretty solid record, and the cover art would later inspire the video for Bohemian Rhapsody.
Ahhh a Queen album with none of the hits….. doesn’t bode well. Actually- this is pretty good. The Big Hooks are missing but the songs themselves are interesting and fun and much more rocking than “Night at the Opera.” Good times with Ogres. FOUR STARS
I love Queen’s hits, and as a teenager, I owned a couple of their greatest hits cassettes. I’ve never listened to one of their actual studio records front to back though. One might question how I could really call myself a fan, which would be fair enough, I guess. The image on the cover is sort of iconic, so it surprises me that there isn’t a familiar song on the whole album. I was a little nervous about that until halfway through Father to Son, when I realized that my anxiety was ridiculous, because I’m already into this record. I don’t love the recording. I don’t know if the remastered version that I’m listening to is better or worse than the original, but this one’s very muddy. It's unfortunately so bad that it's distracting. It's like they recorded the record underwater. It makes me feel like I might have made it in the recording industry as a sound engineer after all. I have a lot of grace for artistic choices, even in the recording process, but this doesn't feel like artistic choices as much as ineptitude behind a soundboard. Which is really too bad because the music being recorded is brilliant. But other than that, the songs are kinda badass. Operatic at points, prog-rocky at points, all pretty listenable and interesting. Brian May is a freaking legend, and Freddie Mercury is Freddie Mercury doing Freddie Mercury things all over the place. It's a fun time. 4.3/5
Even though I am a fan of Queen, this is the first time I listened to this album. It is good, but not my favorite by them. Their talent really shines through though. (8/10)
rocking. melodic. queen shit.
trochę rozczarowujący dla mnie ;( nie słucham queen tak w sumie, ale jest parę kawałków, które naprawdę lubię, a tutaj nie było wg mnie żadnego, który specjalnie by się wyróżniał jednocześnie jako do posłuchania w tle był w porządku, no i przez to, że jest to rock, to mimo wszystko to nie było to asłuchalne, chociaż liczyłxm na coś o wiele lepszego ale brian may delivered <3 chyba the march of the black queen mi się najbardziej spodobało? idk o i jeszcze white queen
It’s a good album. Not the best of them.
A theatrical fever dream where Brian May leads a torturous fantasy LARP.
god this band is terrible
Good album, I see why people love Queen. Just not my genre
The transition of this album is fascinating, and good. Should have listened to it (and bought it) long ago.
I am a Queen fan, and II is a fine album. Definitely an expansion of their sound and scope from their debut album, but none of the hits are on there, so personally I would not have included it on this list. Instead, I would replace it with A KIND OF MAGIC, which is a cultural touchstone that still delivers nearly 4 decades on.
2,5?
to the tune of under pressure: *OGRE BATTLE*
Two discs worth of this operatic stadium rock and I've had my fill. Not for me. All I can say is thank god punk rock came along to stop this type of masturbatory shenanigans.
It was interesting if not exactly my style. Freddie had an amazing ability as a vocalist
It didn’t really sound like Queen. At least not that Queen that I know. It was strange but I kinda liked it too?
I love Queen. This album is one I’ve never listened to before. It has 11 songs and that’s 11 songs I’ve never heard, which I’m actually surprised by, I thought I was a decent Queen fan. The only thing I actually recognize is the album cover. The first half is very down to earth, some good songwriting, with a sound that is their own big rock sound but also simultaneously feels very intimate. ‘Father to Son’ particularly. The second half is big, fantastical and more along the lines of the Queen you know, bigger guitar, operatic singing, it’s good and even weird but I may prefer the first half more. There are some real good nuggets in this album.
Bringing the bombast with swagger- in the best way possible.
I had never heard this album , but It might become one of my favorites.
I've always loved Queen and, like many others, know all the 'hits' but haven't listened to any album on its own before. This is incredible. I, ashamedly, hadn't heard anything off this record before and boy do I regret never listening sooner. The first half is a mix of Freddie and Brian/Roger on vocals, and the second half is an all out Freddiethon. The entire album is just fantastic and quite heavy. I love the fantasy element of the second half, starting with Ogre Battle and ending with Nevermore. The March of the Black Queen is a sort of precursor to BoRap, with the 6:32 runtime and variety of sounds/song parts. Overall, the best album I've had on this list so far and my first 5/5. A masterpiece.
Yea this is good.
Very good that is meant to be listened to as a full album.
How I want prog to sound.
A cool reminder that they were glam before they were huge. But I might not return to it.
Although this isn't my personal favorite Queen album, and not one I would normally sit and listen through, it's still brilliant.
So interesting -- Brian May and Freddie Mercury are both completely unhinged, but in very different ways. It looks like Freddie's instincts took over for their later work (resulting in the big hits) but it's fascinating to see what happens when you let each of them loose.
For as much Queen as I was exposed to growing up (my mom is a big fan) I don't think I've ever listened to any of the songs on this album. For their sophomore release, their sound is pretty well formed and consistent with later more popular releases. The songs themselves have a little less bite perhaps than their later work. But Brian May's guitar work shines throughout, as does Mercury's powerful and incredibly flexible vocal delivery. Favorites of mine were Father to Son and The Fairy Feller's Master. There are certainly worse ways to spend 40 minutes, but I doubt this is one I'll come back to quickly. Solid 3.
A lot proggier than I expected. Interesting to have 2 Queen albums and they are missing a lot of their hits. High 3 on this one for da energy. Really enjoyed it, but there just was something missing to get it to a 4.
Much different than any other Queen albums i have listened to out of the gate, has a really hard rock feel to it which I can get down with. Love a good instrumental to kick off an album. Prog Queen is the best Queen imo. This album was really good.
Wild I don't think I recognize a single song on here by name. Non-hit Queen kinda rules. I can see how some of these songs could develop into other well known songs as well. Also, they shred on most of these songs.
Good, first queen album I've listened to and has some misses, but without those it would be 5
My favorite queen album!! Probably their most prog and I LOVE it!! Just a very easy listen that I come back to all the time.
It was... ok. Felt like a lighter Led Zeppelin album. Definitely not what I expected. I think the album was a little less than the sum of its parts.
Got taken off of Spotify but probably really good
No one has a guitar sound like Brian May... Never heard Father To Son before - excellent so many parts how tf has ogre battle never been used in shrek, it's also amazing. 3.5 Stars really, its great but idk how much i'll go back to it.
Secret best era of Queen
This must be a rock opera but I probably need to listen again as I'm not sure what the hell it's about. A Night at the Opera album was way better thats for sure
Not my favorite version of Queen.
Worth revisting often
Solid
This should be rated higher but I'm still learning to love progressive, arena, whatever this is rock. Had to break my first listen into 3 just to make it through this lol.
This hits similar to the Yes record, in the bald spot of acceptance revealed by receding tastes and cares. It has the sort of mid-70s celtic jam fetish that Spinal Tap mocked. But I'm down with it. A lot of essential rock bands of this era had an antiseptic early period, like David Bowie's WTF early work. This is not that. It's the indulgent strut of a band just beginning its full bloom into weirdness. Yas Queen.
Es el so de queen, tot i que aquest no es el meu album preferit.
This album is just perfect nostalgia and will now be one of my go tos when I need to liven things up.
A good album that shares some of Queen's lesser know songs, yet still undeniably delivers top notch musicianship.
I feel this album is the genesis of all future Queens albums to come. Not an album full of singles but rather you can feel how the piano and synthesizers are evolving into a future influential hall of fame sound. 3.5.
Almost 5. Rock I can appreciate.
I became a Queen fan a bit after this album came out. It's epic, but not quite 5 star epic for me...
Just boring tasteless rock music. Most overrated band of all time. Rip freddie tho. 5.1 2.5/5
Good stuff and always an experience involving the emotions.
When side 2 has Freddie, weirdness and rock... Why have I just listened to Roger Taylor and Brian May singing boring songs on side 1???
It’s as if Led Zeppelin embraced the nerd shit even more. What a fun album.
I don't think I heard anything off of this album before, but it was still one of the best rock albums I've listened to.
What’s Queen before they became Queen if not a peasant! It was whatever.
It seems like Queen could have veered off into a different kinda of band than what they did. This album seems to be their fork in the road.
Good, not their best.
Good!
Queen delivered with every album a box of sweets.
Really good stuff. Not a whole lot of major hits though.
I had not listened to this album before (despite being a Queen fan in my youth). Looking at the track listing I think there's only 1 track that I knew from the greatest hits - Seven Seas of Rhye - which is a banger. The rest of the album is a bit of a grower and is good fun albeit a bit bat shit crazy and all over the shop - with Queen clearly given a bit too much time to experiment in the studio. Interesting to hear echos of future Queen tracks amongst it all. Doing this list is making me realise that I like English 70's prog rock/ heavy (ish) metal - which is very much a surprise to me.
70s rock took itself very seriously. This album fits right in to all the different sub-genres of 70s rock; and tries to cram all of them into each song. You can hear the roots of a mature Queen in there, but overall it seems they are trying to follow along with their contemporary crowd. I wonder if any of these old bands cringe at their lyrics 50 years later?
There will never be another band like queen
Worst band ever
Despite my Queen fatigue in the last decade, Queen II still hits hard. They produced the shit out of this album. Brian May’s guitar tone is all his own and it sounds so damn good. I think he mimicked a sitar at one point. This album is theatrical and all over the place. Great listen.
This was okay, but nothing stood out per se.
Not their best but still solid
I had never listened to this album. I don’t even think I’d heard any of these cuts previously. A really nice listen, some of it clearly recognizable as Queen, some of it not.
Icons
Interesting
Dramatiskt, kraftfullt och fantasifullt. Älskar.
Some good moments, but it feels like they focused too much on making the songs long and complicated, rather than making them good.
Queen es queen y king
It's Queen. Yes, please.
What the nice kids thought was edgy - but meanwhile, in the garage…..
Queen at their heaviest and most proggy. Not as good as Led Zeppelin, but still pretty good.
Not my favorite
Good but not a banger
The beginning of brilliance
¡¡Estupendo disco!!
The best of all times
I don't think I've heard any of these songs ever before besides Seven Seas of Rhye. Clearly not their best, but I just love Queen. Such a unique and amazing band.
Very boring, did not like or get into at all
I love Queen! Anything less than 5 stars is blasphemy.
Okay, my problem is not with the excellent musicianship or Freddy's multi-octave voice. My problem is the same problem I've had with Queen off and on. Many of their songs are forgettable and overblown. I can't believe this album was included on this website but not A Day At The Races, which to me is a much better album. In my opinion Queen didn't really become of age until A Night At The Opera. After having listened to it I cannot remember a single song.
As far as I know I’ve never listened to a Queen album track before but am obviously familiar with their singles. I’ve always found them to be incredibly dull and a real shame that someone with the voice of Freddie Mercury was wasted on such a boring band. This album doesn’t really change my mind, and doesn’t have a single banger on it.
I don't know how I can love Genesis and hate Queen, but here we are. This is probably their best.
Idk I just feel like they are struggling with this one. Not my favorite album by them by far.
Fantastic record, quality songs from beginning to end. Another album that proves that Queen is much more than just a hit singles band.
Proggy Queen, before their ability to construct tight pop songs was fully developed. It is an interesting listen, with multiple tracks jamming tons of different ideas together which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. But the potential of the band is obvious, and its an interesting window into the development of a band even if the end product is a bit mixed.
also not really my type of Queen! i'm clearly not a fan and i've probably listened to this before but i don't remember it at all. vaguely tuneless background pop rock. no complaints but no compliments either.
I’m not a massive Queen fan but this was pretty good. Innovative and executed brilliantly. All the pretentiousness of 70s progressive rock. Solid.
Great album lots of songs I’d not heard
This was decent as expected
This was pretty good .Didn’t
Less theatrical and therefore better than I feared. Seems like they were only figuring out that style I really can't stand with this one.
A good album, I liked The Loser In The End, Ogre Battle and The Fairy Fellor's Master the most.
A less over the top version of Queen. It was good, but they aren't for me.
I liked Seven Seas of Rhye since I'd heard it already, but the rest was fine.
I can totally see how some folks drool over this band. I don't, but it was a good listen.
They are definitely good Will I listen to again: 80%
I am only familiar with the hits by Queen, but this was still just great.
Not my favorite from Queen tbh. The rock opera element was cool, but their later work is definitely stronger. Still a nice listen.
I could listen to Freddie Mercury sing the phone book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fantasy inspired, guitar driven noise with moments of beauty
Although I am a Queen fan, I can’t say that I distinctly recall listening to any of these songs previously. You can tell they are still trying to figure things out and getting closer to achieving their distinct sound. I was surprised by some of the elements of hard rock or early metal sound in some of these songs. It was a fun listen but not sure if many of the songs would make it into any normal rotation of mine.
To start off, the album art is iconic. One of the greatest album covers ever. The songs are mostly mid. White Queen is pretty nice. Ogre Battle has a fun story. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is pretty good. But man, the guitar work is incredible. They really highlighted the guitar playing in this album. This would be a 3 with the guitar pushing it up to a 4. Best song: Seven Seas Of Rhye
classic; no words
6 Never listens through a queen album before but their album music is way better than all of their hits I think
5/5 lovely
Boring queen
The feeling I have coming off this listen is "Meh". I won't ever seek this out again. 2.5/3 but I'll generously round up.
It's Queen, but minus a lot of the pop sensibilities which came later. I've never been a huge Queen fan, but without that flair it just sounds a little flat. Accomplished, but flat.
Not the best queen album, but still pretty good
it's queen like great
Awesome album and great Wiki article on it as well.
Not a bad album. Does only have one of their well known hits Seven Seas of Rhye. But over all a good album showing how Queen gets better with age.
No real complaints but the operatic Queen style still isn’t really my thing. This was fine but no reason to listen again
Overly ambitious, self-indulgent
Dad rock
Good
Queen is a band I often have trouble with. They're frequently guilty of wandering into 'show tune' territory. They tend to inhabit an awkward middle ground between Glam Rock, Prog, and Zeppelin-lite. Still, this was entertaining enough to garner 4/5 from me.
Quality Queen album.
Okay
This is #day452 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's to my second Queen album on the list, aptly titled Queen II. It's probably my first time listening to it in full, though I've long considered the band one of my favorites from the classic rock era, and am quite familiar with their discography. You can definitely hear how this record helped shape their sound in the years to come. Is this the most prog Queen you'll ever hear? Quite likely. "Lose In The End" was quite an eye-opener. Also, the cover is one of the most iconic ever. This is a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day453.
First half is fucking annoying and bad but the second half is fucking annoying but good Fav song: March of the Black Queen or Fairy Feller's Master Stroke
Definitely one of Queen's heavier albums, Queen II is a great listen for someone who is more familiar with their big hits. It gives a great look into Queen's transformation moving from a more rock-focused group to one that blends some aspects of metal and art-rock into something uniquely 'Queen.' It's not my favorite from them but certainly an enjoyable album I'm certain to revisit. 3/5
No really show stoppers on this
Big swing. Big miss. Great cover photo though.
Never been a Queen fan outside of a few songs. Not sure if this is some LOTR fan music but I really wanted to like Ogre Battle. I did not.
I know Queens big hits but I never listened to any of their albums when I was younger. This album for me was terrible. Respect their influence and appreciate what they left behind but I would not listen to this album again in my lifetime.
A theatrical fantasy. Interesting
Crazy how much this sounds like the Queen songs are massive hits, but not quite. It’s like this record didn’t sell and they decided, “well that didn’t work. let’s do it again.” It sounds like bizarro Queen.
kli an iblick in dia früahnera songs - sind aber ned dia wo miar am besta gfallend
really really cool queen album that i basically did not know at all! loved the storyline
Pretty solid 3 stars for me, not the Queen album I would choose to hear but it’s not bad either.
I really like this one - call it 3.5, but it's worth a listen and it's probably a good introduction to Queen for folks who only know Bohemian Rhapsody. Good reminder that it's a killer band backing Freddie.
This album was fine. It is certainly not VINTAGE Queen by any stretch of the imagination, did any of these songs make it onto any of their greatest hits albums. It is almost like this album has -all- the filler songs for most of their albums, still pretty good songs but not also not alot of standouts...
A few classics, just the beginning for legendary band Queen.
Epic band. This album is okay. None of the absolute bangers, but very sound all-around.
Some ‘mo queens it’s alright I suppose
Closing track is a banger, but otherwise, not a lot grabbed me.
Proto-Queen. It's a definite precursor of all that they would bring in the coming years. Nice to have had a peek into where they came from as I had not heard this album before.
Went into this thinking Queen are shit - change my mind. It didn’t. There is variation here and lots going on. Some glam rock and then Led Zep like (or lite) vocals in The Loser in the End. But, a high degree of bombastic, pompous, OTT everything runs through it and those layered vocals aren’t for me (when it’s Queen). Fables, fairies, crows and ogres don’t do it for me lyrically. The March of the Black Queen - Started to think I like it then checked myself and rightly concluded it was rubbish. Just don’t get them.
Songs NOT added to playlist Procession Father To Son White Queen Some Day One Day The Loser In The End Ogre Battle The Fairy Tellers Master Stroke Nevermore The March Of The Black Queen Funny How Love Is The Seven Seas Of Rye
In 1987, when Queen were my Favourite band, Seven Seas of Rhye was probably my least liked of their Greatest Hits album, appearing just before the Stadium Rock/Live Aid friendly We WillRockYou/AretheChampions. Seven Seas was the only song I knew from this album, was probably the one I liked best from it while still remaining bottom of their Greatest Hits album for me. Queen albums: I think 2 down, 1 to go.
I was erring towards a 2 star rating as it sounds like a myriad of other pretentious mid 70s rock albums, but tight at the death seven seas of rhye edged it into mediocre territory
The 20 seconds of pretentious guitar wankery intro from Brian May was enough to make me switch off.
As a Best Of band, Queen have a pretty phenomenal catalogue, but I wasn’t that impressed with this one. Maybe with a bit more time and familiarity, this might grow on me but for now…
This album screams of a young band finding its identity. Not really sure what they want to do sonically. You can hear the footsteps of the music landscape defining band they would become. For now they showed their excellent songwriting and care for the craft.
Felt like sitting through a big production rock opera. I liked the concept of the dual themed sides, and the orchestration of everything is very impressive. But, much like sitting through a full rock opera, it gets a bit much after a while. Especially when it's lacking the payoff of the melodies of some of the songs on the later albums.
That's theatrical to the point of exhaustion - a swirl of fantasy lyrics, layered vocals, and guitar heroics that never quite land. It’s ambitious, sure, but it drowns in its own excess, feeling more like a costume rehearsal than a real performance. There’s talent all over it, just not much direction or soul. Big ideas, small payoff.
This was an album to show you what Queen sounds like without any hits. Its.... fine.
A really good album from beginning to end. 5 stars or A-.
Listening to this is making me realize I've never listened to a Queen album. I only know their big hits. This is very Queen. Operatic. Overwrought. Opulent. Original. (What other O-words can I use to describe it?!) When it works, it's great. When it doesn't, it just seems a little silly. 4 for flamboyance!
Not the most memorable Queen's album
Love a bit of queen. Top man, top songs.
Strong
Honestly not my favorite of theirs
Better than Coldplay
Tämä on läpikotaisin tuttu bändi. Olen ollut bändin fani jo vuodesta -86. Levykin on löytynyt omasta hyllystä jo yli 35 vuotta. Tämä albumi on tosin mielestäni yksi Queenin huonoimmista. Biisit on liian progea mun makuuni ja tää on vähiten kuuntelemani bändin tuotannosta. Paras biisi on säästetty viimeiseksi, eli ”Seven Seas of Rhye”.
Weird. I like it
That was fun! I like the guitar tone. I also like when albums have instrumental opener tracks The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke gave me vibes of that one Star Wars instrumental for a bit hehe
Freddie voor de hits. Queen nog meer als glamrockers. Ik heb zelf weinig met die stijl, maar vond het verrassender dan gedacht.
Põnev! Olen Queeni varasemalt palju kuulanud, aga mitte niimoodi albumi kaupa. On tunda, et nad alles teise albumiga veel otsivad oma kõla, aga signatuurid (keerulised vokaalharmooniad, Brian May kitarrikäigud) on juba olemas. Mõnel laulul annab vokaalid hoopiski Taylor, Queeni trummar, ning see toob bändile kohe Led Zeppelini laadse kõla. Esimesel kuulamisel on keeruline neid lugusid siin meelde jätta, sest väga suur osa neist on pigem progeroki laadsed, st mõtteid palju ja korduvaid meloodiaid ning tuure on pigem vähe. Vahepeal tunnen ka, kuidas mingeid produsid poleks võimalik laivis mängida. Nt Brian May kitarrid on vahepeal duublis või on lihtsalt väga palju vokaalpartiisid. Aga see on vist Queeni üldine "probleem", et lood on tihti üleprodutseeritud nii, et laivis ei saa neid "täielikult" mängida vaid 4 inimesega. Ainuke pala, mis on Queeni nö kullavaramusse või Greatest Hits plaadile jõudnud on Seven Seas of Rhye. Kindlasti pole see plaat nende parim teos, vaid nende helgemad aastad olid veel ees.
Flamboyant fun.
Thé good queen period. After flash Gordon things went downhill
Fantasy or medieval rock has to be one of my least favorite subgenres. 2/5
i appreciate queen, but i don’t love them
I enjoy everything Queen and have been a lifelong Queen fan, but I do agree with the assessment that this isn't their best project, but where they took a first huge leap with their iconic sound. I enjoyed spotting a lot of sonic motifs that first appear here and later develop in their further projects - for example, Brian May's simple-yet-beautiful repetition of vocal melodies over guitar, like how in "Bohemian Rhapsody" the same melodic lines first appear in vocals and then are echoed via guitar licks. My favorites were, "The Loser In the End," in which I really enjoyed Roger Taylor's vocals, and, of course, "Seven Seas of Rhye."
No need for this to be on the list. It's cool to hear them find their place, but with Sheer Heart Attack and Night at the Opera on here already and are the culmination of the different facets of Queen. Still, great record. 3
Seven Seas of Rhye, the unequivocal banger on the album. Been a while since I listened, I found a few overlooked ones like Nevermore, and Some Day One Day
Top 3 songs March of the black queen Ogre battle Father to son Very operatic some songs could be in a musical Hints of early led Zeppelin There's a reason queen are so great
No big hits on this one but high-quality R&R from 👸
I love Queen, but tbh this was a bit disappointing. Surprised.
Ah yes!
Theatrical and very fantasy-driven. I really enjoyed the mythical themes, however the album still delivers surprisingly emotional songs too like Father to Son an The Loser in the End to me personally. I love how the album is split across different singers, Brian May handling the heavier sides and Freddie handling the full theatrical songs, then Roger Taylor a drummer himself having his own track as well, there’s something really cool about a band where every member steps up and sings. To me this is pure proto–prog heavy metal. The instrumental and arrangements are insanely intricate, and the layering constantly adds electricity and tension to the songs. The dynamics are impressive too one moment it’s full blown theatrical heaviness and the it goes into something tender, then a build up to ramp back up again. They have managed to solidify a style that combines a lot of different elements, some of the most technical songwriting I’ve heard from a commercially successful band. My favourite has to be The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke, Ogre Battle and The March of the Black Queen too!
pretty good
Wow, there's Sabbath meets Genesis with Freddy Mercury. Who knew? None of this is exactly my cup of tea, but I respect the effort.
I LOVE Queen. This is not my favorite album though lol.
Are they LARPers?
A couple bangers, but not the queen that I'm used to.
Liked this a lot, was new to me. Just a very good rock band here.
Good
Not what I expected from a Queen album and and first listen I got distracted and didn’t live it, but second listen through this hooked me - super fun
This is the definition of the word "epic".
Impressive. I hear where Muse gets their influence.
A perfectly good Queen album but nothing specific really grips me or stands out as something memorable. Good listen though, Queen rules.
There is just too much scream-singing.
A Night At The Opera is great, Sheer Heart Attack is fantastic. Queen II is Queen's best album. The whole album is diverse, dynamic and filled with great melodies and sounds. You can't top this. Queen couldn't top this. Father To Son is so heavy and epic, White Queen (As It Begun) is vulnerable, yet hopeful, A Loser In The End is the song that everyone hates from this album, but even it is so full of fun. Nevermore is the best Queen ballad. March Of The Black Queen is probably the only Queen song that tops Bohemian Rhapsody and is my favourite songs by them. Queen's 80s stuff like I Want To Break Free, One Vision and Invisible Man is good, but THIS is the Queen that I love really deeply in my heart and connect to. There's literally not a bad thing I can say about this album. One of the easiest 5 in this list.
just listened to this one like 2 days ago lol epic
I'd never listened to this entire album before. The only track I was aware of is "Seven Seas of Rhye." My issue with Queen is that you basically already know all of their best songs. There aren't any hidden gems on their albums. So, given that this album doesn't really have many greatest hits, it's just kind of meh.
This is different look of what Queen is and what I know of Queen. Compared to the singles and the ones everyone knows, this is a nice different, to listen to for the first time. Like how the album flows nicely. All four as excellent as ever, defo see how their career shaped out after this album, never lost their roots. No particular bangers other than Seven Seas of Rhye but enjoyed and maybe open to listen to other of Queens lesser known music.
3.5
There worst album by far!!!!
I was impressed. For being a lesser know, early Queen album... this is great!
Jag vägrar... Det här det hemskaste jag vet Världens sämsta band när dom låter som allra värst. Jag mår fysiskt illa av det här. Jag gör hellre som Sudden och runkar med en sax (“inte mycket till sport men jävla habil tv-underhållning")
En bit ifrån We are the champions och We Will rock you, vilket jag uppskattar. A-sidan innehåller några rätt okej proggiga rocklåtar, som White Queen och Some day one day. Och jag är beredd på att skriva något positivt om att rockopera-anslagen inte är så närvarande här. Det får jag äta upp när B-sidan drar igång, den känns som en enda lång dito. Totalt ändå snäppet bättre än Bohemian rhapsody- smörjan.
Det finns en del positivt med detta album. Det är ett enkelalbum. Det klockar in på 40 min (inget mastodontalbum här).
Roligare än annat samtida brittiskt som Pink Floyd och Led Zeppelin. Jag har fått den slumpad till mig en gång tidigare. Men har redan glömt hur den lät. Det säger väl det mesta om vilket intryck det lämnat hos mig. B-sidans symfonirock är outhärdlig. Svag tvåa.
Not quite as good as some of Queen’s later masterpieces, but still a solid collection of mystical hard rock
love queen but never saw them as being album-conscious, i always assumed they were looking to make hits. this album proved me wrong - have never heard a single song off this album but was so surprised by how adventurous the album as a whole was, but still true to queen's sound with the harmonies and guitar riffs. listening to this felt like an experience
Seven Seas of Rhye is a bop. Not a whole lot else on this one though weirdly. Queen has a lot of bangers but all spread across their albums with a huge backlog of stuff nobody ever talks about.
thumbs up
Every single Queen's album is an experience itself and you can understand that from the very beginning with the Procession intro.I wish this could have been a Medieval themed concept album though.Like a fairytale going through the darkness and the light.Alas it has enough fantasy in it,so i'm good. My most favourite songs are: White Queen(a bliss to my ears-the lyrics are like a poem), Some Day One Day,Nevermore,The March of The Black Queen. Not my favourite album of Queen but still brilliant. 4/5.
Probably the worst Queen album I've gotten but still not bad by any means. Father to Son was my favourite track here.
I’ve done myself a disservice over the years not paying much attention to early Queen. Of course, the hits on the later albums are great, but these early albums feel better as a whole. And Brian May rules. I prefer Sheer Heart Attack, but this one is very solid too.
yet another incredibly classy and dramatic rock album from queen. have these guys ever made a bad album? i have a feeling that some queen fans might be able to fill me in. but that's besides the point, let's talk about this one. this album is ambitious and experimental. compared to their later work and more iconic tracks, queen has less of a "pop" sound and more of a progressive, neoclassical rock soundscape. the record's two sides are labeled "side white" and "side black", a set of songs depending on your mood. it whisks listeners away into an introspective fantasy ride of rock... it's totally awesome.
great album not their best though
Need to give it a couple more listens. Liked it but did not immediately stand out.
Day635 - i’m ready for my quest now
I hope this isn’t the last album someone listens to before they die, otherwise they will die in agony. (Jk it wasn’t THAT bad) I did find this album a bit boring, I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to listen to it again.
oh, it’s a good album, just gets boring a bit towards the end
Classic Queen imagery. The start of that classic Queen layered sound. Yet, a totally underwhelming and slog of an experience for the grand payoff to be Seven Seas of Rhye. I feel like this album needed another single to help float it.
I understand how important this band is. I understand how talented this band is. I understand how genius the arrangements are. I understand how different (and dangerous ?) this band was when they first arrived on the scene. But all I could think of while listening to this was “It’s nice that High School Show Choir got to make a rock album”. I’m definitely more of a hits fan with these guys, but at least it’s better than KISS’s 1998 suicidally bad album “Psycho Circus”. If KISS had hired Brian May, it might have saved the album. But also, Brian, turn the treble down on your amp a tad, bud!
Deb score
Absolute banger!
Fucking awesome. Wild lyrics of ogres and fairy's, closing with my favorite Queen track
Nothing interesting here.
I think most of the songs on this album I was hearing for the first time. I have always appreciated the Queen songs I've heard but never sought them out. I was really impressed with the overall production and sound, I was very engaged and interested the whole time. Favorite track was definitely march of the black queen.
Really solid back-catalog Queen album that crescendos with Seven Seas of Rhye, a personal favorite of theirs. No notes, highly enjoyed, but stands in the shadow of some of their more successful albums.
An album where I liked the back half more, pretty rare. The consistent theme was lovely along with the sick harmonies, very engaging.