“Sweet Oblivion” is the self-titled debut album from a new project established to feature the vocals of former Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate. More recently of course, Tate has been fronting the band Operation : Mindcrime. The other members of Sweet Oblivion are Italian musicians brought together by Simone Mularoni from the band DGM. I featured the track “True Colors” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 12th April and on the NI Rocks A-Z Show on 21st May and then “Hide Away” on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 21st June.


 

The aim of the Sweet Oblivion project was to develop an album of music influenced by the sound of Queensrÿche during the 80’s, but also with its own distinct identity. Guitarist Simone Mularoni from the Italian prog-metal band DGM took the lead on the project and drafted in keyboard player Emanuel Casali and drummer Paolo Caridi. Mularoni joined DGM in 2006, the same year as keyboard player Casali. Drummer Caridi is a member of Hollow Haze and previously played with Arthemis.

 

After splitting from the other Queensrÿche members in 2012, Tate initially continued to record and perform under that name, but subsequently used the band name Operation: Mindcrime. To date three albums have been released under that name.

 

The album was recorded without Tate ever meeting Mularoni and apparently they have never even spoken, with all communication being done by text and e-mail. The whole song-writing, recording and mixing process was done via the internet. Subsequent interviews would suggest it wasn’t all plain-sailing, but that’s another story! The album is definitely worth checking out, particularly if you’re a Queensrÿche fan.



About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!