In Brief

Queensryche, “Promised Land,” EMI ***. Edgy, brooding, grand sonic gestures and gusts of harmonies continue to sweep over Queensryche’s hard-rock terrain. But in the two years since their last album, they’ve tempered their songs, revealing some subtle new dynamics. “Promised Land” covers much territory, from stretches of introspection and social commentary to quiet acoustic moments and epic compositions.

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).