Many "Queensrÿche" fans, myself included, viewed "Q2K" as a make-or-break album for the band, the disc that would determine whether we'd have to be content with the band's past glories, or prove that they still had a creative spark to build upon into the next decade. The answer to that question might have to wait until the next album. "Q2K" doesn't settle matters in either direction.

After 1997's disastrous "Hear In The Now Frontier," almost anything would have been an improvement, and "Q2K" certainly qualifies as that. Unfortunately for the disc, it has to stand next to a stellar body of work, from the classic 1983 EP to 1994's brilliant and underrated "Promised Land." Although the disc falls short against those standards, it does prove to be a step in the right direction.

For one thing, the music on "Q2K" just has more "life" than the songs on "Hear In The Now Frontier." That is evident right from the Soundgarden-tinged opener, "Falling Down," with its funny/pathetic lyrics about a guy going through a really bad spell. "I watch the slow hand move/ Line by line/ Can't even think of a word that rhymes."

The album continues with a pair of U2-influenced songs. "Sacred Ground" borrows from that band's song, "The Fly." It has a throbbing intensity that recalls earlier efforts like "Promised Land." But, it also points out a shortcoming of "Queensrÿche" at this point in their career. Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, "Queensrÿche" was a band that other groups tried to emulate. Now, in too many songs, it's too easy to pick out even contemporary artists whose work this band is following.

Lyrically, too, "Queensrÿche" at times seems to be thinking less and just going with the flow. Witness "When The Rain Comes," with its worn out message of rain washing away pain and/or sins. At least when they resorted to platitudes earlier in their career, like the story of overcoming physical handicap presented in "Best I Can" (from the "Empire" album), they were clever enough to construct a compelling story around the cliché.

While I'm complaining, I might as well point at the production of the disc. While an improvement over "Hear In The Now Frontier," the job new guitarist and experienced producer Kelly Gray did on "Q2K" doesn't quite manage to highlight the band's strengths, which still lie in a clear-sounding dual guitar attack, backed up by a crisp Scott Rockenfield behind the drumkit. Too often, the guitars are grungily handled, and while Rockenfield seems to be trying hard, his percussion comes out sounding flat and lifeless.

That's not to say this disc is a failure. Even though the early part of the album gets bogged down in a case of too many slower songs strung together, the second half of "Q2K" really picks up the slack. Beginning with the textured "Liquid Sky," through the eerie and intense album closer, "Right Side Of My Mind," "Queensrÿche" shows they're still capable of generating sparks. "Liquid Sky" is my favorite song on the disc. Opening with a quicksilver guitar duel, it has a continuously playing background guitar giving it an elusive atmosphere. Lyrically, it highlights the self-doubt of a guy struggling with just too many possible avenues to pursue. When he finally gets his own shot, he's not sure which way to go. "What am I afraid of/ Everyone's listening/ Standing on my soapbox/ Lost the beginning/ Always hearing voices swim/ In your liquid sky."

The next song, "Breakdown," lets Eddie Jackson rediscover his lost groove, as Geoff Tate sings about a guy going straight over the edge. "Welcome to my scene/ A place that's in-between/ Where squares fit the round/ Some affectionately call it my breakdown." "Breakdown" was the first single released from the album, and while an odd choice for that honor, it's a good song.

"Right Side Of My Mind" brings the album to another moody, introspective close, as has become the norm with "Queensrÿche" albums this decade. An invitation to a particular point of view, its subdued instrumentation recalls previous album closers like "Spool" and "Is Anybody Listening," and acquits itself well against them.

All in all, "Q2K" is a mixed bag. Kelly Gray, stepping in for the departed Chris Degarmo, delivers an earthier, bluesier guitar part to the band, but doesn't change the nature of the band in any radical direction. It might be interesting to see if he asserts himself more in the future. The rest of the band seems to have weathered DeGarmo's departure well enough, and while some songs on "Q2K" just don't go anywhere, there's enough good material here to provide hope for "Queensrÿche's" future.