What music sounds closest to Queen?

I have always had a difficult time finding an album by some band outside of Queen that really and truly sounds like Queen. 

Before bands have obvious elements strongly similar coming from the Beatles, some instances in common with Zeppelin, a strangely hard to define Who traits particularly are found on Queen 1, and I see a lot of Mott The Hoople sounds in early Queen.  As for the begining and onward to present days there have been some highly Queen-like sounds coming from Styx, Def Leppard, a tiny bit of Van Halen(Sammy Haggar days), some Living Colour, and E.L.O. often times.  Of all these bands the most Queen sounding has been Def Leppard for me because of the heavily studio worked sounds, the massive BG vocals mixed all over, the constant alternate repeats of chorus and other repetitions that both bands try and keep a fresh uniqueness with, and above all else the unmistakable greatness in ability to throw out the strongest punch and bravado from riff to vocals to drums and/or anything else.  They both really try and swing for the fences with power moments within their music. 

The point is, nowhere have I reallly felt like an album was Queen enough to really recognize it subconsciously and make that connection outside of a song here or there....  Until---


Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy.  The common trademark is studio perfection, song pace, heavy punch, seamless instrumental unison, Ideal track chronology, and even something lyrical is sharing a common trait I haven't connected  as of yet. 

I was happily rocking with Cosmos Rocks, but dissapointed by it's mortality meaning that it seemed borderline great, but not set apart as godlike with virtually no albums worthy of the 15 Queen masterpieces.  Hysteria, Abbey Road, The White Album, Zeppelin IV, Garbage 2.0 and a few others are worthy near equals, but not until Chinese Democracy have I heard an album I deem equally comparable to the upper Queen albums. 


Does anyone have albums by bands that you feel are worthy equals in quality, and also are most similar in sound to Queen's own sound???  ANYONE???  I've heard The Cars and am soon to be exploring that possibility.  It's nice that GN'R fuffilled the expectations left unsatisfide with Cosmos Rocks, but it took 15 years for Axl to pull it off.  I strongly doubt he can do it again without another 15 years of the same fate.

" Worthy equals in quality", no not really, but maybe their American counterparts Meat loaf & Jim Steinman music wise and KISS fore great live presence (not for musicianship). But there are some other bands/artists that sound a bit like Queen, or are influenced by them:
 
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn7rff5K3YA&feature=related]The Darkness[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6Z5jWslH7k&feature=related]Scissor Sisters[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPUpxIBkcjM]Mika[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILwYfJ8hulI&feature=related]Extreme[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXhuso4OTG4]Styx[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfHlA3fmJG0]Rammstein[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6IRJggYzJs]LOURDS[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzZQSIRYloA]Chiodos[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTS-onRvoho]Robby Valentine[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a44WcE5Po_s&feature=related]Jeff Scott Soto[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xVUl2wpipo&feature=related]Mr. Big[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRYDetbwegs]Metallica [/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1N_qX_r4Iw]Smashing Pumpkins[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxpblnsJEWM]Radiohead[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI8I6qcxWyU]Coldplay[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohvymjV-FEQ]Katy Perry[/url]
[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DCacIEbAlM]Katie Melua[/url]
etc.

Yes indeed, Rammstein do sound exactly like Queen.

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[b]Pim Derks wrote: [/b]

Yes indeed, Rammstein do sound exactly like Queen.
[/QUOTE]
yeah, swop paul rodgers with adolf hitler and we get rammstein.

QPR sound a bit like Queen something to do with the guitar i think [img=/images/smiley/msn/teeth_smile.gif][/img]

Valensia.

Aerosmith

The Knack - My Sharona.

[QUOTE]

[b]knebworth wrote: [/b]

[QUOTE]

[b]Pim Derks wrote: [/b]



Yes indeed, Rammstein do sound exactly like Queen.

[/QUOTE]
yeah, swop paul rodgers with adolf hitler and we get rammstein.





[/QUOTE]





Seriously sometimes Rammstein's music DOES remind of Queen. The common thing is bombast; on Mutter and Rosenrot for example there are songs with such big guitars, hooks and choruses that you kind of feel like you're listening to a 21st century German version of Queen. You can imagine e.g. "Wo Bist Du" as a Queen song had Queen lived on past 1991. Queen and Rammstein are also connected by theatrical live shows and extraordinary music videos.

Kayak.  Check out their song "Ruthless Queen"

The Darkness, the Killers. Do you agree?

The Brian May Band and The Cross come to mind immediately.

Check out The Feeling on Youtube...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TU1c6UCRnA4

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dWuk9d7UMuU

also... the Raconteurs....

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sORsbI8n7Ys

Listen to Blind Guardian, they're pretty similar to Queen.
The Killers too, definitely.

I think the prime reason the Beatles get compared to Queen at all is because of the harmony vocals. Otherwise, I think Queen is more similar to the Rolling Stones.