Queensryche is an American heavy metal/progressive metal band that was formed in 1981. This band is still current with their latest effort American Soldier being released in 2009.
Biography Although they were initially grouped with the legions of pop-metal bands that dominated the American heavy metal scene of the '80s, Queensrÿche were one of the most distinctive bands of the era. Where their contemporaries built on the legacy of Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Kiss, Queensrÿche constructed a progressive form of heavy metal that drew equally from the guitar pyrotechnics of post-Van Halen metal and '70s art rock, most notably Pink Floyd and Queen. After releasing a handful of ignored albums, the band began to break into the mainstream with the acclaimed 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime. Its follow-up, Empire, was the group's biggest success, selling over two million copies due to the hit single "Silent Lucidity." Queensrÿche never sustained that widespread popularity -- like most late-'80s metal bands, their audience disappeared after the emergence of grunge. Nevertheless, they retained a large cult following well into the ensuing decades.
Guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton formed Queensrÿche in 1981 in the Seattle, WA, suburb of Bellevue. Both guitarists had been playing in heavy metal cover bands and had decided to form a group that would play original material. The duo recruited high school friends Geoff Tate (vocals) and bassist Eddie Jackson (bass), as well as drummer Scott Rockenfield. Instead of hitting the club circuit, the group rehearsed for two years, eventually recording and releasing a four-song demo tape. The cassette came to the attention of local record store owners Kim and Diana Harris, who offered to manage Queensrÿche. With the help of the Harrises, the tape circulated throughout the Northwest. In May of 1983, Queensrÿche released the EP Queen of the Reich on their own record label, 206 Records. Queen of the Reich sold 20,000 copies and, in the process, earned the band major-label attention. By the end of the year, the band signed to EMI, which released an expanded version of the EP as the Queensrÿche LP later in the year; the record peaked at number 81.
At this stage, Queensrÿche sounded closer to British metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Over the next few years, the group continued to refine its sound, opening for hard rock acts as diverse as Bon Jovi and Metallica. Their next two albums -- 1984's The Warning and 1986's Rage for Order -- sold respectably, with the latter reaching number 47 on the U.S. charts. Rage for Order also demonstrated a flowering of progressive rock influences, an idea that would reach its fruition with 1988's Operation: Mindcrime. Boasting orchestral arrangements from Michael Kamen, the album was Queensrÿche's most ambitious and focused effort to date, earning both positive reviews and strong sales. Operation: Mindcrime stayed on the American charts for a year, selling over a million copies during its run.
Queensrÿche returned in the fall of 1990 with the equally ambitious Empire. The album proved to be their commercial high watermark, peaking at number seven on the U.S. charts and going double platinum in America; in the U.K., the album also cracked the Top Ten. Empire's success was instigated by the stately art rock ballad "Silent Lucidity," which received heavy airplay from MTV and album rock radio. All the exposure eventually sent "Silent Lucidity" to number five on the U.S. singles charts. Following the long Empire tour -- which included a spot on the 1991 Monsters of Rock tour -- Queensrÿche released the live Operation: LIVEcrime in the fall of 1991. Recorded on the Operation: Mindcrime tour, the album replicated the group's live performance of the rock opera that comprised their 1988 artistic breakthrough; the package also included a video and a thick book.
In the three years following the release of Operation: LIVEcrime, the band rested and leisurely worked on the follow-up to Empire. Occasionally, they contributed a song to a soundtrack, such as "Real World" for Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1993 movie Last Action Hero. Queensrÿche finally delivered their sixth studio album, Promised Land, in 1994. Though the heavy metal audience had changed drastically since Empire, with many fair-weather metal fans switching their allegiance to grunge and alternative rock, the group retained a strong following, as evidenced by Promised Land debuting at number three on the U.S. charts. Promised Land would eventually go platinum and spawn two album rock hits, "I Am I" and "Bridge." With 1997's Hear in the New Frontier, Queensrÿche stripped back their sound to the bare bones, leaving behind the prog rock influences that made them distinctive. Although the album debuted at 19, it received mixed reviews and quickly fell down the charts, leading shortly thereafter to founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo's exit from the band. (DeGarmo would soon resurface as part of former Alice in Chains' guitarist Jerry Cantrell's touring band.) Q2k followed in 1999, as new guitarist Kelly Gray took DeGarmo's place. Queensrÿche's first best-of set, Greatest Hits, was released in 2000; the band supported the CD with an opening slot on one of the year's hottest metal concert tickets -- Iron Maiden's Brave New World reunion tour, which also included former Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford. In 2001, the band issued a double CD/DVD package titled Live Evolution. Meanwhile, former member DeGarmo began gearing up to form a new band, which was purported to include former Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez; although he appeared on Jerry Cantrell's Degradation Trip in 2002, no solo material materialized. DeGarmo then rejoined forces with Queensrÿche for a brief spell, appearing on the band's subsequent album, 2003's Tribe, but never officially joining the lineup. Three years later, Queensrÿche (sans DeGarmo, who had become a professional charter pilot) released Operation: Mindcrime II, the long-awaited sequel to their 1988 conceptual smash. 2007 saw the dual release of Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche and Take Cover, the latter of which featured cover versions of songs by U2, Buffalo Springfield, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. During the following two years, Geoff Tate launched a series of one-on-one interviews with various military vets; he then funneled what he'd learned into the band's next project, a concept album about war named American Soldier. Produced by Jason Slater (who had also helmed Operation: Mindcrime II), the album was released in March 2009. by Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato Miscellaneous Videos:
Studio Albums: Queensryche (EP) (1983)
The Warning (1984)
Rage For Order (1986)
Operation Mindcrime (1988)
Empire (1990)
Promised Land (1994)
Here In The Now Frontier (1997)
Q2K (1999)
Tribe (2003)
Operation Mindcrime II (2006)
Take Cover (2007)
American Soldier (2009)
Compilations:
Evolution Calling (1990)
Greatest Hits (2000)
Classic Masters (2003)
Sign Of The Times: The Best Of Queensryche (2007)
Live Albums:
Operation: LIVEcrime (1991)
Live Evolution (2001)
The Art Of Live (2004)
Extended Versions (2007)
Mindcrime At The Moore (2007)
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Comment by RJhog (Admin) on January 17, 2015 at 3:19pm
QUEENSRYCHE TO HIT STUDIO NEXT MONTH
Frontman La Torre embracing Alice In Chains influence on latest material
Queensryche's Todd La Torre says the band plan to begin recording their new album next month.
The frontman reveals they have 15 songs written and ready to record and adds that he has been heavily influenced by Alice in Chains when it comes to writing vocal melodies.
The album will be the singer's second with the band, after 2013's self-titled effort.
La Torre tells Metal Nation (via Blabbermouth): "We're still in the demo thing. We've got 15-plus songs that, most of them, are all there. We're doing pre-production right now.
"I'm hopeful that we can start tracking next month. I was hoping we would be tracking by right now, but we're just not gonna rush. Our label, Century Media, they're awesome. Nobody's up our ass.
"It takes time. And this is the sophomore record with me in the band. That's a scary thing, because you can like the songs, but you don't know how it's gonna be perceived.
"The songs that we have right now are, I would say, melodic. There are some heavy tunes on there that are just, like, really rocking. Overall, I'm hopeful that, when it's all said and done, this record will have a really good drive, great melodic choruses, great guitar parts, very dynamic. A little more prog.
"I'm finding, as a songwriter, what my stylistic things are, musically. I love Alice In Chains harmonies. They always had these interesting harmonies in their music. And I always find myself, when I'm writing and I'm recording, doing new things, I kind of lean on those types of harmonies. So I'm finding out things about myself as a writer that I didn't know before. And so it's a lot of fun."
Billy Sherwood won’t be beaming onto the starship Queensryche. Instead, he has decided to work on the new William Shatner record, rather than remix a new offering from Geoff Tate and Co.
That’s just one of several prior commitments the producer cites in withdrawing from the Tate-led project. Sherwood, a 1990s-era member of Yes who has also done board work for Bad Company‘s Paul Rodgers andAsia‘s John Wetton, had been asked by Tate’s label last week to remix his forthcoming album ‘Frequency Unknown,’ after Deadline Music said fans complained about the mix on some advance samples.
“I’ve withdrawn from mixing the Queensryche project,” Sherwood confirms via Facebook. “Scheduling issues became a conflict.”
Sherwood is also mixing the forthcoming ‘Prog Collective 2′ project for Cleopatra, featuring some of the last recordings by original Yes guitarist Peter Banks, who died last month; and he’s set to tour with Eddie Jobson of U.K. fame. He says a Doors tribute album is in the works for Cleopatra, as well.
“While I was excited about taking the QR gig,” Sherwood adds. “Reality is there is not enough time in my schedule at present, and so I wish them luck on the project.”
Tate served as frontman for the original Queensryche for 30 years before he was fired last year. Now he and his old band are both going forward with the same name. Todd La Torre is now leading a separate edition of Queensryche, which released the new song “Redemption” last week.
The remarkable drama surrounding Queensryche continues, as the Geoff Tate edition of the band will remix its forthcoming album ‘Frequency Unknown.’ His label, Deadline Music/Cleopatra Records, made the decision after fans complained about the sound on the samples they released.
“Since previews of the new Queensryche album were made available to the general public on iTunes and other digital retailers,” Tate’s label said in an official release (via Brave Words), “Some of the response has been less than positive.” Apparently, fans took issue with “the overall quality of the recordings, and in particular the mix” of ‘Frequency Unknown.’ To rectify this, the band brought in producer Billy Sherwood, a 1990s-era member of Yes, to create a new mix.
However, for those who enjoyed the original, the label will still issue the original version of ‘Frequency Unknown’ on its scheduled release date of April 23. Sherwood’s mix will come out “at a future date to be announced.”
Meanwhile, the Todd La Torre-fronted version of Queensryche has postponed its scheduled U.K. tour until October, citing its own desire to promote a separate new release. Earlier this week, the La Torre grouppreviewed ‘Redemption,’ the first full track since splitting with Tate. Their album is to follow in June.
All of this intrigue began when Tate was unceremoniously dumped from the band he had fronted for three decades, and decided to found his own tandem band — with the same name.
Sherwood has previously worked as an engineer and producer with Yes, Paul Rodgers and Nektar, among others. He previously appeared in concert with Queensryche in 1999, while Yes was supporting ‘The Ladder.’
Geoff Tate via Facebook
Liz Ramanand
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