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Queensryche Information
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'Queensré¿che' is a progressive metal band formed near Seattle, Washington in 1981. The band has released twelve albums and, as of 2005, continues to tour and record.
History
Chris DeGarmo (guitar) and Michael Wilton (guitar) had played in cover bands, and then recruited Geoff Tate (vocals), Eddie Jackson (bass guitar) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) to write and perform original music. This lineup began rehearsing and was soon making a demo.
The demo tape was widely circulated, and Queensré¿che released Queen of the Reich (1983) on their own 206 Records label shortly thereafter. The band then signed to EMI and re-released Queen of the Reich as Queensré¿che to moderate success, peaking at #81 on the Billboard charts. This was followed by two more moderately successful albums, The Warning (1984) and Rage For Order (1986).
In 1988, Queensré¿che released Operation: Mindcrime, a narrative concept album that proved a massive critical and commercial success. The album's story revolved around a junkie who is drugged into performing assassinations for an underground movement; the junkie ("Nikki") is torn over his misplaced loyalty to the cause and his love of a reformed hooker-turned-nun ("Mary") who gets in the way. "Mindcrime" has often been mentioned by critics alongside other notable concept albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall and The Who's Tommy.
Empire (1990), which spawned the hit "Silent Lucidity," was just as popular, and also charted in the United Kingdom. By the time the group released Promised Land (1994), Queensré¿che was no longer hip, as grunge music and alternative rock dominated the nation's musical consciousness, but thanks to the band's loyal following, Promised Land nevertheless became the band's highest-charting album at #3 on The Billboard 200. Their follow-up, Hear in the Now Frontier (1997), received mixed reviews. DeGarmo soon left and was replaced by Kelly Gray for Q2K (1999).
In 2002, Queensré¿che signed with Sanctuary Records for its future album releases after the conclusion of the EMI contract. Since then, the group has toured on Iron Maiden's reunion trip. In 2003 Queensré¿che released its first and only album of new material on the Sanctuary label, Tribe. Chris DeGarmo, who has since pursued a career as a professional pilot, contributed music and guitar performances on four songs as a special guest. Kelly Gray was replaced by Mike Stone as second guitarist to Michael Wilton's lead.
In 2004, the band announced their plans to record a follow-up to 1988's Operation: Mindcrime with Operation: Mindcrime II. The sequel is slated for release on March 14, 2006 according to the band's official website, and is said to answer some of the questions posed by the first album. This album will be Queensré¿che's first for their new label, Rhino Records, to which they signed in 2005.
The band hit the road in the fall of 2004 with the "An Evening With Queensré¿che" tour, which featured a shortened greatest hits set followed by a production of Operation: Mindcrime, which made use of live actors and video; Pamela Moore reprised her role as Sister Mary. The second leg of the tour hit the road in early 2005. Before embarking on a third leg of the tour in the fall of 2005, Queensré¿che toured with British band Judas Priest across North America, playing an hour long set consisting mostly of the band's older works and one song from the un-released Operation: Mindcrime II entitled "I'm American." Additionally, a pre-recorded second track entitled "Hostage" was played during parts of the tour. A third track, "One Foot in Hell," has also been confirmed on the band's official website.
Lead singer Geoff Tate launched a solo project in 2002. One self-titled album has been released thus far, to minimal acclaim.
Queensrÿche were the first band to apply the heavy metal umlaut to the letter Y. As Tate put it: "We spent eleven years trying to explain how to pronounce it."
Personnel
Current Lineup
* Geoff Tate “ vocals
* Michael Wilton “ guitar
* Mike Stone “ guitar, vocals
* Eddie Jackson “ bass guitar, vocals
* Scott Rockenfield “ drums
Former Members
* Chris DeGarmo “ (guitar)
* Kelly Gray “ (guitar)
Discography
Studio Albums
* Queensré¿che (1983) chart position 81 (US)
* The Warning (1984) chart position 61 (US)
* Rage for Order (1986) chart position 47 (US)
* Operation: Mindcrime (1988) chart position 50 (US)
* Empire (1990) chart position 7 (US)
* Promised Land (1994) chart position 3 (US)
* Hear in the Now Frontier (1997) chart position 19 (US)
* Q2K (1999) chart position 46 (US)
* Tribe (2003) chart position 56 (US)
* Operation: Mindcrime II (2006)
Live Albums
* Live Evolution (2001) chart position 143 (US)
* Operation: Livecrime (1991) chart position 38 (US)
* The Art of Live (2004)
Miscellaneous contributions
* The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years Soundtrack (1988) ”"Prophecy"
* The Adventures of Ford Fairlane Soundtrack (1990) ” "Last Time in Paris"
* Last Action Hero Soundtrack (1993) ” "Real World"
* Tales from the Crypt: Monsters of Metal (2000) ” "Eyes of a Stranger"
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