Biography
Although initially lumped among the many pop-metal acts dominating U.S. heavy metal during the 1980s, Queensrÿche stood apart as one of that decade’s most singular groups. Whereas peers extended the traditions of Van Halen, Aerosmith, and Kiss, the band forged a progressive strain of heavy metal that merged post-Van Halen guitar flash with 1970s art-rock sensibilities, particularly those of Pink Floyd and Queen. Mainstream breakthrough arrived via the widely praised 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime and its successor Empire, the latter moving more than two million units on the strength of the hit single “Silent Lucidity.” As grunge and alternative rock ascended, Queensrÿche’s commercial fortunes declined; a succession of personnel shifts and legal disputes ultimately split the group into two separate entities during the 2010s. Even so, the band has sustained a devoted audience across the years and ranks, alongside Dream Theater and Fate’s Warning, among the originators of progressive metal.
Guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton established Queensrÿche in 1981 in Bellevue, a Seattle suburb. Having previously performed in heavy metal cover outfits, the pair sought to assemble a unit devoted to original songs. They enlisted fellow high-school acquaintances Geoff Tate on vocals and Eddie Jackson on bass, along with drummer Scott Rockenfield. Eschewing immediate club dates, the musicians rehearsed for two years before committing four tracks to tape. Local record-store proprietors Kim and Diana Harris encountered the demo, agreed to manage the group, and helped circulate the cassette across the Northwest. In May 1983 Queensrÿche issued the EP Queen of the Reich on their independent 206 Records imprint; the release sold 20,000 copies and attracted major-label interest. By year’s end the band had signed with EMI, which put out an expanded edition titled Queensrÿche LP that reached number 81.
At that point Queensrÿche’s style aligned more closely with British metal acts such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Over subsequent years the musicians refined their approach while supporting a range of hard-rock bills that included Bon Jovi and Metallica. The next two albums, 1984’s The Warning and 1986’s Rage for Order, moved solidly, the latter climbing to number 47 on the U.S. chart. Rage for Order also signaled a growing progressive-rock orientation that fully materialized on 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. Featuring orchestral arrangements by Michael Kamen, the record represented Queensrÿche’s most ambitious and cohesive statement to date, earning favorable notices and robust sales; it remained on the American charts for a full year and exceeded one million copies.
Queensrÿche returned in autumn 1990 with the similarly ambitious Empire, their commercial zenith. The album reached number seven in the United States, earned double-platinum certification domestically, and entered the U.K. Top Ten. Its momentum derived largely from the stately art-rock ballad “Silent Lucidity,” which garnered extensive MTV and album-rock airplay and ultimately peaked at number five on the U.S. singles chart. After an extensive Empire tour that encompassed the 1991 Monsters of Rock package, the band issued the live set Operation: LIVEcrime in autumn 1991. Captured during the Operation: Mindcrime tour, the release recreated the rock-opera performance that had marked their 1988 artistic breakthrough and arrived as a multimedia package containing video and an extensive booklet.
During the three years after Operation: LIVEcrime, Queensrÿche took an extended break while slowly developing material for the follow-up to Empire. They contributed the track “Real World” to the soundtrack of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1993 film Last Action Hero. The sixth studio album, Promised Land, finally appeared in 1994. Although the heavy-metal audience had shifted dramatically toward grunge and alternative rock, the group retained a loyal base; Promised Land debuted at number three on the U.S. chart, later achieved platinum status, and yielded two album-rock hits, “I Am I” and “Bridge.”
On 1997’s Hear in the New Frontier, Queensrÿche pared their sound to essentials, setting aside the progressive elements that had defined them. Despite debuting at number 19, the album drew mixed notices and quickly slipped down the charts, prompting founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo’s departure soon afterward. DeGarmo later toured with former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Q2k arrived in 1999 with Kelly Gray assuming DeGarmo’s role. Queensrÿche’s first compilation, Greatest Hits, followed in 2000; the band supported it by opening for Iron Maiden’s Brave New World reunion tour, which also featured former Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford.
In 2001 the group released the double-CD/DVD Live Evolution. Meanwhile DeGarmo began assembling a new project rumored to include former Alice in Chains members Sean Kinney and Mike Inez, though nothing materialized beyond his appearance on Cantrell’s 2002 album Degradation Trip. DeGarmo briefly rejoined Queensrÿche for the 2003 album Tribe without formally re-entering the lineup. Three years later, without DeGarmo—who had become a professional charter pilot—Queensrÿche issued Operation: Mindcrime II, the long-awaited sequel to their 1988 conceptual success. In 2007 the band simultaneously put out Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche and Take Cover, the latter containing renditions of songs by U2, Buffalo Springfield, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Over the next two years Geoff Tate conducted one-on-one interviews with military veterans and channeled the resulting insights into American Soldier, a concept album about war released in March 2009 and produced by Jason Slater, who had also overseen Operation: Mindcrime II. Queensrÿche subsequently embarked on the conceptual Queensrÿche Cabaret tour, blending their progressive style with cabaret theatrics, and traveled to Iraq to perform the new material for the troops. During that trip the band survived a bomb attack unharmed. Later in 2009 they announced work on fresh material, culminating in the 2011 release of their eleventh studio album, Dedicated to Chaos.
In June 2012 the band dismissed founding vocalist and lyricist Tate, installing ex-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre in his place. Tate filed suit regarding the band name and his songs, initially performing as “Original Singer Geoff Tate & Queensrÿche” and issuing Frequency Unknown in April 2013. The La Torre lineup countersued and released the self-titled Queensrÿche album in June of that year. Tate ultimately lost the litigation and formed his own band, Operation: Mindcrime.
In 2014 Queensrÿche launched a PledgeMusic campaign titled “Building the Empire” to finance a new album, offering contributors music and gear while also inviting accredited investors to acquire stakes in Queensrÿche Holdings, LLC. The musicians re-entered the studio in December and completed the record by February 2015. Three preceding video singles—“Hellfire,” “Guardian,” and “Arrow of Time”—signaled a return to a harder, heavier direction. Condition Hüman appeared in October 2015, followed by a world tour in early 2016. In 2017 Rockenfield took paternity leave, with Kamelot drummer Casey Grillo substituting at live shows. That year the band stated they had amassed enough songs for another album and would record; the project did not surface until 2019. Titled The Verdict and issued on Century Media, it was produced by Zeuss and promoted by the single “Man the Machine.” Three years later Queensrÿche released their sixteenth studio album, Digital Noise Alliance. Produced by Zeuss, the set balanced the intricate art-rock leanings of their early work with the heavier, groove-oriented approach of Condition Hüman.
Guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton established Queensrÿche in 1981 in Bellevue, a Seattle suburb. Having previously performed in heavy metal cover outfits, the pair sought to assemble a unit devoted to original songs. They enlisted fellow high-school acquaintances Geoff Tate on vocals and Eddie Jackson on bass, along with drummer Scott Rockenfield. Eschewing immediate club dates, the musicians rehearsed for two years before committing four tracks to tape. Local record-store proprietors Kim and Diana Harris encountered the demo, agreed to manage the group, and helped circulate the cassette across the Northwest. In May 1983 Queensrÿche issued the EP Queen of the Reich on their independent 206 Records imprint; the release sold 20,000 copies and attracted major-label interest. By year’s end the band had signed with EMI, which put out an expanded edition titled Queensrÿche LP that reached number 81.
At that point Queensrÿche’s style aligned more closely with British metal acts such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Over subsequent years the musicians refined their approach while supporting a range of hard-rock bills that included Bon Jovi and Metallica. The next two albums, 1984’s The Warning and 1986’s Rage for Order, moved solidly, the latter climbing to number 47 on the U.S. chart. Rage for Order also signaled a growing progressive-rock orientation that fully materialized on 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. Featuring orchestral arrangements by Michael Kamen, the record represented Queensrÿche’s most ambitious and cohesive statement to date, earning favorable notices and robust sales; it remained on the American charts for a full year and exceeded one million copies.
Queensrÿche returned in autumn 1990 with the similarly ambitious Empire, their commercial zenith. The album reached number seven in the United States, earned double-platinum certification domestically, and entered the U.K. Top Ten. Its momentum derived largely from the stately art-rock ballad “Silent Lucidity,” which garnered extensive MTV and album-rock airplay and ultimately peaked at number five on the U.S. singles chart. After an extensive Empire tour that encompassed the 1991 Monsters of Rock package, the band issued the live set Operation: LIVEcrime in autumn 1991. Captured during the Operation: Mindcrime tour, the release recreated the rock-opera performance that had marked their 1988 artistic breakthrough and arrived as a multimedia package containing video and an extensive booklet.
During the three years after Operation: LIVEcrime, Queensrÿche took an extended break while slowly developing material for the follow-up to Empire. They contributed the track “Real World” to the soundtrack of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1993 film Last Action Hero. The sixth studio album, Promised Land, finally appeared in 1994. Although the heavy-metal audience had shifted dramatically toward grunge and alternative rock, the group retained a loyal base; Promised Land debuted at number three on the U.S. chart, later achieved platinum status, and yielded two album-rock hits, “I Am I” and “Bridge.”
On 1997’s Hear in the New Frontier, Queensrÿche pared their sound to essentials, setting aside the progressive elements that had defined them. Despite debuting at number 19, the album drew mixed notices and quickly slipped down the charts, prompting founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo’s departure soon afterward. DeGarmo later toured with former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Q2k arrived in 1999 with Kelly Gray assuming DeGarmo’s role. Queensrÿche’s first compilation, Greatest Hits, followed in 2000; the band supported it by opening for Iron Maiden’s Brave New World reunion tour, which also featured former Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford.
In 2001 the group released the double-CD/DVD Live Evolution. Meanwhile DeGarmo began assembling a new project rumored to include former Alice in Chains members Sean Kinney and Mike Inez, though nothing materialized beyond his appearance on Cantrell’s 2002 album Degradation Trip. DeGarmo briefly rejoined Queensrÿche for the 2003 album Tribe without formally re-entering the lineup. Three years later, without DeGarmo—who had become a professional charter pilot—Queensrÿche issued Operation: Mindcrime II, the long-awaited sequel to their 1988 conceptual success. In 2007 the band simultaneously put out Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche and Take Cover, the latter containing renditions of songs by U2, Buffalo Springfield, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Over the next two years Geoff Tate conducted one-on-one interviews with military veterans and channeled the resulting insights into American Soldier, a concept album about war released in March 2009 and produced by Jason Slater, who had also overseen Operation: Mindcrime II. Queensrÿche subsequently embarked on the conceptual Queensrÿche Cabaret tour, blending their progressive style with cabaret theatrics, and traveled to Iraq to perform the new material for the troops. During that trip the band survived a bomb attack unharmed. Later in 2009 they announced work on fresh material, culminating in the 2011 release of their eleventh studio album, Dedicated to Chaos.
In June 2012 the band dismissed founding vocalist and lyricist Tate, installing ex-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre in his place. Tate filed suit regarding the band name and his songs, initially performing as “Original Singer Geoff Tate & Queensrÿche” and issuing Frequency Unknown in April 2013. The La Torre lineup countersued and released the self-titled Queensrÿche album in June of that year. Tate ultimately lost the litigation and formed his own band, Operation: Mindcrime.
In 2014 Queensrÿche launched a PledgeMusic campaign titled “Building the Empire” to finance a new album, offering contributors music and gear while also inviting accredited investors to acquire stakes in Queensrÿche Holdings, LLC. The musicians re-entered the studio in December and completed the record by February 2015. Three preceding video singles—“Hellfire,” “Guardian,” and “Arrow of Time”—signaled a return to a harder, heavier direction. Condition Hüman appeared in October 2015, followed by a world tour in early 2016. In 2017 Rockenfield took paternity leave, with Kamelot drummer Casey Grillo substituting at live shows. That year the band stated they had amassed enough songs for another album and would record; the project did not surface until 2019. Titled The Verdict and issued on Century Media, it was produced by Zeuss and promoted by the single “Man the Machine.” Three years later Queensrÿche released their sixteenth studio album, Digital Noise Alliance. Produced by Zeuss, the set balanced the intricate art-rock leanings of their early work with the heavier, groove-oriented approach of Condition Hüman.
Albums
Dedicated to Chaos
2011
Take Cover
2007
Mindcrime At The Moore
2007
Operation: Mindcrime II
2006
Q2K
1999
Singles
