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Queensryche
Formed around lead singer Geoff Tate, Queensryche produced a self-financed album in '83 entitled "Queen Of The Ryche." EMI Records re-released it and dubbed the group Queensryche. Tate, drummer Scott Rockenfield (great name), bassist Eddie Jackson, guitarists Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo spent the next two years opening for Bon Jovi, KISS and Metallica. They also produced their second and third albums, "The Warning" and "Rage for Order."
Borrowing from George Orwell and using producer Peter Collins "Operation: Mindcrime" was released in '88. While the album didn't roll up the charts, it did stay around for over a year selling a million copies. Two years later, "Empire" arrived with the ballad "Silent Lucidity" cracking the Top 10 on the pop charts. Queensryche hit the "Monsters of Rock" tour and recorded "Operation: Livecrime."
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With fame came the opportunity to make some bad choices, like contributing a song ("Real World") to Arnold's bomb, "The Last Action Hero." However, the band got back on track with "Promised Land" and "Here In The Now Frontier."
Toward the end of the decade DeGarmo left - replaced by Kelly Gray. The next step was the launch of "Q2K" which featured the hook laden "Falling Down."
Gray, never a fan favorite, didn't last long. DeGarmo returned for '03 "Tribe" but he did not officially rejoin the group. Rather, Mike Stone got the nod.
'03 release "Revolution Calling" was the obligatory remastered box set containing the group's first seven albums. But there was more, including live and bonus tracks - even some MTV Unplugged stuff. That same year Queensryche regrouped for "Tribe" which was followed by the concert souvenir "The Art Of Live."
"Operation: Mindcrime II," a sequel released eighteen years after the original, rolled out in '06. The album made its debut at #14, the highest chart entry for a Queensryche effort since '97. It certainly helped that Ronnie James Dio (Dio, Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell) provided the vocals for the villain, Dr. X.
The subsequent "Mindcrime II" tour featured performances of both Mindcrime albums in their entirety. For a show at the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, Dio, in the Dr. X persona, contributed vocals on "The Chase." That performance was taped and shown at other tour stops and was included in the '07 DVD release Mindcrime At The Moore.
"Sign Of The Times," a Queensryche greatest hits compilation, landed in '07. It was followed by "Take Cover," a collection, as the name implied, of covers originally recorded by The Police ("Synchronicity II"), Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ("Almost Cut My Hair"), Buffalo Springfield ("For What It's Worth") and Queen ("Innuendo"), among others.
Stone bailed in '09 to focus on his band Speed-X. That did not impede work on the group's 12th studio album, "American Soldier." The songs were based on interviews Tate conducted with veterans from World War II to Iraq so he could tell their story in their own words. Wilton played all the guitars on the album but the band took Parker Lundgren (The Nihilists/Sledgeback) on the supporting tour.
Queensryche Discography
1983 Queensryche
1984 The Warning
1986 Rage For Order
1988 Operation: Mindcrime
1990 Empire
1991 Queensryche - Operation Livecrime (Live)
1994 Promised Land
1997 Hear In The Now Frontier
1999 Q2K
2003 Tribe
2006 Operation: Mindcrime II
2007 Sign Of The Times (Greatest Hits)
2007 Take Cover
2009 American Soldier
After plodding through the '80s with three albums that failed to alter their opening act status, Queensryche released "Empire" and "Operation: Mindcrime." The latter has "Eyes Of A Stranger." Those two albums, along with "Hear In The Now Frontier," released in '97, are the group's strongest albums.
"Tribe" marks the return of Queensryche following a lengthy absence. While not one of their stellar efforts it shouldn't be dismissed. Rocker "Losing Myself" ("I'm so far away") and the acoustic mid-tempo "Falling Behind" are outstanding. The title track is a tightly wound blast while the pop oriented "Rhythm Of Hope" has an accessible appeal.
"Revolution Calling" is a massive box set with over 100 tracks. There is enough live and bonus material to entice fans who thought they had everything. "The Art Of Live," which hit in '04, is an OK set but there is too much emphasis on recent ("Tribe") material.
"Operation: Mindcrime II" vaults from ponderous Prog Rock claptrap ("Speed Of Light," "An International Confrontation" and "All The Promises") to blistering, nasty, mind mashing Rock ("I'm American," "Signs Say Go" and "Re-Arrange You"). Arguably, it's over-long and self indulgent but it has enough power and Queensryche glory (not to mention madness) to put it over. That it doesn't measure up to the original isn't much of a surprise, it would be unfair to expect anything different.
For a group that made its reputation employing theatrical elements in their music, "American Soldier" is a natural progression. But an album focused on soldiers' experiences covering several generations could either be brutally grim or a jingoistic war chant. To Tate's credit "American Soldier" is neither. His lyrical point of view, as conveyed to him by soldiers, shifts from the distant ("At 30,000 Ft.") to the confusion on the ground ("Middle Of Hell"). He tells the stories with feeling and credibility. While there is the cliché chopper sound ("Unafraid"), a couple songs open with riveting statements by soldiers. This gives the songs added power and authority.
The most moving song clearly is "Home Again." Ironically, the soldier won't be home but he has a message of encouragement for those who are.