Post Reply - The Queensryche appreciation thread

. . . I have lost the Faith.

My story and Love for The Queen of the Riech!
I was into Queensryche when I 1st heard their EP on LA's now long gone station KMET 94.7 (now a
"Smooth" Jazz station). Our Infamous Jim Ladd (now on KLOS 95.5) had one of the 1st ALL Metal
Shows in the Nation called "The KMETal Shop" for 3 hours on Fridays at 10pm.
Me and my friend scowered every Store for its release, finally it debuted and wore out my LP.
Metallica and QR were my fave Metal Bands for quite sometime.
I have all their catalogue up to Promised Land on LP/Vinyl (and still have them all ) and up
to Operation Mindcrime II on CD's (QR EP's to OMII as well).
Its funny how me and a friend loved their 1st Video "Queen of the Ryche" , its pretty corny now,
but a fantastic heavy track that could pass for a QR Thrash song (1983!).

Love the "Star Wars Title Crawl", brings back good memories of that time in
my life .

The Lady Wore Black and Nightrider were awesome songs as well.  Its amazing that they never
played a Club or Show as their Demo was heard by a Record Exect at EMI and Signed!

(I had not seen this Vid till "Building Empires", I imagine it was not
circulated widely at the time it was made).

I waited in baited breath for their next  album "The Warning", man . . .
Just a solid Album through and through, the obvious ones were to become classics, The Warning,
and Take Hold of the Flame which set in stone Geoff Tate was a Vocal God.
But my personal faves were Before the Storm, Roads to Madness and NM156, NM is still my all
time fave QR song.  And who would ever think "Whistles" mixed with Metal, well . . . Tate did and
used them at just the right times.
I am lucky to still have, un-released on DVD (I'm sure they'll get around to it), only on VHS "Live
in Tokyo" which is amazing, and we get to see Rockenfield beat his Chained Drum Kit, complete
with Tubular Bell Tree and Gong, be beatin' senseless (That man hit them Drums HARD).
Chris DeGarmo, Michael Wilton doing their best duals and Eddie Jackson and his galloping hand-
picking on Bass . . . these guys were musician musicians.
Lots of cool audio engineering to boot, things in the backround, and the music sounded HUGE,
and even the "Dirty Harry 44mag." Sounds sampled in Rockenfields Simmons Pads!

(YES!!! Capitol/EMI put up The Warning Live in Tokyo version with
Rockenfields "Mini Drum Solo"! Listen/see his Simmons Electronic
Drum Pads). 

Rage!
QR would take advantage of their "audio" capabilities with their next "Rage for Order", at 1st I was
a bit "Put Off" by their "Glam" look on the back of the album, and Pics within (As I was NEVER a
fan of Glam), but their music was getting even more "Prog Metal" (a new term I started hearing by
then-and started looking into).  Cool audio samples and FX/Keyboard textures and even better
Recording. Faves would be Neue Regel, Walk through the Shadows, Screaming in Digital and
I Will Remember, but another solid album (Though "Gonna' get close to you" had to grow on me-
Did you know it wasa "Remake"? as the re-make is very faithful to "Dalbello's" original):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-e-lZekd2Y
This would be the 1st time to see them. Saw them at a small venue at the Santa Monica Civic
Auditorium. Still one of my all time fave Metal shows, Rockenfields Drums were really weird with
plastic tubing in and out everywhere.
They did not appear with the "make-up" and hair like the album but wore the Uniforms, they
looked pretty cool.
The Whisper on the Rage for Order Tour:


Well . . .
The next album had to actually grow on me, yes-no kidding, I thought "Rage" was a bit heavier,
but soon would realize the ones that grew on me would show the test of time.
Operation Mind Crime was Metals answer to Pink Floyds "The Wall", but more realisticaly, a
"Concept Album" done by a Metal Band.  This story could be made into a Movie, and they did
a very good job with the VHS Video that was presented as a Filmed Story, and then the
"Box Set/Limited Edition" was released of the entire Live set (The BEST one imo), which also
comes with its Live CD (VHS w/ CD or Cassette). Its also available on DVD.
I think I saw this Tour as well, but they would play ALL the tracks at another "Special Engagement"
a year or 2 later (maybe during the Empire Tour).
What do you say about faves on this one, the entire album is a solid masterpiece.

Empire.
Even when making an AOR/Metal album and making "Hits" they still sound good! They have
become a solid Metal Band capable of no wrong, strong "Songs" yet still retaining their signature
sound.  Again, I think every song is flawless, a really excellent album (though Della Brown and
Is there Anybody Listening have a special place).  I started to collect all the EP's and CD singles
from this album as well.
This was the 1st QR Concert I'd see gorgeous Girls in Skirts and Heels walking around, but still,
the Guys were the ones singing passionately in the crowd:

. . . I'm sure new fans were "Shocked" to hear older songs and "Mind Crime" tracks .
I remember Tate saying to the New Fans, "I bet some of you are saying . . .What the hell is this
stuff theyre playing?" .
Soon after, they released the Excellent Video of their History called "Building Empires" and had
excellent "Un-Plugged" versions, apparently shown on MTV:

(watch as the band-especially DeGarmo, crack a smile from
the "energy" they get from the crowd, they were really knocking
them dead).

A Prog Masterpiece.
I know QR lost many fans because off ths album, but it would become my Fave. Promised Land
was all I wanted in a Prog Metal Album, complete with SoundFX all the way through, a feast for
headphones and an acculmination of all theyve learned and refined.
I cherish each song. And at the time, was lucky enough to find a Japanese Import CD with
Bonus Tracks ("The Real World", "Last time in Paris" and the excellent Band version of
"Someone Else"), but now you can get the same song extras on the Re-Masters.
It is totally sad that they did not put this Tour on Video, as it was presented as a "Stage Play",
even more so than "Mind Crime"!  Again, one of my fave tours and blessed to have witnessed
it all go down:

(Check out all the Tracks on YOUtube to see the "Promised Land Tour").

Beginning of the End.
Hear in the Now Frontier I enjoyed actually, but it wasnt a "musicians" album, but a "Song" album,
but from a Grunge era that had faded 2-3 years prior. Some of my faves would be "Cuckoo�s Nest",
"Some People Fly", "Anytime/Anywhere", the only song ever sung by DeGarmo "All I Want", and the
single "Sign of the Times".  DeGarmo started to play alot of slide and again, songs that sounded like
they came from the Grunge Era . . . but hey, I figured, their albums always sounded different with
each release, so what could be next? . . .

DeGarmo leaves.
I really was anticipating great things, and LOVED the album cover for Q2k, thinking "Cool! theyre
gonna' sing more topics around computers and technology and our society!" . . . nope.
Another GRUNGE album . . . and surprise! DeGarmo leaves .
Even when DeGarmo came back for Tribe, it was lackluster, the wind was knocked out of its Sails,
their was no life in QR anymore, the dynamics seemed to be gone forever with each album after.
No more emphasis on good solid Guitar Playing, no fireworks, no "feeling". Songs that meandered
to nowhere, no resolution, and Tate almost phoning in the vocals . . . What Happened?

OMII . . . why?
When I 1st heard that they were going to do a "Mind Crime II" everyone gushed and were excited.
I remember vividly my reaction . . .
"They are trying to re-gain former glory without the same hunger and without DeGarmo".  Wilton is
a bad ass Guitarist, but with Chris, they were a Team!
I bought the album purposely without hearing any samples, I just wanted to take it in for what it was.
I found that the "directions" I wanted each track to go in, were BETTER than what I was hearing.
When a listener (like this idiot) makes-up better compositions in their head than the band!  The
"Overture" wasnt even a real Overture, no "Themes" from Part "1", no capitulation for what was and
what was to come. . . WTF?
Like a Movie that has a Lackluster Sequel or a Sequel with "too many explanations", it ruins the
Enigma, the Mystery . . . maybe if it sounded better, it wouldnt have mattered then.

QR was done. The latest has such GREAT ideas and a worthy cause and theme, but its just flat, with
all its ideas its uninspired .
I have yet to hear the "Demos" from their "Myth" days on the Special Edition of  "Sign of the Times:
The Best of Queensryche", or "Take Cover".  But I still collect any EP or CD Singles I can find.
(I voice my opinion on American Soldier on page 2).

I dont know if the Band can be saved, but I still have those albums that inspired me and many other
bands, and I will be the 1st to acknowledge their place in Metal and Prog Metal History.
I hope that they can get DeGarmo out of the "Cockpit" and create an EPIC Prog Metal album full
of virtuosity. creativity and get Tate to get his voice in shape again . . . I pray.

See Wiki for their History:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensr%C3%BFche





Edited by MAVIIIVAM - 04 Sep 2011 at 2:45pm