Queensrÿche (pronounced / kwiːnzraɪk / ) is a progressive American heavy metal band from Bellevue, Washington. Formed in 1982, the band is considered one of the pioneers of progressive metal: a mix of traditional heavy metal and progressive rock.
Queensrÿche was the biggest success band in the progressive rock scene, with more than 20 million copies sold worldwide, or 6 million albums in the United States. The band is very well received for their album Mindcrime (1988), often considered as one of the best concept albums of all time. Their next album, Empire, released in 1990, also proves to be a hit, and includes the single "Silent Lucidity" . The band is nominated three times at the Grammy Awards for the songs from these two albums; Rockenfield is also nominated for a Grammy off of his Queensrÿche performances.
In 1997, guitarist and lead songwriter DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons. Over the years, he is replaced by Kelly Gray, Mike Stone, and Parker Lundgren, respectively. Following an altercation publicized in São Paulo, Brazil, in April 2012, Tate was dismissed from the band and replaced by Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. As a result, Tate and his wife Susan (former group manager between 2005 and 2012) are suing in Washington. An agreement is found, and both sides are allowed to use Queensreach's name; Tate then founded his own line-up with former guitarist Gray, and members of other bands such as Blue Öyster Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio, AC / DC and Quiet Riot >>>. This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate releases an album, Frequency Unknown (en) 23 April 2013>, while the version of Queensrÿche with Todd La Torre released their eponymous album on June 24 and 25 (dates European and American, respectively)>. Both sides go on tour the same year, in 2013 >>>.
The beginnings of Queensrÿche can be traced back to the late 1970s. The guitarist Michael Wilton founded the Joker band with friends in 1978, and his then joined by guitarist Chris DeGarmo in 1979. In 1980, Wilton met drummer Scott Rockenfield at Easy Street Records in Seattle> and together formed the band Cross + Fire together>. They take music from heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, and train at Rockenfield in his garage. Prior to that, DeGarmo and bassist Eddie Jackson joined Cross + Fire, and the band changed its name to The Mob, a name inspired by Black Sabbath's The Mob Rules. Without a singer at this time, they recruit Geoff Tate who will sing for them at a local rock festival. At that time, Tate was already a member of a group called Babylon. After the dissolution of Babylon, Tate participates in some evenings with The Mob, but leaves the band because he has no interest in taking music from other heavy metal bands.
