In popular music , a cover version , cover song , remake , revival , or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song . Originally, it referred to a version of a song released around the same time as the original in order to compete with it. Now, it refers to any subsequent version performed after the original.
140-646: Queensrÿche ( / ˈ k w iː n z r aɪ k / ) is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington , out of the local band the Mob. The band has released sixteen studio albums, one EP , and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of guitarists Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo , drummer Scott Rockenfield , bassist Eddie Jackson , and lead vocalist Geoff Tate . Queensrÿche has sold over twenty million albums worldwide, including over six million albums in
280-513: A cover medley . On occasion, a cover can become more popular than the original, for instance Jimi Hendrix ’s version of Bob Dylan ’s " All Along the Watchtower " became the standard, and Dylan even adjusted his performance style closer to the Hendrix version. Johnny Cash ’s 2002 cover of " Hurt " by Nine Inch Nails is another example of the cover version eclipsing the original. This is
420-960: A contract with EMI, spanning 15 years and encompassing seven albums. EMI re-released the EP Queensrÿche to moderate success, peaking at No. 81 on the Billboard charts. The band toured with Quiet Riot through the South and with Twisted Sister to the East Coast and Canada, and opened for Dio in Seattle. After the EP tour, Queensrÿche travelled to London to record their first full-length album. The band worked with producer James Guthrie , who had worked with Pink Floyd and Judas Priest . Released in September 1984, The Warning showed
560-439: A jazz influence, with extended solo sections that often feature "trading solos". Orphaned Land from Israel debuted as a melodic death-doom / melodic death metal band that fused middle eastern rhythms and melodies into their music with a progressive edge. The band knew they wanted to create a new subgenre of metal from the very beginning, a style they would dub " oriental metal ," and were always viewed as progressive due to
700-526: A preliminary injunction to prevent both himself and the remaining bandmembers from using the Queensrÿche name until the issue was resolved. While the Washington state superior court denied this motion on July 13, 2012, they also denied a counter-motion for a preliminary summary judgment filed by the defense (Wilton, Jackson, and Rockenfield); collectively, these rulings enabled both parties to use
840-413: A 25th anniversary edition. In a band meeting on April 12, 2012, which Tate did not attend, the band fired both Tate's stepdaughter Miranda, from running the fan club, and his wife Susan, their band manager since 2005. According to Wilton, the reasons were that "the last 3 years, basically it just came to a point that we didn't have a voice in the band anymore. It was all run by the singer and his manager,
980-691: A 40-minute concept album consisting of a single track, brought the band critical acclaim and was heralded as one of the first extreme-metal forays into a progressive rock-esque concept album, featuring death-metal vocals and heavily distorted guitars, with guest vocals and lead guitar from Opeth's Mikael Åkerfeldt . Dan Swanö produced Opeth's first release, Orchid (1995), which was unique for its combination of death metal vocals and instrumentation, melodic guitar harmonies, and acoustic passages, but it wasn't until their hallmark record Blackwater Park (2001) that they received critical acclaim. Steven Wilson , progressive rock icon and frontman of Porcupine Tree ,
1120-425: A U.S. military position, explosive shells began falling on the base as the result of a bomb attack. Contrary to some news reports stating that some band members were injured, Tate has said in several interviews that he was misquoted and none of the band members suffered any injuries. The band's twelfth studio album, Dedicated to Chaos , was released on June 28, 2011 on Roadrunner /Loud & Proud Records, to which
1260-559: A band photo to a friend who wrote for Kerrang! magazine, resulting in a glowing review. On the strength of the growing buzz that surrounded them in both the United States and Europe following this review, the Harrises released Queensrÿche's demo tape as a self-titled EP on their independent label 206 Records in 1983. After the EP garnered international praise, receiving much airplay and selling an unusual number of copies for
1400-549: A distinct musical style, was primarily advanced by members of the American heavy metal scene of the mid-1980s, particularly Queensrÿche , Savatage , Fates Warning , Watchtower and then later on, Dream Theater and Symphony X . It has since developed in a non-linear fashion, with countless groups demonstrating innovations in personal ways. The origins of the genre date back to the very beginning of heavy metal / hard rock and progressive rock when some bands began to merge
1540-452: A faster tempo than those on the previous album. The band hoped to enter the studio in September 2017, for an early 2018 release via Century Media. In July 2018, in a Facebook post offering the forthcoming album for early orders, the band announced that the album would be released in 2019. On October 29, 2018, the band revealed that the album was entitled The Verdict and released it on March 1, 2019. According to Blabbermouth.net, Todd La Torre
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#17327722567761680-529: A favorite artist's hit tunes for the simple pleasure of playing a familiar song or collection of tunes. Today, three broad types of entertainers depend on cover versions for their principal repertoire: Since the Copyright Act of 1909 , United States musicians have had the right to record a version of someone else's previously recorded and released tune, whether it is music alone or music with lyrics. A license can be negotiated between representatives of
1820-526: A highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in São Paulo , Brazil, in April 2012, Tate was fired from the band and replaced with then- Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre . In response to his dismissal, Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005 to 2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated. The ruling in the preliminary injunction
1960-566: A home in the growing U.S. thrash metal movement, influencing popular heavy metal bands like Megadeth , with its acclaimed album Rust in Peace (1990), together with Metallica and its famous album ...And Justice for All (1988). Among the other pioneering thrash metal bands, one of the most important is Canada's Voivod , with their complex and experimental style, full of psychedelic dissonances ( Dimension Hatröss , 1988; Nothingface , 1989). "Math-metal" pioneers Watchtower, from Texas, took
2100-414: A lawsuit alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. In August 2018, guitarist Mike Stone returned for a couple of months filling in for Parker Lundgren who had to take care of "personal things". On May 1, 2017, Todd La Torre revealed plans for the band's next studio album. He said that approximately 15 songs were ready at that point and that they could be characterized by
2240-497: A long-standing controversy over who actually created the Tri-Ryche. Todd Rockenfield, the brother of Queensrÿche's drummer, who designed the typeface of the word "Queensryche" on the front and back of the EP, claimed the design of the Tri-Ryche in its eventual form was his, and the band acknowledges his role in the development of the Tri-Ryche. The Tri-Ryche is prominently featured on most of Queensrÿche's album covers. Queensrÿche
2380-484: A more direct and heavier approach than the well-established English progressive rock sound. 1984 brought full-length debut albums from American bands Queensrÿche from Washington state, and Fates Warning from Connecticut. Both expanded their music to include more progressive elements ( The Warning , 1984; The Spectre Within , 1985) – some through sound experimentation and compositional refinement, others through extremely complex structures and atypical riffs – up to
2520-512: A more traditional progressive metal/rock band, devoid of extreme metal elements. Between the Buried and Me , who started as a more straightforward metalcore band, also began to incorporate both progressive metal and death metal into their music on their 2003 album The Silent Circus , a landmark album in the progressive metalcore genre. They would later add avant-garde elements as well on releases such as The Great Misdirect (2009). In
2660-411: A narrative concept album that proved a massive critical and commercial success. The album's story revolved around a junkie named Nikki, who is brainwashed into performing assassinations for an underground movement. Nikki is torn over his misplaced loyalty to the cause and his love for Mary, a reformed hooker-turned-nun (vocals by Pamela Moore ), who gets in the way. The band's progressive metal style
2800-453: A singer for a one-off performance at a local rock festival, they recruited Babylon frontman Geoff Tate . After Babylon broke up, Tate performed a few shows with the Mob, but left because he was not interested in performing heavy metal covers. In 1981, the Mob put together sufficient funds to record a demo tape. Still without a singer, Tate was once again enlisted to help, much to the disapproval of his then-current band, Myth. The group recorded
2940-467: A small independent release, Tate agreed to leave Myth and become Queensrÿche's permanent lead singer. On June 29 and 30, 1983, Queensrÿche was the opening act for Zebra in Portland and Seattle respectively. Kim Harris knew A&R manager Mavis Brodey of EMI -America from the time she was the music director of KZOK-FM , and he convinced her to come to one of these shows. Brodey offered Queensrÿche
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#17327722567763080-432: A special collector's edition featured a bonus disc including various demos and a new song, "Justified", featuring Chris DeGarmo on guitar. On November 13, 2007, the band released an album of covers entitled Take Cover . The album contains covers of songs by Queen , U2 , The Police , Black Sabbath , Peter Gabriel , and Pink Floyd , and was the band's second release for Rhino Records. On February 3, 2009, Stone announced
3220-428: A subsequent tour, Queensrÿche's other band members started the side project that eventually became Rising West. Wilton explained that: "Originally this was deemed as a side project, because we were told by our management that we were not going to do anything for the next year so hey, we have to survive." Still in search of a frontman for the at-the-time unnamed project, Wilton recommended Todd La Torre to his bandmates,
3360-520: A tour of the United States in early 2016, and a European tour in September of that year. In October 2016, the band performed in Australia and the Far East. On March 28, 2017, the band announced Rockenfield would take paternity leave to care for his newborn son, and that Kamelot drummer Casey Grillo would fill in his spot for upcoming live dates, Rockenfield has not returned to the band and has field
3500-456: A tribute to the original performer or group. Using familiar material (such as evergreen hits, standard tunes or classic recordings) is an important method of learning music styles. Until the mid-1960s most albums, or long playing records , contained a large number of evergreens or standards to present a fuller range of the artist's abilities and style. (See, for example, Please Please Me .) Artists might also perform interpretations ("covers") of
3640-461: A video from that tour, although in this context it is used to indicate that the fans are helping to rebuild the band's career. In a January 2015 interview, lead vocalist Todd La Torre revealed that in February they would "hopefully" start tracking their next album. Three months later, guitarist Michael Wilton spoke to interviewer Jennifer Kessinger at the 2015 Welcome to Rockville Festival about
3780-470: A video of band members and crew discussing the band's desire to approach their fans more proactively, with their attorney Thomas Osinski remarking: "this is famously a band that kept to itself, and in this new era of openness, they want to join with their fans [and] more so after the last few years of challenges they've been through". The term "Building Empires" was used previously in the Empire tour, as well as
3920-455: A weekly segment called Like a Version in which a band or musician performs one of their own songs as well as a song they love by another artist. Originating in 2004, the popularity of the performances have resulted in the release of annual compilation albums of selected covers and, more recently, votes in the annual Triple J Hottest 100 poll (which has even sparked its own controversy). Conjoined cover songs are collectively referred to as
4060-460: A widespread, common occurrence in the music industry. With advancements in artificial intelligence , internet users can create covers using RVC models. Cover versions (as the term is now used) are often contemporary versions of familiar songs. For example, " Singin' in the Rain " was originally introduced by Cliff Edwards in the film The Hollywood Revue of 1929 . The famous Gene Kelly version
4200-603: A would-be double album. Their next release, Ghost Reveries , became an "instant classic," followed by Watershed , their last "heavy" album, both of which have had significant influence on the progressive metal genre, along with other "extreme metal" bands like Meshuggah . This style of progressive metal is often referred to as "extreme progressive metal," or "extreme prog," for short. Later bands who would play in this style are Ne Obliviscaris , Disillusion . Porcupine Tree would later be influenced by this style, and in particular from Opeth, while Opeth would subsequently switch to
4340-515: Is " Mack the Knife " ("Die Moritat von Mackie Messer"), originally from Bertolt Brecht's 1928 Die Dreigroschenoper . It was popularized by a 1956 hit parade instrumental tune, "Moritat", for the Dick Hyman Trio, also recorded by Richard Hayman & Jan August , but a hit also for Louis Armstrong 1956/1959, Bobby Darin , 1959, and Ella Fitzgerald , 1960, as vocal versions of "Mack
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4480-449: Is eclecticism. In between the riffs, choruses, and solos typical of rock and metal songs, prog metal bands often include sections inspired by jazz , classical and Middle Eastern music , among others. Progressive metal is difficult to define specifically, since most bands labeled under the genre have considerably different musical influences when compared to each other. Similarly, bands such as Dream Theater , Planet X and Puya have
4620-431: Is most commonly described as progressive metal and heavy metal . According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic , "Queensrÿche constructed a progressive form of heavy metal that drew equally from the guitar pyrotechnics of post- Van Halen metal and '70s art rock , most notably Pink Floyd and Queen . Queensrÿche Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche The Billboard Music Awards are awarded by Billboard magazine ,
4760-410: Is the only one that might currently get widespread airplay on most media. Similarly, " Unchained Melody " was originally performed by Todd Duncan , featured in the 1955 film Unchained (based on the non-fiction story Prisoners are People by Kenyon J. Scudder); Al Hibbler having the biggest number of worldwide record sales for the vocal version with Jimmy Young's cover version rival outdoing this in
4900-507: The Glenn Miller version (on RCA Victor's cheaper Bluebird label), not someone else's (sometimes presented on a more expensive record company's label). This trend was marked closely by the charting of record sales by the different artists, not just hit tunes, on the music industry's hit parades . However, for sound commercial reasons, record companies still continued to record different versions of tunes that sold well. Most audiences until
5040-466: The Queensrÿche EP to the band's fourth studio album, Empire , which are generally considered the band's heaviest releases, and according to La Torre: "are the songs and the time period that most represented the core sound of what Queensryche material was about". Their first rehearsal together went very smoothly, according to Wilton: "we blasted through 18 to 20 songs and everybody was amazed from
5180-460: The Tribe tour, Lars Sorensen was dismissed, and Geoff Tate's wife Susan was promoted to band manager, after having worked as an assistant manager for the band since 2001. In this period, Wilton spent time recording the self-titled album of his side project Soulbender . In July 2004, Queensrÿche announced its plans to record a follow-up to 1988's Operation: Mindcrime . To generate fan interest in
5320-463: The 2010s, due to the rapid growth of djent led by bands such as Periphery and After the Burial , progressive metal saw an increased interest with a large number of newcomers to the genre. Some of the newer progressive metal bands that have gained popularity since the 2010s are Haken , Plini , Vola , and Caligula's Horse , among others. One of the hallmark musical qualities of progressive metal
5460-532: The 20th century it became common for phonograph record labels to have singers or musicians "cover" a commercially successful "hit" tune by recording a version for their own label in hopes of cashing in on the tune's success. For example, Ain't She Sweet was popularized in 1927 by Eddie Cantor (on stage) and by Ben Bernie and Gene Austin (on record), was repopularized through popular recordings by Mr. Goon Bones & Mr. Ford and Pearl Bailey in 1949, and later still revived as 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records by
5600-684: The Air" occur in Strictly Ballroom , Candi Staton 's "Young Hearts Run Free" appear in Romeo + Juliet , and adaptations of artists such as Nat King Cole , Nirvana , Kiss , Elton John , Thelma Houston , Marilyn Monroe , Madonna , T. Rex , David Bowie , Queen , and the Police are used in Moulin Rouge! . The covers are carefully designed to fit into the structure of each film and suit
5740-399: The American record market. Numerable English-language covers exist of " 99 Luftballons " by German singer Nena (notably one by punk band Goldfinger ), one having been recorded by Nena herself following the success of her original German version. " Popcorn ", a song that was originally completely instrumental, has had lyrics added in at least six different languages in various covers. During
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5880-525: The Anglo-Saxon markets was once a popular part of the music business. For example, the 1954 worldwide hit " The Happy Wanderer " was originally " Der fröhliche Wanderer ", to this must be added " Hymne à l'amour ", " Mütterlein ", " Volare ", " Seeman ", " Quando, Quando, Quando ", " L'amour est bleu ", etc. Cover versions of many popular songs have been recorded, sometimes with a radically different style, sometimes virtually unrecognizable from
6020-467: The Beatles in 1964. Because little promotion or advertising was done in the early days of record production, other than at the local music hall or music store, the average buyer purchasing a new record usually asked for the tune, not the artist. Record distribution was highly localized, so a locally popular artist could quickly record a version of a hit song from another area and reach an audience before
6160-577: The Electric Castle (1998) and The Human Equation (2004), performed by many different members of prominent metal bands. Pain of Salvation was always working towards a more or less unusual style, demonstrated by the eclecticism and anti-conformism found on One Hour by the Concrete Lake (1998), and BE (2004). Forerunners of a more experimental and alternative approach include Thought Industry , as seen in their album Mods Carve
6300-683: The Fire , although the German title was retained. The English version, which was not a direct translation of Falco's original but retained much of its spirit, reached the Top 5 on the US charts. " The Lion Sleeps Tonight " evolved over several decades and versions from a 1939 Solomon Linda a cappella song. Many of singer Laura Branigan 's 1980s hits were English-language covers of songs already successful in Europe, for
6440-414: The German word, can mean "realm", "kingdom" or "empire". The name "Queensrÿche" is written with a metal umlaut over the letter "y". As the band later joked: "The umlaut over the 'y' has haunted us for years. We spent eleven years trying to explain how to pronounce it." The umlaut is used on all of Queensrÿche's releases, except for their 2011 album, Dedicated to Chaos . Kim Harris sent the demo tape and
6580-673: The Gibson Amphitheatre show in Universal City, California to perform his vocals as Dr. X on "The Chase", and was shown on a video screen at the other shows. Dio's appearance was recorded, and included as an extra on the 2007 DVD release Mindcrime at the Moore . On August 9, 2007, the band announced that it would release a new greatest hits album, entitled Sign of the Times . The album was released on August 28, 2007, and
6720-433: The Knife". Europe's Radio Luxembourg , like many commercial stations, also sold "air time"; so record companies and others bought air time to promote their own artists or products, thus increasing the number of recorded versions of any tune then available. Add to this the fact that many radio stations were limited in their permitted " needle time " (the amount of recorded music they were allowed to play), or were regulated on
6860-611: The Now Frontier , in March 1997, to mixed critical and fan reception. The album debuted at No. 19 but quickly vanished from the charts. Toby Wright , who produced Alice in Chains ’ self-titled 1995 album, was brought on board for this effort as engineer. The result was a sound that is more dry and stripped down than anything the band had ever released. The wall of guitar, drums, and vocals that had become synonymous with Queensrÿche
7000-534: The Pig: Assassins, Toads and God's Flesh (1993). Puerto Rican band Puya rose to prominence in the late '90s with their innovative fusion of jazz , salsa , and progressive metal, evident on their 1999 album Fundamental . Some of the first bands to pioneer the combination of progressive rock and extreme metal influences were Dan Swanö 's Edge of Sanity , and Opeth , both bands hailing from Sweden. In particular, Edge of Sanity's Crimson (1996),
7140-519: The Rain" has been covered and remixed by British act Mint Royale for a television commercial for Volkswagen . Another example of this, from a different angle, is the tune " Blueberry Hill ", many mistakenly believe the Fats Domino 1956 release to be the original recording and artist. In fact, it was originally introduced on film by Gene Autry and popularized on the record Hit Parade of 1940 by Glenn Miller. The Fats Domino rock and roll version
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#17327722567767280-504: The Sun, Sierra , and Oceans of Slumber. Cover version The term "cover" goes back decades when cover version originally described a rival version of a tune recorded to compete with the recently released (original) version. Examples of records covered include Paul Williams ' 1949 hit tune " The Hucklebuck " and Hank Williams ' 1952 song " Jambalaya ". Both crossed over to the popular hit parade and had numerous hit versions. Before
7420-474: The Top 40 in the Netherlands. In the US, however, it became their first album to miss the charts entirely. Guitarist Michael Wilton has stated that the band has been demoing new material while on the road, and is hoping to enter the studio to record the follow-up to Digital Noise Alliance sometime in 2025. Queensrÿche's logo, the so-called Tri-Ryche (written without an umlaut on the 'y'), also stems from
7560-1009: The UK, Les Baxter's Orchestra gaining the big instrumentalist sales, reaching the US Hit Parade number one spot in May 1955, but the Righteous Brothers ' later version (top five on the US Hit Parade of September 1965 stalling at number 14 in the UK in August) is by far the wider known version, and especially so following its appearance in the 1990 film Ghost . " House of the Rising Sun " has hundreds of versions and in many genres such as folk , blues rock and punk as well as dance and dubstep . Director Baz Luhrmann has contemporized and stylized older songs for use in his films. New or cover versions such as John Paul Young 's "Love Is in
7700-453: The United States. They are considered one of the leaders of the progressive metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and often referred to as one of the "Big Three" of the genre, along with Dream Theater and Fates Warning . The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime , which is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal concept albums of all time. Their next album, Empire (1990),
7840-415: The album's track list and artwork were revealed. Todd La Torre stated that "The artwork depicts a beautiful innocence surrounded by the darkness of a jaded unpredictable world." The new album was released on October 2, 2015. In the weeks leading up to the release of Condition Hüman the band toured North America with German hard rock veterans Scorpions . After the new album's release, the band embarked on
7980-435: The album, and it was in the process of being mixed and mastered before being sent off to their record label Century Media Records. However, he did not reveal a title or release date. On July 17, 2015, the band announced that a clip of a new song titled "Arrow of Time" would be released to fans who participated in their PledgeMusic campaign. The song was the opening track of the new album, titled Condition Hüman . On August 3,
8120-575: The amount of local talent they had to promote in live broadcasts, as with most national stations like the BBC in the UK. In the US, broadcasters pay royalties to authors and publishers. Artists are not paid royalties, so there is an incentive to record numerous versions of a song, particularly in different genres. For example, King Records frequently cut both rhythm and blues and country and western versions of novelty songs like "Good Morning, Judge" and "Don't Roll those Bloodshot Eyes at Me". This tradition
8260-510: The band Cross+Fire together on July 18 that year. They covered songs from popular heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest , and practiced in the garage of Rockenfield's parents which they called "The Dungeon" and fitted with egg cartons as acoustic cladding. Before long, DeGarmo and bassist Eddie Jackson joined Cross+Fire, and the band name was changed to the Mob, after the Black Sabbath song "The Mob Rules". In need of
8400-409: The band flew La Torre in from Florida to Seattle nine days before the show to rehearse at Rockenfield's house, they hadn't played a note together, nor did they know whether it would work. Although La Torre was a big fan of Queensrÿche's older albums, he was not very familiar with the songs on Promised Land and they had only limited time to prepare for the shows; the band focused on the material from
8540-536: The band had signed on August 25, 2010. The album was a drastic departure from the band's previous efforts, featuring a greater emphasis on the bass and drums, and with minimal guitar work. The album was released to mixed reviews and was the lowest charting full-length album for the band in its history. According to Tate, Queensrÿche was already writing new material for a follow-up to Dedicated to Chaos as of June 2011, and were discussing re-recording Operation: Mindcrime in late 2012, so they could do something special for
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#17327722567768680-519: The band had undertaken before or has since. The tour also added a black page to the band's history, when during a show in a sports hall in Ichtegem , Belgium on November 20, 1990, a scuffle in the audience resulted in an American fan stabbing a Belgian fan fatally in the chest. Tour manager Howard Ungerleider immediately stopped the show as the band was only playing the seventh song on the set list, "Roads to Madness". A live album, recorded May 10–12, 1991,
8820-458: The band have later cited burnout and a desire to pursue interests outside of Queensrÿche as reasons for his departure. For example, Rockenfield has said: "He wanted to pursue other things. He felt like he had done what he wanted musically in his life, and wanted to move on." After leaving Queensrÿche, DeGarmo began a full-time career as a professional business jet pilot. His involvement with music has since been sporadic. He remains highly regarded in
8960-565: The band in an early stage of development, playing classic heavy metal songs. It peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard album chart, a moderate commercial success. While none of the singles released from The Warning charted domestically, "Take Hold of the Flame" was a hit for the band outside the U.S., and particularly in Japan. The band's first full-scale U.S. tour (in support of this album) was as
9100-575: The band members living on the West Coast , flowed better as a band name than simply "West", and [in deemphasizing the WEST acronym] acknowledged that Parker Lundgren [whose name was not included in the acronym] would also be participating in the project. The shows were publicly announced on May 29, 2012, revealing that they would focus on Queensrÿche's older work. Both shows sold out in 48 hours, among others to fans from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. When
9240-425: The band members. The project would initially be called "West", which stood for the four members of the band: " W ilton, E ddie, S cott and T odd", but was later renamed "Rising West" at the suggestion of Jackson. The band was enthusiastic about this addition to the original name, because "Rising West" reflected the feeling that the project was "something really fresh" for everyone involved; it additionally referred to
9380-479: The band reluctantly searched for another singer. Because the name "the Mob" was not available, their manager urged them to choose a different name. They reportedly ran out of ideas, and decided to name the band after the first song on their demo tape, " Queen of the Reich ". The spelling "Queensreich" was modified to prevent association of the band with Nazism ; "ryche" is a Middle English cognate to "Reich" which, like
9520-576: The band was uncertain. In July, Queensrÿche released its first and only album of new material on the Sanctuary label, Tribe . DeGarmo, who played on and co-wrote four songs, neither officially rejoined the band nor took part in the supporting tour. Queensrÿche found a replacement for Gray in Mike Stone , who had previously worked on Tate's solo album. Stone accompanied the band on the Tribe tour as second guitarist to Wilton's lead, though he never
9660-447: The band's early years. Artist Wes "Grizz" Griswold, who made the artwork for the Queensrÿche EP, used to sign his work with a doodle morphed from a crude drawing of a peregrine falcon . He also used it for the stage set and backdrop of Queensrÿche's first tour, which he designed. After the band was signed, the record company adopted the doodle as the band's logo. However, the Tri-Ryche has never been trademarked by Queensrÿche due to
9800-444: The bowdlerized popular cover versions more palatable for the mass audience of parents and their children. Artists targeting the white-majority family audience were more acceptable to programmers at most radio and TV stations. Singer-songwriter Don McLean called the cover version a "racist tool". Many parents in the 1950s - 60s, whether intentionally racist or not, felt deeply threatened by the rapid pace of social change. They had, for
9940-406: The brand "Queensrÿche" until a court ruling or settlement further clarified the matter. Subsequent to this temporary verdict, both entities toured with independent bands under the "Queensrÿche" moniker between June 2012 and April 2014, with one incarnation consisting of the remaining Queensrÿche members fronted by La Torre, and the other featuring Tate with his own lineup. In addition, both versions of
10080-685: The concept of time-changes to a new level, combining thrash metal, syncopation and prog in their albums Energetic Disassembly (1985) and Control and Resistance (1989), giving rise to an extremely technical approach based on the rhythmic deconstruction typical in jazz fusion . This same direction in prog metal would be later integrated into death metal by bands such as Atheist ( Unquestionable Presence , 1991), which would become known as technical death metal or progressive death metal . Bands which also explored fusion-inspired prog metal include most notably Death and Cynic . The major US bands that contribute to further delineating and developing
10220-455: The conclusion that they can no longer work or perform with Mr. Tate." They called a band meeting on June 5 (some sources say June 6). Tate withdrew from this conference call, after which the other band members voted to "consider Geoff Tate expelled from the band" and "continue to use the Queensrÿche name with a new lead singer", prompting Tate to take legal action. While Tate continued working on an upcoming solo album, Kings & Thieves , and
10360-453: The course of the five album releases ('Q2K', 'Tribe', 'Operation: Mindcrime II', 'American Soldier' and 'Dedicated To Chaos') after DeGarmo left, the band had gone through three rhythm guitarists, five record companies and four management firms. Q-Prime had taken over management duties before 'Operation: Mindcrime'; they were eventually replaced by Ray Daniels during the 'Q2K' sessions, who was then subsequently replaced by Lars Sorensen. Following
10500-406: The disingenuous spirit of early cover versions remain. In the album-buying heyday of the 1970s, albums of sound-alike covers were created, commonly released to fill bargain bins in the music section of supermarkets and even specialized music stores , where uninformed customers might easily confuse them with original recordings. The packaging of such discs was often intentionally confusing, combining
10640-525: The djent movement, Dream Theater having been one of the earliest progressive metal bands to incorporate seven-stringed guitars into their music. Proyecto Eskhata, a Spanish band, has received much press coverage in Spain for its fusion of progressive rock and rap metal , which journalists have described as "progressive rap metal". Progressive doom is a fusion genre that combines elements of progressive metal and doom metal . Bands include King Goat, Below
10780-425: The end of his association with Queensrÿche to focus on his side project Speed-X , although court declarations later revealed Geoff and Susan Tate fired him for "making too many grand demands", without discussing their decision with the other band members. Wilton recorded both lead and rhythm guitar on the band's eleventh studio album, American Soldier , released on March 31, 2009. The concept album regards war from
10920-415: The end of their set. The second leg of the tour began in early 2005. Before embarking on a third leg in the fall of 2005, Queensrÿche toured with Judas Priest across North America, playing an hour-long set consisting mostly of the band's older works and one song from the soon-to-be released sequel, entitled "I'm American". Operation: Mindcrime II was released internationally on March 31, 2006. The album
11060-428: The eyes of Queensrÿche's fan base. DeGarmo was replaced by producer Kelly Gray on rhythm guitar. Gray's connections with Queensrÿche went back to the early '80s, when he was the guitarist for Myth, which was also the band Tate fronted prior to joining Queensrÿche. Gray had previously worked as a producer for bands such as Dokken and Candlebox . Queensrÿche recorded one studio album with Gray, Q2K from 1999, which
11200-497: The first time. Unhappy with the lack of support they felt they received from Atlantic Records, Queensrÿche moved to Sanctuary Records in 2001. In July of that year, the band performed a handful of dates at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington. The shows were recorded and released in September 2001 as Live Evolution , the band's second live album. In 2001 and 2002, Tate worked on his self-titled first solo album , which
11340-413: The former with the more experimental, cerebral or quasi-classical compositions of the latter. The music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodox harmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequent meter changes and intense syncopation . The rhythmic aspects are especially emphasized in the djent subgenre. Although the genre emerged towards
11480-460: The four songs " Queen of the Reich ", "Nightrider", "Blinded", and "The Lady Wore Black", the latter of which Tate had written the lyrics for. For an entire year, they brought their demo to various labels and were rejected by all of them. The Mob were ultimately offered a management contract by Kim and Diana Harris, the owners of Easy Street Records. However, as Tate remained committed to staying in Myth,
11620-731: The genre are Psychotic Waltz and Dream Theater . The former, with an approach halfway in between Watchtower and Fates Warning, produced A Social Grace (1990), melding their signature sound with the psychedelic Into the Everflow (1992), while the latter explored the legacy of the bands that preceded them while advancing their personal style with When Dream and Day Unite (1989). Both albums focused on keyboards and band members' instrumental skills. As for Dream Theater, their efforts resulted in two fundamental albums, which helped institutionalize classic progressive metal — Images and Words (1992) and Awake (1994). Among European pioneers of
11760-580: The genre are Germany's Sieges Even , who, starting out of technical thrash stylistically significant to Watchtower, explored the more technical and angular side of progressive metal with The Art of Navigating by the Stars (2005). Among the bands of the late 1990s who brought innovation to the genre are the Dutch Ayreon (a project by Arjen Anthony Lucassen ) and Swedes Pain of Salvation . Ayreon focused on theatrical and melodramatic rock operas Into
11900-627: The group released studio albums during this time, with Geoff Tate's incarnation releasing Frequency Unknown in April 2013, and the La Torre-fronted lineup releasing a self-titled album two months later. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, and a statement from both parties was released on April 28, 2014. The statement announced that Tate lost the brand Queensrÿche to Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson, who together with La Torre and Lundgren are to be "the sole band recording and touring as Queensrÿche", while former vocalist Tate solely has
12040-504: The height of their commercial popularity. It peaked at No. 7 and sold more than three million copies in the United States, more than their previous four releases combined (it was also certified silver in the UK). The power ballad " Silent Lucidity ", which featured an orchestra, became the band's first Top 10 single. The arrangements on Empire were more straightforward than the band's previous efforts. The subsequent "Building Empires" tour
12180-475: The heyday of Cantopop in Hong Kong in the late 1970s to early 1990s, many hits were covers of English and Japanese titles that have gained international fame but with localized lyrics (sometimes multiple sets of lyrics sung to the same tune), and critics often chide the music industry of shorting the tune-composing process. Although modern cover versions are often produced for artistic reasons, some aspects of
12320-595: The interpreting artist and the copyright holder, or recording published tunes can fall under a mechanical license whereby the recording artist pays a standard royalty to the original author/copyright holder through an organization such as the Harry Fox Agency , and is safe under copyright law even if they do not have any permission from the original author. A similar service was provided by Limelight by RightsFlow , until January 2015, when they announced they will be closing their service. The U.S. Congress introduced
12460-535: The larger arenas and outdoor amphitheaters where they played before. Following the Q2K tour, Rockenfield and Gray formed the side project Slave to the System with band members from Brother Cane and recorded a self-titled album . After the release of a greatest hits collection in 2000, Queensrÿche embarked on another tour, this time in support of Iron Maiden . This enabled the band to play Madison Square Garden for
12600-606: The late 2000s, bands such as Periphery, Tesseract , Animals as Leaders and Vildhjarta popularized the "djent" style of progressive metal in a sound originally developed by Meshuggah . It is characterized by high- attack , palm-muted, syncopated riffs (often incorporating polymeters ), as well as use of extended-range guitars. Extended-range guitars also feature in other forms of progressive metal; artists including Dream Theater, Devin Townsend , Dir En Grey , and Ne Obliviscaris have used seven-string guitars without being part of
12740-472: The late-1980s, it was not until the 1990s that progressive metal achieved widespread success. Watchtower , Queensrÿche , Dream Theater , Tool , Symphony X , Shadow Gallery , King's X , and Fates Warning are a few examples of progressive metal bands who achieved commercial success. Soon after the rise of the genre's popularity, other thrash and death metal bands started to incorporate elements of progressive music in their work. Progressive metal, as
12880-464: The management company in Los Angeles: "I have something very hot here and we should grab these guys before someone else does". After band negotiations with "at least 3 or 4 record labels", Parrish chose to sign Queensrÿche with Century Media . Meanwhile, Tate, along with his wife, moved forward with the lawsuit they had filed against his former bandmates, claiming unlawful termination and seeking
13020-716: The mechanical license to head off an attempt by the Aeolian Company to monopolize the piano roll market. Although a composer cannot deny anyone a mechanical license for a new recorded version, the composer has the right to decide who will release the first recording of a song. Bob Dylan took advantage of this right when he refused his own record company the right to release a live recording of " Mr. Tambourine Man ". Even with this, pre-release cover versions of songs can occasionally occur. Live performances of copyrighted songs are typically arranged through performing rights organizations such as ASCAP or BMI . Early in
13160-517: The mid-1950s still heard their favorite artists playing live music on stage or via the radio . And since radio shows were for the most part aimed at local audiences, it was still rare for an artist in one area to reach a mass audience. Also radio stations tended to cater to broad audience markets, so an artist in one vein might not get broadcast on other stations geared to a set audience. So popular versions of jazz , country and western or rhythm and blues tunes, and vice versa, were frequent. An example
13300-443: The mid-20th century, the notion of an original version of a popular tune would have seemed slightly odd – the production of musical entertainment was seen as a live event , even if it was reproduced at home via a copy of the sheet music , learned by heart or captured on a gramophone record . In fact, one of the principal objects of publishing sheet music was to have a composition performed by as many artists as possible. This made
13440-483: The most part, shared entertainment with their parents in ways their children had become reluctant to do. The jukebox and the personal record disc player were still relatively expensive pieces of machinery — and the portable radio a great novelty, allowing truculent teenagers to shut themselves off. Tunes by introducing or "original" niche market artists that became successful on the mass audience hit parade charts are called crossovers as they "crossed over" from
13580-517: The most popular style of music in the mid-1950s / mid-1960s was still the professional light orchestra, therefore popular recording artists sought that format. For many purists these popular versions lacked the raw earthiness of the original introducing artists. Most did not have the kudos that rebellious teenagers craved, the street credibility — of rock and roll music; most were performed, and some were written, by black artists not heard in popular mass entertainment markets. Most parents considered
13720-524: The motto "Building The Empire", and offered regular pledge rewards such as CDs, exclusive access and equipment, but also an investment opportunity for $ 50,000 in Queensrÿche Holdings, LLC to accredited investors. The campaign page revealed that recording would likely take place between December 1, 2014 and February 28, 2015, and that the album was expected to be ready for release in late spring or early summer 2015. The campaign page also included
13860-547: The name of his version of Queensrÿche to Operation: Mindcrime . The La Torre-fronted Queensrÿche has since recorded three more albums with him: Condition Hüman (2015), The Verdict (2019) and their newest release Digital Noise Alliance (2022). The foundations for Queensrÿche began in the late 1970s. guitarist Michael Wilton started the band Joker with friends in 1978, and they were joined by guitarist Chris DeGarmo in 1979. In 1980, Wilton met drummer Scott Rockenfield at Easy Street Records in Seattle, and they formed
14000-520: The name of the original artist in large letters with a tiny disclaimer like as originally sung by or as made popular by . More recently, albums such as the Kidz Bop series of compact discs , featuring versions of contemporary songs sung by children, have sold successfully. In 2009, the American musical comedy-drama television series Glee debuted, featuring several musical performances per episode. The series featured solely cover songs performed by
14140-709: The nature of the middle eastern elements of their music, which is known for using time signatures that are uncommon in the west , expansive song structures, and microtones . As their career developed, they would later play in a more traditional progressive metal style, comparable to Opeth, Symphony X, and the like, while maintaining their "oriental" edge. Steven Wilson, who lived in Israel for some time playing in Blackfield , found Ophaned Land to be "something special" after listening to Mabool and, would end up producing and engineering The Never Ending Way of ORWarriOR . In
14280-500: The opening act for Kiss on their Animalize tour and Iron Maiden on their Powerslave tour . They also opened for Dio and Accept on their tours for The Last in Line and Metal Heart respectively. Rage for Order , released in 1986, introduced a much more polished look and sound for Queensrÿche, while the band was pressured by their management to adopt an image more closely associated with glam metal . Tate later described
14420-409: The original sound electronically; cover versions give a performer the ability to adapt music to their own style, typically allowing them to change the genre of a song and recreating it to their own taste. For example, in 2008, Fall Out Boy covered Michael Jackson 's hit song " Beat It ", changing the genre from pop rock to a more punk rock feel. Another example is when My Chemical Romance covered
14560-403: The original. For example, Sir Mix-a-Lot 's 1992 rap " Baby Got Back " was covered by indie rock singer Jonathan Coulton in 2005, in an acoustic soft rock style. Coulton's cover was then covered, without attribution, in 2013 by the show Glee , and was so similar that Coulton, among others, alleged plagiarism of his arrangement and melody. Some producers or recording artists may also enlist
14700-402: The period as "we were really into [that] image and we failed miserably." However, the album itself was slightly more progressive than the band's previous releases, having a layered and complex musical structure, and featuring keyboards as prominently as guitars. A video was filmed for the song "Gonna Get Close to You", written and originally recorded in 1984 by Dalbello . The song "Rage for Order"
14840-605: The perspective of those on the front lines of American wars from World War II through to the present, especially the Iraq War . Parker Lundgren (formerly of The Nihilists and Sledgeback , who also played on Tate's solo tour and was in a relationship with Tate's stepdaughter Miranda) replaced Stone on the ensuing tour. In late 2009 and early 2010, the band toured for The Queensrÿche Cabaret . In November 2010, Queensrÿche played several shows for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. While at
14980-456: The preeminent publication covering the music business. The Concrete Foundations Awards was held by Foundations Forum , which honored contributions by music artists to the hard rock and heavy metal genres. Progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal or prog ) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock , combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar -driven sound of
15120-493: The professionality, the musicianship and tone of Todd's voice." Rockenfield was immediately reassured: "the second we played "Queen of the Reich", it was all over." Even after the enthusiastic response during these initial shows, the fledgling band still remained unsigned in the days that immediately followed. They already had been approached by Glen Parrish of PGM Management after their show on June 9, 2012, who offered to become their band manager. According to Wilton, Parrish had told
15260-454: The right to play Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II in their entirety "in unique performances". On May 5, 2014, a press release was released through Wilton's Facebook page, further clarifying the specifics of the settlement. On November 7, 2014, the band opened a pledge drive through PledgeMusic that allowed fans to pre-order their next album, which would be their second with La Torre and their 14th overall. The campaign used
15400-472: The same period. Queensrÿche was forced to use its own money to finance the remaining two months of the tour. The band played a handful of December shows in South America because of contractual obligations, and it was during this time, late 1997, that founding member Chris DeGarmo announced he was leaving Queensrÿche. However, his departure was not announced to the public until January 24, 1998. Members of
15540-504: The series' titular glee club until near the end of its second season with the episode " Original Song ". The series still primarily uses cover songs of both chart hits and show tunes, occasionally as mashups or distinct variations. The show's musical performances have been a commercial success, with over twenty-one million copies of Glee cast single releases purchased digitally, and over nine million albums purchased worldwide. Australian alternative/indie radio station Triple J presents
15680-530: The services of a sample replay company such as Titan Tribute Media or Scorccio, in order to replicate an original recording with precision detail and accuracy. A song may be covered into another language. For example, in the 1930s, a recording of " Isle of Capri " in Spanish, by Osvaldo Fresedo and singer Roberto Ray, is known. Falco 's 1982 German-language hit " Der Kommissar " was covered in English by After
15820-432: The song more important than the performing artist and rival cover or 'copycat' versions would vie for success. In previous generations, some artists made very successful careers of presenting revivals or reworkings of once-popular tunes, even out of doing contemporary cover versions of current hits. Since the 1950s, musicians now play what they call "cover versions" (the reworking, updating, or interpretation) of songs as
15960-524: The songwriting progress of the album, which was being recorded at the Uberbeatz studio in Washington with producer Zeuss . Wilton said that "it is everything that a fan of Queensrÿche would want from the band" and stated that in more recent concerts and festivals, fans had expressed their satisfaction with the band's current line up. Wilton revealed in a later interview that they had finished recording
16100-491: The studio with Zeuss reprising his role as producer, and begun recording their sixteenth studio album, with a tentative late-2022 release date. Grillo confirmed that he was going to play drums on the album. On May 20, 2022, the band announced that the album was titled Digital Noise Alliance and that it will be released on October 7. The album was received well in Europe, reaching the Top 20 in Germany and Switzerland as well as
16240-430: The targeted country, jazz or rhythm audience. Also, many songs originally recorded by male artists were rerecorded by female artists, and vice versa. Such a cover version is also sometimes called a cross cover version , male cover , or female cover . Some songs such as "If Only for One Night" were originally recorded by female artists but covered by mostly male artists. Reworking non-English language tunes and lyrics for
16380-405: The taste of the intended audience. Other artists release new versions of their own songs, like German singer Nena who recorded an entire album with great success, with new versions of older hits. Cover songs can be used to display creativity of a performers work through the talent of another artist's previous production. Not to be confused with a remix , which is defined as altering or distorting
16520-593: The then-frontman of Crimson Glory , whom he had met several months prior at the NAMM Show in January 2012. Their encounter had resulted in a songwriting collaboration on, among others, a song named "Don't Look Back", which in 2013 would make its way onto Queensrÿche's self-titled album. The band heard some of La Torre's demos on YouTube, and took a leap of faith by booking and announcing two shows at Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe on June 8 and 9, 2012, even before La Torre met
16660-562: The time both parties could use the name Queensrÿche, Tate created his own lineup featuring former rhythm guitarist Gray and musicians from bands including Blue Öyster Cult , Ozzy Osbourne , Whitesnake , Dio , AC/DC and Quiet Riot . This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on April 23, 2013, while Queensrÿche (with La Torre replacing Tate) released their eponymous album on June 24 and 25, 2013 (European and American release date, respectively). Both bands toured in 2013 and 2014, after which Tate changed
16800-686: The two different approaches. 1960s pioneers King Crimson maintained their musical innovation while incorporating a harder approach, using dissonance and experimental tones, yet still maintaining a relationship to the power chords of hard rock, with the main example being " 21st Century Schizoid Man ". Canadian trio Rush are widely recognized as bridging the gap between hard rock, English progressive rock, and pure heavy metal. Initially influenced by Led Zeppelin , they evolved to combine established progressive rock technique with blues-based power chords. Records such as 2112 (1976) showcased technical expertise and complex compositional skill while still utilizing
16940-565: The two seminal works in 1986: Rage for Order and Awaken the Guardian . In the following years the two bands, while following different paths – more basic and simple the first, more articulate and complex the latter — explore and expand the technical refinement and sonic finesse of their music, continuing to lay the foundations of the genre with important works such as Operation: Mindcrime (1988) by Queensrÿche, and Perfect Symmetry (1989) by Fates Warning. Progressive metal also found
17080-462: The upcoming album, the band hit the road in the fall of 2004 with the "An Evening With Queensrÿche" tour. The tour opened with a shortened greatest hits set, followed by a revised production of Operation: Mindcrime with live actors and video; Pamela Moore reprised her role as Sister Mary. The band played a pre-recorded version of "Hostage," a track from the upcoming album, through the PA as an encore after
17220-482: The version by the artist(s) who first introduced the tune, and highly competitive record companies were quick to take advantage of this. This began to change in the late 1930s, when the growing record-buying public began including a younger age group. During the swing era , when a bobby soxer went looking for a recorded tune, say " In the Mood ", typically she wanted the version popularized by her favorite artist(s), e.g.
17360-483: The wife." On April 14, 2012, before the soundcheck for a show in São Paulo , Brazil, Tate had an argument with the other members about the firing of his family. This confrontation became heated, leading to Tate retaliating by knocking down the drum kit, throwing several punches and physically assaulting and spitting on Rockenfield and Wilton. Over the course of the band's next three shows, Wilton, Rockenfield, and Jackson felt that Tate continued to misbehave and they came "to
17500-464: Was Queensrÿche's first for their new label, Rhino Entertainment , to which it signed in 2005. Ronnie James Dio provided the vocals for Dr. X, the villain. The album debuted at No. 14, the highest chart position for a Queensrÿche album since 1997. The group embarked on a headlining tour in support of the album, joined by Pamela Moore in her role as Sister Mary. The tour featured performances of both Mindcrime albums in their entirety. Dio appeared at
17640-454: Was a full member of the band. In June 2003, Queensrÿche launched a co-headlining tour featuring another progressive metal band, Dream Theater . The two bands alternated the opening and closing slots, and ended the shows by playing a handful of songs together. Fates Warning was the special guest for the tour. A recording from this tour was released to CD and DVD as The Art of Live , which included two covers performed with Dream Theater. Over
17780-426: Was a revision that brought it up to date for a 1950s Hollywood musical, and was used in the 1952 film Singin' in the Rain . In 1978, it was covered by French singer Sheila , accompanied by the B. Devotion group, as a disco song, once more updating it to suit the musical taste of the era. During the disco era there was a trend of taking well known songs and recording them in the disco style. More recently "Singin' in
17920-411: Was also the first album for their new label, Atlantic Records . Musically, Q2K bore little resemblance to the progressive metal of the band's past, and also displayed a similar stripped-down sound as Hear in the Now Frontier . Tate has described Q2K as a continuation of the experimentation of Hear in the Now Frontier . Declining popularity forced the band to tour in clubs and theaters, rather than in
18060-476: Was also very successful and included the hit single " Silent Lucidity ". The band has received three Grammy Award nominations for songs from both albums. In 1998, drummer Rockenfield received an individual Grammy nomination. Also in 1998, DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons, returning briefly to write and record their eighth studio album Tribe (2003). Over the years, his replacements have been Kelly Gray , Mike Stone , and Parker Lundgren . Following
18200-399: Was confirmed as playing drums on the album. In November 2019, Wilton stated that he wanted touring drummer Grillo to play on the next Queensryche album. In July 2021, Parker Lundgren announced he had left the band to pursue "other business ventures". Mike Stone filled in for the subsequent tour, and later rejoined as a full-time member. In January 2022, Queensrÿche confirmed they had entered
18340-427: Was expanded when rhythm and blues songs began appearing on pop music charts. In the early days of rock and roll , many tunes originally recorded by R&B and country musicians were still being re-recorded in a more popular vein by other artists with a more toned-down style or professional polish. This was inevitable because radio stations were reluctant to play formats outside their target audience's taste. By far
18480-510: Was fully developed on this album. The band toured through much of 1988 and 1989 with several bands, including Def Leppard , Guns N' Roses and Metallica . The album gained critical acclaim and achieved gold status, while its singles " Eyes of a Stranger " and " I Don't Believe in Love " gave Queensrÿche their first charting hits in America. The release of Empire (1990) brought Queensrÿche to
18620-408: Was given a copy of Opeth's prior record Still Life (1999) from a friend, and, after listening, noted that the experimental music he had been after had drifted into extreme metal . Being mutual fans of each other's work, Steven ended up co-producing Blackwater Park along with Opeth's frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, and would go on to co-produce Deliverance (2002) and Damnation (2003), together
18760-478: Was gone, replaced by a much more immediate and less powerful style. Compounding the disappointing sales of the album were issues that plagued the band on the subsequent tour. Less than one month into the Hear in the Now Frontier tour, Tate became seriously ill and the band was forced to cancel concert dates for the first time. In an even bigger blow, the band's longtime label, EMI America Records , went bankrupt during
18900-508: Was released in March 1996). It was a dark and intensely personal album, reflecting the mental state of the band at the time. Although the album debuted at No. 3 and was eventually certified platinum, it was clearly not the commercial success Empire had been. As with many other heavy metal and hard rock acts, Queensrÿche's commercial fortunes waned with the surge in popularity of genres such as alternative rock and grunge . Queensrÿche released their sixth full-length studio album, Hear in
19040-560: Was released later that year as Operation: Livecrime . The tour also included an MTV Unplugged appearance at Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles on April 27, 1992. After taking time off to deal with the burnout resulting from the "Building Empires" tour and with other personal issues, the band released Promised Land in October 1994 (a companion CD-ROM , featuring a Promised Land -themed game and other interactive features,
19180-549: Was released on June 25, 2002. Gray was fired from the band in May 2002, which according to Rockenfield was "because of [his] personal abuse habits and ongoing problems". The band entered the studio as a quartet in the spring of 2003 to record their eighth full-length album, while a compilation of greatest hits was released as part of the Classic Masters series on March 9, 2003. In April, they announced they had been joined by Chris DeGarmo, although his future status with
19320-408: Was that both parties were allowed to use the name Queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decided who would get to use the name. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, in which founding members Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to perform with the lineup that additionally includes lead vocalist La Torre and guitarist Lundgren. During
19460-441: Was the first full-fledged tour to feature Queensrÿche as a headlining act (the band had previously headlined a tour in Japan in support of Operation: Mindcrime , and had headlined a handful of club and theater shows in the U.S. between 1984 and 1988, and the UK in 1988). The group used its headlining status to perform Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety, as well as songs from Empire . The tour lasted 18 months, longer than any tour
19600-573: Was written and demoed for the album, but it was not included on the final release. The main riff from this song was worked into an instrumental piece played during some shows on the tour in support of this album, and eventually morphed into the track "Anarchy-X" on their next album. Queensrÿche supported Rage for Order with a tour that included opening for AC/DC , Bon Jovi , Ozzy Osbourne and Ratt , and playing with other bands such as Black 'n Blue , Fates Warning , Gang Green , Keel and Raven . In 1988, Queensrÿche released Operation: Mindcrime ,
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