Queensr˙che

Queensr˙che was an American prog metal band of the 1980s, formed near Seattle, Washington in 1981. Chris DeGarmo[?] (guitar) and Michael Wilton[?] (guitar) had played in cover bands, and then recruited Geoff Tate[?] (vocals), Eddie Jackson[?] (bass) and Scott Rockenfield[?] (drums). This line-up began rehearsing and making a demo tape.

The demo tape was widely circulated, and Queensr˙che soon released Queen of the Reich[?] (1983) on their own 206 Records[?] label. The band then signed to EMI and re-released Queen of the Reich as Queensr˙che[?] to moderate success, peaking at #81. This was followed by two more moderately successful albums, The Warning[?] (1984) and Rage for Order[?] (1986).

In 1988, Queensr˙che released Operation: Mindcrime, a massive critical and commercial success. Empire[?] (1990) was just as popular, and also charted in the United Kingdom. By the time the group released Promised Land[?] (1994), Queensr˙che was no longer hip as grunge music and alternative rock dominated the national consciousness. In spite of this, Promised Land managed to become a commercial success due to the band's sizable cult audience. Their follow-up, Hear in the New Frontier[?] (1997), received mixed reviews. DeGarmo soon quit, replaced by Kelly Gray[?] for Q2K[?] (1999). Since then, the group has toured on Iron Maiden's reunion trip and released a Greatest Hits album.