If there’s one name that has always been synonymous with progressive heavy metal then it’s definitely Queensrÿche. Together with Dream Theater and Fates Warning they make up the big three of the genre and a goodly portion of this status is owed to their seminal album ‘Operation: Mindcrime’, which is regarded worldwide as one of the best-ever concept records. Two years later the sky was the limit when hit single ‘Silent Lucidity’ off ‘Empire’ stormed the charts and Queensrÿche bagged several Grammy nominations. Unfortunately there were some personnel changes along the way – only guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson remain of the original line-up – and when co-founder and figurehead Geoff Tate left the band in 2012, it looked like it was lights out for Queensrÿche. However, the band found an excellent replacement in Todd La Torre and in 2013 they hit back with a record simply titled ‘Queensrÿche’, an unmistakable statement. Since then ‘Condition Hüman’ (2015), ‘The Verdict’ (2019) and ‘Digital Noise Alliance’ (2022) have proven worthy additions to the Queensrÿche legacy. (#GMM26)
