ntin You are totally correct. They lost all semblance of good song writing when Degarmo left. My feeling is that he was the guiding force keeping them doing progrock instead of the pop style Tate prefers, kinda like how Dennis Deyoung ruined Styx. Styx started out as a more of a actual "rock" band until Deyoung steerred them towards the syntho-pop crap they became starting with Kilroy. Queensryche is but a shell of the band I used to count in my top 5. And I totally agree the Cabaret tour was complete and utter trash.
uuum, cause it's a valid comparison? I dig that some consider Styx a joke, and after Kilroy Was Here they damn well deserve it, but back in the day they were a top rock band that was ruined by the lead singer ramrodding the pop stylings down the throats of his bandmates. Same thing I suspect has happened to Queensryche. Geoff Tate was and still is a helluva singer but he has ruined what was a great band.
and BOOM goes the dynamite... http://thewalrusmusicblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/queensryche-parts-ways-with-singer.html Queensryche parts ways with singer Geoff Tate Over the past few weeks, rumors have been going around about tensions within the progressive rock band Queensryche. There have been various accounts of the band not getting along recently, ranging from access to the band's Facebook page and arguments that went as far as to Tate wielding a knife. Well today, Queensryche have announced that original singer Geoff Tate is no longer in the band. Originally, the band were to go on hiatus with Tate going on a solo tour and the rest of band to tour with Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre as Rising West. Drummer Scott Rockenfield confirmed the news to Billboard that Tate is no longer the singer for Queensryche and that La Torre with be his replacement. I had been reading the headlines of the rumors for weeks and weeks. Now I want to get one thing straight about my blog: When it comes to news stories like this, I make sure the this is coming from a legit source. This isn't freaking TMZ or Fox News, okay? This reminds me of the whole Aerosmith issue when Joe Perry said that Steven Tyler left the band. I had put up a story about it but took it down right after Tyler said he wasn't leaving. I didn't follow the rest of the story after that because it was stupid. So when I read about the Queensryche tensions, I didn't post anything about them because I thought it was stupid and it may settle down. Well, now it's official: Queensryche has fired Geoff Tate. I'm really surprised by this because Queensryche were one of those few bands that didn't have too many line-up changes. I really don't know what to say.
Well, we shall see how close my feeling is with the next album from Queensryche with their new singer. If I was right, they will go back to the style that made them who they were. It may not be the same tho without Degarmo as one of the primary songwriters. For those not familiar with Crimson Glory, they are a prog-metal band from the 80s. They reformed recently with La Torre as the singer after their original singer died. Im not sure about his ability as Ive never heard him before, but if he got the job singing for Crimson Glory he should have good range and the ability to hit high notes. Original singer <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QQ5P_VYMrG8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Live vid with Todd La Torre <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mxEYQVMzYzM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Hard to imagine the band without Tate. I'm sure the new singer will be fine but this is a bit like Journey without Steve Perry. Queensryche still has three original members but they are pretty much unidentifiable generic musicians IMO and it could be anyone up there. At least Journey still has their signature guitarist. Who knows, though? This may be just what this band needs to reinvigorate itself.
This is a huge problems for the bands that have been around for a while. They put out new music and if you aren't a hardcore fan you have probably never heard it when you go to a concert. They can't get airplay on the modern rock channels and of course the classic rock stations only play their classic hits. Look at the Houston radio market the buzz is the only rock station and if you came out before 91 you don't get any airplay at all unless your name is Metallica.
I'm kinda hoping Chris Degarmo comes back now that Tate is gone. The rumors were that the problem he had was working with Geoff Tate. They don't even have to get rid of their replacement guitarist, they could do like Maiden did and go with three guitarists. And ftr, to long time Ryche fans, Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson are just as integral to the Queensryche sound as Tate and Degarmo were. Turbofuel, I was just thinking about that the other day, 94.5 still leans more toward alternative and nu-rock, 93.7 and 106.9/107.5 both exclusively play older rock....where the hell is a station to play new material from established rock/metal acts? I'll tell ya where......XM/Sirius. Boneyard and Hair Nation ftw. I still support older bands by buying their new material. Lots of the good bands from the 80's are still putting out good songs.
Its true if it wasn't for satellite radio these bands would be ****ed. Van Halen put out a kick ass album this year but unless you got it you probably haven't heard it. I have a lot of newer stuff but classic bands and there are some good stuff but the jacked up state of rock radio in particular most people have no idea. I heard something I couldn't believe the other day but there isn't a rock radio station in New York City only one classic rock station. That's just crazy.
Speaking of... <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pdjyZlhD9JU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This thread needs this message: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Co8ijfa8gfg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Set. The. Artist. Free.
I guess the new lineup is finishing up work on their new album with Todd La Torre. There is a small snippet out there which I heard in the most recent Eddie Trunk interview with Scott Rockenfield (the drummer) done on 2-22-13. It sounds pretty darn good imo and La Torre sounds as good if not better than Tate. Just from listening to Scott talk about the new band and new album...he seems reinvigorated. He seems like a really positive person, took the high road saying nothing bad about Tate...just time to move on, and it sounds like the band is having fun making the new album with an equilibrium to the band they have not had in years due to Tate and wife controlling the band's direction. Scott said Queensryche is never just about one person but the band and that was lost in the last several years with Tate. Scott and company actually tried to sit down with Geoff Tate toward the end and the dude just wouldn't have it. Had to have a lawyer in the room or would not sit with them. And, Tate assaulting the band at the Brazil show was kind of a final straw but band even tried to patch it up after that a few times to no avail. I don't think the band are the ones at fault as they tried to work with Tate. Tate just wasn't having any of it and wanted control with his wife managing. Tate sounds like the one filled with spite and flat out lying about events. So, now there is this big lawsuit on who gets the Queensryche name and how to divide up all the assets, etc. . Tate has his own band in which I assume he is playing some later Queensryche (as he won't play old stuff and that was part of the band discord). Anyway, it is interesting reading the documents accounting each band member's deposition. Tate and wife seem all alone on their accounts of how it devolved. The new lineup is starting to tour and they play on the Monsters of Rock high seas cruise Mar. 20-25. I'm assuming their album is out pretty soon here...not sure the date. Anyway, they say it is the sound they are known for and they are playing the prog rock the fans really want to here that Tate led the band away from. So, I look forward to checking it out. Also, they are going to play a lot of hits when they tour that Tate didn't want to play...so could be an interesting show to catch if you like the older stuff.
A little late but just read there was an amicable settlement to the lawsuit between Tate and the band. Apparently, Tate agreed to be bought out and is supposed to lose the band name "Queensryche" and any interests in using the band name going forward after the next two years under terms of the settlement...as well as losing the right to use certain imagery and trademark symbols used by the band on album covers, etc. . Tate is setting out on a "Queensryche starring Geoff Tate" farewell tour later this year. Also, the settlement gives Tate the full exclusive rights to play Mindcrime I/II live in concert in their entirety as Tate claims those were his ideas and babies. The other members keep the Queensryche name and ownership over the companies created in support of the band, etc. . They can play all the hits as well including from the Mindcrime albums but not in their entirety based on the terms of the settlement (not sure if that means they also can't play them all as singles out of order?). I guess the rest of the band made out pretty well on that one. Tate has not been having a good time drawing audiences to his shows the way his former band mates have been since the split and has had to lower his asking rate apparently to half of what Queensryche currently commands (from what I was reading on it). Queensryche (rest of band) is doing a little more decently with some success on their last album and a new album on the way.
Heh, sorry way late to this thread. Queensryche was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I saw their Empire tour and the opening Anarchy-X on Operation Mindcrime still gives me chills when I listen to it. At the concert I went to, they played the entirety of Operation Mindcrime complete with a stage show re-enactment of some scenes. It was pretty cool, especially to an impressionable teenager at the time. My favorite albums were Operation Mindcrime, Empire, and Rage for Order in that order. I tried to listen to their post-Empire music, but just couldn't get into it. Silent Lucidity(*gag*). <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HfUKgqEJMq0?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I haven't followed Queensryche as a fan for many years but I would still listen to Operation Mindcrime and take a trip down nostalgia lane today.
