The Queensr˙che Discography Thread

[Cruithne]

As far as Live Evolution goes, I initially didn't like Kelly Gray doing his own thing with some of DeGarmo's solos. I've since come around to not minding and even enjoying some of his stuff.

The problem I have with it, and always will have, is that DeGarmo (and Wilton) largely wrote thoughtful, well crafted, memorable solos. I can just about sing along to all the solos on Mindcrime and Empire, and QR were, up to that point, very much a "put on a show, but present the material the way it was written" kind of band.

Two guitarists are always going to struggle to play a solo exactly the same way and I don't mind someone putting a little bit of their own spin on one, but when you take a solo as well constructed as the one to Jet City Woman, ruin its flow with brainless noodling at the start and then fuck up the ending not only once (the version he apparently played live) but twice (the dubbed version released) then it's hard not to think that Gray simply didn't have any basic respect for the material.

Tbh, after how bad Q2k was, buying Live Evolution wasn't even a vague consideration and whilst Kelly Gray was still in the band I had no further interest in QR.

[Cyclopssss]

After the (in my opinion) horrendous HITNF I couldn't believe how much I actually liked Y2K! I thought there were some really good songs on there and it sort of half restored my opinion of the band.

The greatest hits I never bothered with. To me it's like buying an Iron Maiden 'Best of' or 'greatest hits'. If you don't buy the albums when you're a fan of the band, then don't bother. I didn't buy the DT one either.

Live Evolution was something of an odd batch to me. I loved all the older classics from the EP to Rage for Order. The later repertoire I couldn't get into much.

[Samsara]

Side Projects & Band Dysfunction (2001-2002)

Spys4Darwin (2001)



Vocals – Vin Dombrowski
Guitars and background vocals – Chris DeGarmo
Bass – Mike Inez
Drums – Sean Kinney

In 2001, Chris DeGarmo made news once again, this time for his new band, Spys4Darwin, with Sean Kinney and Mike Inez from Alice in Chains, and Vin Dombrowski of Sponge. The group self-released a six-song EP called microfiche in 2001, and played a festival gig in Seattle. The music is  hard rock, moody at times, alternative at times, with some cool vocal harmonies. DeGarmo and Kinney wrote most of the music, while Dombrowski handled most (could be all, not sure) of the lyrics. The band was looking to do a full-length record after that, but plans fizzled.

It had a mixed reception at the time, but it has aged well and developed a bit of a cult following over the years.

Samsara's top tracks – Insomnia Station, Dashboard Jesus, Chain Letter

Geoff Tate (2002)



Lead vocals – Geoff Tate
Guitar – Jeff Carrell
Guitar – Scott Moughton
Drums – Evan Schiller
Keyboards – Howard Chillcott
Bass – Chris Fox

In 2002, Geoff Tate released his first solo album (self-titled). Instead of working with more high profile musicians like DeGarmo had on his project, Tate enlisted the help of local Seattle musicians to create a very eclectic record. Part hard rock, part pop, part prog and part soul, Tate went completely opposite of what most fans expected. Generally, while strikingly different (mostly) from Queensryche, many fans dug various songs on the album and still speak of it in high regard.

Tate toured in summer 2002 to support the album, playing most of the record, and a smattering of Queensryche rarities, including “Hero,” “spOOL,” “Gonna Get Close to You,” and “Della Brown.” The vibe was very laid back, and most of the Queensryche tracks received a tweak in arrangement, making the presentation pretty interesting.

The kick-off show for the tour was at the Experience Music Project (EMP) museum, in the “Sky Church” portion of the building. Michael Wilton's side project, Soulbender, opened the show, and Wilton and a couple of his new bandmates joined Tate for a cover of “Jet City Woman” to end the show. Alan White of YES was supposed to join them, and Tate called out “Alan, oh, Alan!” wondering where he got to. Turns out, White was in the bar, and...missed the appearance.

Samsara's top-tracks: Over Me, Passenger, Off the TV

Note: Soulbender's debut album wouldn't appear until 2004, and they did not go on the tour with Tate. So I am not going to do a write-up on it at this time. It's worth checking out if you like late 90s-era metal, and non-operatic, rougher vocal (Nick Pollock of My Sister's Machine and an early version of Alice in Chains).

Slave to the System (2002)



Lead vocals & guitar – Damon Johnson
Guitar & vocals – Scott Heard
Guitar & vocals – Kelly Gray
Bass – Roman Glick
Drums – Scott Rockenfield

Slave to the System was billed as a “supergroup” at the time with the connection between Brother Cane (Johnson & Glick) and Queensryche. The result was an energetic self-titled album of modern hard rock with a slight southern bent, given Damon Johnson's influences. The band self-released its debut album in 2001, and then got an official label release on Spitfire Records in 2006 with a slightly different track listing (a track or two was added, and one was removed).

If memory serves, Slave to the System played a couple of shows in 2002 (showcases), and again in 2004 with Soulbender in the Seattle area (they did a co-headline at some West Seattle dive bar). But Slave to the System finally did their only proper tour in early 2006. It was notable (we'll mention it later) because at the time, Queensryche was readying another album, and Rockenfield was pulled off the road by Queensryche and the band (SttS) had a fill-in drummer for the later dates on the tour.

Samsara's top tracks – Slave to the System, Disinfected, Will You Be There

Summer 2002 Band Dysfunction

One of the low points (unfortunately) of Summer 2002 was while Tate was on tour with his solo band. Tate went live on WMMS radio to promote his solo album and tour, and essentially called the Queensryche situation a dysfunction, saying the members only spoke through lawyers. (I am paraphrasing here.) The backlash was so severe, that the members of Queensryche (who were working on songs for a new record back in Seattle) fired back at Tate and people wondered if the band would break up.

A short time later, a message was posted on Queensryche's website titled “Thank you WMMS,” claiming that the band had met and connected again and were on the same page. A lot of speculation was done online that it was...mostly BS. However, the band announced plans for a new album, including the fact that they would be using outside writers to assist (something that did not go over well) them.

At the time, I reached out to Michael Wilton to do an interview on the state of Queensryche and his new project, Soulbender. The article can be read here: https://breakdownroom.net/wilton-fall2002.html

For those that don't care to read it, in a nutshell, Wilton basically said that Tate was turning Queensryche into an adult contemporary band, and Wilton preferred a more aggressive and heavy approach and would continue pushing for that. Wilton's comments certainly created some tension as the band pushed forward with another album.

Next up: Tribe (2002-2003)

p.s. This is a bit of an in-between. On Monday, we'll have a lengthier post on Tribe, and get back to a more standard once-a-week schedule. I just didn't think there was enough here to make a worthy "main" discography post, but it was needed to set up the Tribe era.

[bosk1]

I own the Tate album and SttS album.  I listened to the former maybe 2 or 3 times and shelved it.  I didn't really connect with the direction Tate was going on this.  All in all, it's fine if he wanted to go a different direction on his solo work.  But it wasn't a direction I particularly liked, and if I wanted to hear that type of music, there are other artists who do it full time that do it better.

I got a copy of SttS way late in the game.  I'm sure I listened to it once, but I don't recall anything from it.  Will have to give it a listen.

[Kwyjibo]

I never really cared for any of those side-projects and I didn't know some of them even existed back at that time.

The only one I listened to more thoroughly was Tate's solo effort. I never owned the record but a friend of mine spun it a couple of times. But I didn't really found it interesting so I didn't buy it.

Was it at that time that Tate mentioned in interviews that he doesn't like metal (anymore)?

[Grappler]

I sold my copy of the Tate solo album.  I only really loved Helpless, and still do.  That song has great vocals and great music.   I listed it on ebay for $1.50 around the time that he was removed as QR's singer and a few Tate fans had a little bidding war and boosted the price up to $3.50 or $4.00.   

I never really explored any of the QR side projects - they're one of those bands where I loved the music that they released as QR, but the outside albums weren't my thing at all.

[Samsara]

I never really explored any of the QR side projects - they're one of those bands where I loved the music that they released as QR, but the outside albums weren't my thing at all.

The thing that sounds so cliche, but it is true, is that Queensryche is one of those bands that are very much a sum of its parts. Individually, there are some good moments, but it's when they are together and focused that they have that appeal to them. If you listen to everything Scott has done (Slave to the System, his work with Paul Speer) you hear that distinct drumming flavor. With Tate, you hear the varied vocal stylings and that distinctive voice. With Chris, you hear the harmonies, you hear the interesting progressions and chords, with Michael, you hear the chunky riffs. And Ed is way underrated as a player.

These projects were all something I enjoyed, but it clearly spelled it out for me that Queensryche needed its parts to fully appeal to me (as much as I liked some of it).

The side projects are special to me. I was in attendance for Tate's first solo show at the Catwalk, and I was at the Seattle show at the EMP later with Tate's solo band and Soulbender's debut performance. Both gigs were really fun. The latter was memorable because I was with my wife, and less than a year before we'd tie the knot. So I have good memories of that trip. But I did dig the music.

Slave to the System I really got into at the time. I had started a fledgling website called MusicInsight in 2001, and interviewed Scott and Damon a few times. I also got connected with Spitfire Records a bit, and mentioned to Scott that if they wanted a record deal, Spitfire might be a good choice. He asked for the contact, and I gave it to him. Ultimately, they ended up signing. I like to think I helped a little, even if it was just passing along the name and phone number of the rep I worked with a lot. I really enjoyed SttS, and wish I could have been at a few of their shows...it just wasn't meant to be.

Out of all the projects, I really think Soulbender had the best shot, but I think it was a matter of them not being able/willing to go out on the road and slug it out in the clubs. Michael stayed committed to Queensryche, because obviously, it was his bread and butter. But had Michael opted not to, and Soulbender got on some tours, I think they may have developed into something.

This was a really rough time for Queensryche. I have to be honest, I remember contacting Michael about doing the interview. And one of his people (I think it was Joe O'Brien, who had yet to start Rat Pak Records) told me Michael absolutely wanted to do it. It took a month or so, but I finally got that interview done, and I was shocked as anyone at what Michael said.

I posted it, and it did have some impact with fans talking. Ultimately, a few months later, some of the music news outlets referenced what I wrote a few times in various reports and interviews with the band. But generally speaking, it was uncomfortable. But then we heard Chris was back with them, and That was a pretty exciting time...

[romdrums]

So to clarify, Kelly was fired for his excessive drug and alcohol abuse while on tour, correct?  Was there anything else that contributed to his dismissal?

[Samsara]

So to clarify, Kelly was fired for his excessive drug and alcohol abuse while on tour, correct?  Was there anything else that contributed to his dismissal?

I'm not sure they ever officially announced anything, honestly. MOstly what is known is from what Geoff said in the liner notes of the expanded edition of Q2k, and speculation given the deaths of crew members and the huge backlash Kelly received from fans. There really wasn't anything I can remember that made Kelly's departure official.

If I recall, during Tribe, Kelly said something to the effect of (paraphrasing) "I heard Chris was back and that will likely do them some good. There really wasn't an effort to match our schedules, but that's OK, I'm always busy!" (again, total paraphrase from memory). But that wasn't any official statement, just some media outlet speaking to Kelly after-the-fact.

[Setlist Scotty]

Ah yes - the side projects. Liked 2 of them, couldn't get into one of them.

Spys4Darwin: to begin with, what an awful name, or at least the way it's written. I don't get it. Anyway, I got the EP and I gave it 2 or 3 listens at most, but couldn't get into it whatsoever. Dunno if I still even have my copy of it. 

GT's solo album: I actually like most of it. There's a few tracks that I couldn't get into, but overall I actually liked the album - in particular the song Helpless. So much so that I was willing to go catch the last 3 shows of the tour. Of course, the bait of him including a bunch of reworked rare QR tracks in the setlist sealed the deal for me. And the shows were really enjoyable. I really liked the new interpretations of the QR tracks, and they fit in pretty well with the solo tracks. The final show in San Diego was memorable, first off because of how small the venue was that they were playing (don't think it held more than 300 people), including a stage that didn't really allow for any of the guys to move around at all. But what I liked most was the way the band changed things up a bit at that show - not sure if it was end of tour hijinx or because they were worried about the curfew. While the 2 previous shows seemed to be exactly the same, for whatever reason, they sped up at least part of Lady Jane, and did a few other things differently too; they also dropped the last 2 songs of the encore. Another cool thing was that I was turned on to the Swordfish soundtrack due to them playing the song Unafraid before the show started - to me a very cool track, and I just had to ask the soundman what the song was and where I could get it. Have since picked up a few Paul Oakenfold albums as a result.

Slave to the System: I picked up the original version and thought it was good. Worth listening to several times, although it's been forever since I've listened to it. Didn't even know about the reissue until at least a few years after it had been released. Picked it up for the new tracks, altho I was surprised to see Scotty Heard's name removed from the credits. Any clue as to why that was Brian?

[ReaperKK]

I'll see if any of the solo albums are on Spotify to check out.

Samsara, I have to say this is one of the best threads on the forum right now. For some reason I always thought Tribe followed Empire.

[TAC]

Very informative Sam. I'm going to check out the Darwin album. Sponge's Plowed is my favorite "90's" track.
I've never heard of this project.

[PowerSlave]

I was unaware of Spys4Darwin. I'll be checking that one out when I get the chance.

[DragonAttack]

[Trying to catch up (backtrack) after visiting New Mexico for about a week.  I want so much to drive 85 MPH again....]

Back to 'Q2K':  I get the title, but it was awfully lame.  An actual picture of the band would have been nice.  I did not know any of the Kelly Gray backstories.  Gave my version a listen on the flight there.  It was like most other bands of the decade:  a bunch of 4-6 minute tracks that have their moments, but something is generally missing.

Back to the 'Greatest Hits':  would have started with 'Warning', traded 'Another Rainy Night' and 'Real World' for 'Queen of the Reich' and 'Bridge'.  The expanded 'Someone Else' was a real treat at the time. The cover was awfully bland, not something that would jump out to the casual consumer.  BUT.....I still have my unused band bumper sticker/window decal 

'Live Evolution':  received as a Christmas gift, and listened to it once or twice.  As much as I wanted to like it, there's just so much that didn't work for me.  From reading this thread, I now know why.

Spys4Darwin:  who thunk up that name?  Anyhoo, I somehow heard it once back in the day, just tried to get through a few tracks over the past couple of days.  Not that it's horrible, but it's just not my cup of tea.

[Mosh]

I had no idea the dysfunction went that far back. I figured problems started around 2006 or so. Now I can't believe they stayed together as long as they did.

[Samsara]

Spys4Darwin...homeless guy outside studio asked the band to watch his little shelter outside while he was away. His name was Darwin. Somebody in band said " i guess that means we are spies for Darwin." The name stuck.

[TAC]

Darwin Brown?

[millahh]

I bought S4D earlier today (had no idea it existed prior to reading this)...immediate reflex is that I like it less than any of their "home" bands, but I'll give another couple of spins tomorrow.

[MirrorMask]

By now we're entering in the phase where I lost interest with Queensryche, but I just wanted to say that these write-ups are so well done that I'll probably stick around, even if only as a reader, until the end. Great job! 

[The Silent Cody]

Great job Samsara! Thank You! I was also unaware of those two albums, have to check that out! It's a pleasure to read that thread 

[Samsara]

Thanks all. Appreciate the kind words and glad folks are finding them interesting. I have to admit, I've struggled the last couple of entries a bit, as my main interest is the original lineup. I just don't like to go back and revisit negative things any longer. So, I am trying to put as positive a spin on stuff as I can moving forward.

Starting post-Q2k, the story gets a little frustrating, although I implore you to look past it and focus as best you can on the music itself. I'll cover the history, but honestly, there are some gems, song-wise on the remainder of the records, regardless of who wrote them. I'm going to try and focus on the music as much as possible after the Tribe write-up, but there's no getting around the drama surrounding the band if I want to do a complete job. But please don't let that drive you away from checking out the tunes. I'll try and highlight the ones (and why) I'd recommend, but still try to keep as neutral a tone as possible, if that makes sense.

[ReaperKK]

I actually don't mind the drama of the band. It really brings life to the record that was made around it.

Similar to how you feel a better understanding of the album "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac when you hear of all the band turmoil surrounding that record.

[Mosh]

I actually don't mind the drama of the band. It really brings life to the record that was made around it.

Similar to how you feel a better understanding of the album "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac when you hear of all the band turmoil surrounding that record.

This is a good point but I'm not sure it applies to Queensryche. Part of the problem seems to be that there are different ideas of what the band should be. Fleetwood Mac had a shared musical vision but drama in their personal relationships, so it's a bit different.

[Samsara]

I actually don't mind the drama of the band. It really brings life to the record that was made around it.

Similar to how you feel a better understanding of the album "Rumours" by Fleetwood Mac when you hear of all the band turmoil surrounding that record.

This is a good point but I'm not sure it applies to Queensryche. Part of the problem seems to be that there are different ideas of what the band should be. Fleetwood Mac had a shared musical vision but drama in their personal relationships, so it's a bit different.

Yeah. I mean, Queensryche, after Q2k, had very different notions of what they wanted to do, artistically. Without delving much into it yet, since the Tribe write-up is next, Wilton wanted to go back to a heavier sound (and you can tell that in the riffs the songs Tribe has). Tate wanted to embrace a more...diverse sound that didn't rely on chunky riffs. So they butted heads. And on top of that, the personal relationships in the band further changed pushing people away from one another. It's an interesting time in their history that hopefully I'll do a decent job of re-describing here, without it being so negative.

[DragonAttack]

^
You are doing more than a decent job.  One of the best I have come across (and that includes all things Queen)  

Also, do not get discouraged if comments somewhat dry up to your posts from here on in.  I will be among many still reading, but other than following the drama of the past decade+, I only checked out the occasional youtube vid (including the cabaret disasters).  'Fandom' was on life support for many releases, basically ending with 'Tribe'.

[modified due to a lack of proper initial proofreading]

[Mladen]

I'll chime in once again regarding Q2K before we move onto Tribe - like I said a week ago, The Right side of my mind and Liquid sky are the highlights, both great songs. I also enjoy Falling down, How could I and Sacred ground. The rest is as lackluster as the weaker spots on Hear in the now frontier. However, while the less interesting songs on HITNF could have been cut off as just a few filler songs, this album is consisted of mostly average tunes.

The style itself is an extention of what the band went for on the previous album, maybe slightly hammered out in terms of attitude and production, but I didn't find the songs themselves as good.

[bosk1]

Interestingly, I had One Life stuck in my head for days after listening to Q2K last week.  I liked the song just fine back then.  But like the rest of the album, it quickly faded from memory.  I had forgotten how good it actually is.

[T-ski]

I'm at the point in this thread where the music is secondary to what was/is going on within the band.

Is that wrong?

[romdrums]

^
You are doing more than a decent job.  One of the best I have come across (and that includes all things Queen)  

Also, do not get discouraged if comments somewhat dry up to your posts from here on in.  I will among many still reading, but other than reading about the drama of the past decade+, I only checked out the occasional youtube vid (including the cabaret disasters).  'Fandom' was on life support for many releases, basically ending with 'Tribe'.

Agreed.  My interest pretty much dried up after Tribe as well.  I didn't like how the DeGarmo situation was handled by the Tates (He's back!  He's guesting on the European tour!  Wait, he just collaborated in the studio!  Well, he was only brought in as a session guy to help out and was never going to be back in the band).  I was saddened by the fact that a band that seemed to be highly professional and very organized in their prime was reduced to absolute amateurish and ill-conceived tactics.

[Lowdz]

I bought the Tate album on release day and it was such a let down. I haven't got anything positive to say about it. I think I played it twice. There was t even any great vocal stuff there that I remember. I wasn't expecting a metal album, but I thought there might be some rock in it.

I haven't heard a note of any of the other projects. I expected CDG's thing to be grungy.

Might try and track some stuff down on YouTube.

[?]

Regardimg Q2K, I've only heard a few songs off Youtube, because the album isn't on Spotify and I can't find the CD anywhere either (though that may not be a huge loss ). I like the Live Evolution versions of Falling Down, Liquid Sky and especially The Right Side of My Mind though. I'm not crazy about Gray's take on the old solos or his wah abuse, and Tate sounds a little patchy here and there, but I like the arrangement of Revolution Calling, and the heavier version of the unplugged rendition of The Lady Wore Black is my favorite version of the song.

I haven't delved deep into the side projects, but the few songs I've heard from Tate's solo debut weren't bad for their genre. Sadly the Spys4Darwin stuff was nothing too special, although I like both QR and AIC.

If I recall, during Tribe, Kelly said something to the effect of (paraphrasing) "I heard Chris was back and that will likely do them some good. There really wasn't an effort to match our schedules, but that's OK, I'm always busy!" (again, total paraphrase from memory). But that wasn't any official statement, just some media outlet speaking to Kelly after-the-fact.

Interesting, because I found the news story where Kelly said that, but he also talked about how he would've wanted to make another Mindcrime, because that's what the fans wanted: https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/former-queensr-che-guitarist-on-his-departure-a-band-shouldn-t-ignore-its-past/ Not sure whether he was referring to an actual sequel (which of course would happen a few years down the line) or just doing something in vein of classic QR, probably with a conceptual twist.

[ReaperKK]

Regardimg Q2K, I've only heard a few songs off Youtube, because the album isn't on Spotify and I can't find the CD anywhere either (though that may not be a huge loss ).

It's on Spotify (unless it's not in your region (not sure if spotify has region controls))

https://open.spotify.com/album/1EfzUKbKuDZKxa2rpiJzt8

[Kwyjibo]

Thanks all. Appreciate the kind words and glad folks are finding them interesting. I have to admit, I've struggled the last couple of entries a bit, as my main interest is the original lineup. I just don't like to go back and revisit negative things any longer. So, I am trying to put as positive a spin on stuff as I can moving forward.

Starting post-Q2k, the story gets a little frustrating, although I implore you to look past it and focus as best you can on the music itself. I'll cover the history, but honestly, there are some gems, song-wise on the remainder of the records, regardless of who wrote them. I'm going to try and focus on the music as much as possible after the Tribe write-up, but there's no getting around the drama surrounding the band if I want to do a complete job. But please don't let that drive you away from checking out the tunes. I'll try and highlight the ones (and why) I'd recommend, but still try to keep as neutral a tone as possible, if that makes sense.

I think you are doing a really great job. I expect the next couple of records to not gain that much attention and favorable posts but that has nothing to do with your presentation of them, it's just the material. If you're doing a whole discography you have to speak about the duds also and it's not that QR is the only band with subpar releases (look at the Iron Maiden thread for the two Blaze records  ).

You have a lot of background knowledge and it's good that you share it with us in your writeups, makes it much clearer why some records are what they are and why some decisions were made, that left us fans scratching their heads. Keep it up. 

[Cyclopssss]

^^ Exactly! 

[Orbert]

I'm at the point in this thread where the music is secondary to what was/is going on within the band.

Is that wrong?

I'm in the same boat, so I'd say that it's not wrong.  At this point, the drama going on with the band is more interesting than the music they were making at the time.