Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album

[Phoenix87x]

He sure does sound unhinged.

So did he have a mental breakdown around 2017 or has he exhibited this type of behavior before?

[Setlist Scotty]

btw, saw Rockenfield was busy on FB this morning. I don't think I've ever seen a singer referred to as a "subcontractor" before. 😬😳

And then he addressed Tater's comments from two years ago when Tater said Scott's in a dark place, probably won't play drums again, etc. Like Scott is only discovering those comments now? Someone had to have made him aware of those comments within 6 months of when Tater said them - why only say something now?

Todd was just quoted on Blabbermouth recently about how integral Casey Grillo was to the new album.   

Right. But didn't Scott post a few notable things last year? Why not address Tater's comments then, or even earlier?
 
 

He ghosted them, though I would imagine there is more to the situation than what the public knows.  A scheduled paternity leave went open-ended as months turned into years.  The band had to move on without him if they wanted to continue to tour and record, hiring Casey Grillo full-time.  Scott seems to remain a partner in the QR corporation and has yet to be bought out though, unlike when they split with Geoff and settled with him.

That's the thing - it just doesn't add up. I mean, even if he did ghost them for a long time, I'm sure the band basically would've sent him messages saying to take a crap or get off the pot, and that if he didn't, that they'd have to move on. And if they did that, why didn't they (specifically Michael and Eddie) come straight out and say that to the public? I mean, to an extent, TLT has said that, but if it were to come from the founding members of the band and not the touring drummer's vocalist buddy, I think it would carry more weight. Were they afraid of some sort of backlash from the fanbase?
 
 

Some words by Scott

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/queensryche-drummer-scott-rockenfield-blasts-subcontractor-todd-la-torre-calls-out-geoff-tate-for-crazy-statements/

Yeah - those are the posts we've been referring to.

[bosk1]

Stumbled on a good bootleg show from the Building Empires tour:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOaWRBYP7SQ

Watching right now, and am at the end of Thin Line as I start typing this post.  Some thoughts:

What a phenomenal tour.  This really brings back the memories.  I saw them this tour in Raleigh, NC after returning from Desert Storm.  Suicidal Tendencies opened.  Set was slightly different.  I don't recall Another Rainy Night or Last Time in Paris at my show, although I may be misremembering.  But this is a very good representation of what I saw at my show, down to some of the choreography, stage banter, etc.  Not that it makes much difference, but when Geoff shot the basketball on Best I Can, he took a jump shot from a little ways away at my show instead of the layup he took here.  I think he may have even taken shots during the solo, but don't remember for sure.  I only mention it because I can't help but wonder if he changed it due to the ball bouncing off the stage and possibly hitting audience members if he missed the jumper.    (he didn't at my show--apparently, he is a decent basketball player)

Geoff's vocals were incredible.  Yeah, he had already lost a bit of what he had by this point.  But still, for a set this long and with some of the most demanding vocal material in metal, he did an absolutely incredible job on this tour and at this show.  The Promised Land tour was when I first noticed a substantial dropoff.  And I guess it isn't surprising.  Geoff had an amazing innate vocal talent in both range and power.  Like a lot of young, talented singers, he had some training at an early age, but apparently relied on that innate talent to carry him and thought he could do it forever.  He did little in those early years to train and to protect and cultivate that gift.  He knew just enough to know how to get the notes he wanted, seemingly on demand, at a young age and to be able to carry that for an entire show, and he thought that was enough.  Years of wear and tear, partying, smoking, etc. began to catch up with him eventually, and it is sad.  But again, this tour highlights him at perhaps his finest.  Again, as TAC will likely point out, he had already lost a bit from the Warning and Rage days, but it really isn't that noticeable.  And what he may have lost, he made up for in sheer endurance to power through a set like this night after night.  On the PL tour, in contrast, I was at the San Jose show that was heavily bootlegged (easy to do, as it was a radio broadcast), and I noticed right away that he wasn't the same singer. 

Anyhow, it was really nice to revisit this tour all these years later.

[ZirconBlue]

Are there any decent videos from the PL tour?  That was an awesome show, and I have been perpetually bummed that the didn't release it on video.

[bosk1]

I have not searched, but I suspect there are.  I have a couple of bootlegs burned to DVDs that I acquired years ago that are decent.  I think one is from a show in Long Island.  I don't recall where the other is from.  But given that those exist, I would bet that they, and possibly others, are somewhere on YouTube.

EDIT:  After a quick search, here are a few:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf3fuqaTCUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWXqf6guF9c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPywqB29k7c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEfVWtZ8Zbg

The first and second probably have the best sound, in that order.  I am almost certain there was never anything pro shot from that tour.  There was nothing ever released in any form, and I'm pretty sure I have talked it over with Samsara through the years, and his sources indicate that there isn't anything even locked away in a vault somewhere, if I am remembering correctly. 

[EPIC Outro]

Not exactly related to current Queensryche, but apparently Geoff Tate is singing Queen of the Ryche live again? I never thought I would see such a thing post 2005.

[Grappler]

Not exactly related to current Queensryche, but apparently Geoff Tate is singing Queen of the Ryche live again? I never thought I would see such a thing post 2005.

www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-geoff-tate-sing-queensryches-queen-of-the-reich-on-monsters-of-rock-cruise/

I think he sounds pretty damn good too - even nailed opening high note.      He adjusted some of the song, which is understandable, but still sings it to the best of his ability.  I love how the guitarist looks at him as they reach the high note in the first chorus then reacts as Geoff hits it.  Kudos to Geoff for playing the song again. 

The one thing I dislike is the sound of his drummer's electronic drums. 

[bosk1]

Not exactly related to current Queensryche, but apparently Geoff Tate is singing Queen of the Ryche live again? I never thought I would see such a thing post 2005.

www.blabbermouth.net/news/watch-geoff-tate-sing-queensryches-queen-of-the-reich-on-monsters-of-rock-cruise/

I think he sounds pretty damn good too - even nailed opening high note.      He adjusted some of the song, which is understandable, but still sings it to the best of his ability.  I love how the guitarist looks at him as they reach the high note in the first chorus then reacts as Geoff hits it.  Kudos to Geoff for playing the song again. 

The one thing I dislike is the sound of his drummer's electronic drums. 

Definitely down-tuned, but still.  Given his age and, even moreso, his vocal abuse, that's some really solid singing right there.  More than I have seen from him in a LONG time. 

[emtee]

He's definitely done something to improve his voice. He sounds WAY better on that song than he has for many years. Kudos to him. I would buy new music from him if he sounds like this. American Soldier had very good music but Tate struggles. Still, I thought it was a solid album.

[Trav86]

I never really understood why they went out on a headlining tour for Empire and took up most of the set playing Mindcrime?  Is it just because they weren’t able to play it all on the Mindcrime tour? So, they just felt they needed to?

[bosk1]

I never really understood why they went out on a headlining tour for Empire and took up most of the set playing Mindcrime?  Is it just because they weren’t able to play it all on the Mindcrime tour? So, they just felt they needed to?

Yeah.  They weren't "big enough" yet on the Mindcrime tour to do a full-blown presentation of it like they undoubtedly wanted to.  For the Building Empires tour, they were headlining and finally had the backing to present Mindcrime and bring it to the masses.  And think about it:  Mindcrime was an incredibly ambitious album.  There wasn't really a metal concept album that was as elaborate and had as much success up to that point.  It was their baby, and they wanted to do it right.  The Building Empires tour was the first real opportunity to do that, and they seized it.  And that tour was a huge success.  Hard to say how much of that was because they were doing all of Mindcrime and how much of it was the commercial success of Empire, but it was a perfect storm of sorts.  And it isn't like they neglected Empire either.  Most shows, they played 7 out of the 11 songs, plus a B-side.  (And I think they sporadically played Della Brown and Anybody Listening? as well)

[TAC]

I suppose Queensryche could've done something smaller..theaters... for the Mindcrime tour. But they landed opening slots on 88 & 89's two biggest tours..Def Leppard and Metallica.

[bosk1]

Yeah.  When you are still an "up and coming band," especially 4 albums in, and you get breaks like that, you don't turn that down.

Up to that point, they were kind of like...[guess who?] Y&T in that they had a rabid local following and were pretty big overseas, but hadn't really broken in the U.S., which can make a lot of bands start to feel desperate.  Getting on massive tours like that is a no-brainer in that situation.

[jammindude]

Ya…I guess they weren’t big enough anywhere else…but they did headline Seattle for a New Years Eve show on the OMC tour. I was there, and they played the entire thing…..except Suite Sister Mary. Biggest “blue ball” moment in my concert going history.

They had signs posted that they were doing a live broadcast for Z-Rock stations…so I’m surprised a boot of that show never turned up. But now…even as I type this…I’m getting a strange déją vu that I’ve mentioned this before and then someone actually shared it with me. But I can’t remember.

[TAC]

They got good opening slots consistently. For Warning, they opened for KISS here and Dio in Europe. They opened for Maiden in '85 and Ozzy in '86.
I ended up selling my Ozzy ticket as that was the rescheduled show from the Spring that had Metallica originally. When he came back, Queensryche was now opening. I really regret selling my tickets, but at the time, I didn't really care for FRO, and that image they put out was ...odd. Mindcrime was next level on the very first listen.

Ya…I guess they weren’t big enough anywhere else…but they did headline Seattle for a New Years Eve show on the OMC tour. I was there, and they played the entire thing…..except Suite Sister Mary. Biggest “blue ball” moment in my concert going history.

See, I think they could've easily headlined a theater run for Mindcrime.

[bosk1]

Ya…I guess they weren’t big enough anywhere else…but they did headline Seattle for a New Years Eve show on the OMC tour.

Yeah, that makes sense.  It was similar for my favorite example, Y&T, for the longest time.  If you only saw them in the SF Bay Area or in LA, you would think they were one of the biggest bands of the day.  But there's no way they could have headlined a U.S. tour in bigger venues.  They were clearly "opener-tier" in most other markets in the U.S. until their sixth (!) album.  Musicians knew and respected them (probably because anybody who came up through California in the late '70s/early '80s was discovered opening for them in the clubs).  But they didn't have a "hit," so the public didn't.

[jammindude]

Ya…I guess they weren’t big enough anywhere else…but they did headline Seattle for a New Years Eve show on the OMC tour.

Yeah, that makes sense.  It was similar for my favorite example, Y&T, for the longest time.  If you only saw them in the SF Bay Area or in LA, you would think they were one of the biggest bands of the day.  But there's no way they could have headlined a U.S. tour in bigger venues.  They were clearly "opener-tier" in most other markets in the U.S. until their sixth (!) album.  Musicians knew and respected them (probably because anybody who came up through California in the late '70s/early '80s was discovered opening for them in the clubs).  But they didn't have a "hit," so the public didn't.

Even in Seattle that fact surprised me…because someone at KISW loved Mean Streak. I heard that on the radio a ton when it came out. That plus my cousin who was a fan from the Bay Area had me thinking they were HUGE! But in reality, no one heard them til Summertime Girls hit.

[bosk1]

Mean Streak got decent radio/MTV play, but the hit that broke them in the U.S. was Keep On Runnin'.  That song has since fallen into obscurity, but that was what made album #6 (In Rock We Trust) take off and got them headlining in the U.S.  Summertime Girls was definitely bigger.  But it was also more or less their albatross, like Cherry Pie was for Warrant or More Than Words for Extreme.  Good song, but one that was pushed more by the label and ultimately not one the band was in love with, and wasn't really indicative of what they were about. 

Thankfully for Queensryche, they never really had that (See how I dropped some Y&T discussion, but brought it back around on topic?  Man, I'm good!).  They started to blow up when Eyes of a Stranger suddenly blew up on MTV after, I want to say, the album had been out for a year or more with only moderate sales up to that point.  And of course, they majorly blew up when Silent Lucidity broke.  But despite it being similar to the songs I mention with those other bands in that it was very different for them, that crossed over into the mainstream and drew in a lot of new fans that couldn't care less about Queen of the Reich or Screaming in Digital, it wasn't just something the band didn't like and threw out there just to try to get a radio hit.  Silent Lucidity isn't that "albatross" that the band find themselves saddled with; it's a REALLY good song with a lot of substance, even if it is one that has been played so much that a lot of us are tired of it.

[Setlist Scotty]

They had signs posted that they were doing a live broadcast for Z-Rock stations…so I’m surprised a boot of that show never turned up. But now…even as I type this…I’m getting a strange déją vu that I’ve mentioned this before and then someone actually shared it with me. But I can’t remember.

I don't have it, but I coulda sworn it does exist and is out in trading circles. You probably just need to do a bit of digging to find it if you're really itching for it.

[bosk1]

I would check with Samsara and Wey.  They may be able to refer you to someone who might have it.

[Samsara]

I would check with Samsara and Wey.  They may be able to refer you to someone who might have it.

On the Mindcrime tour, that New Years Eve 12-31-88 broadcast? Oh yeah, it has been in circulation for decades. If you don't care about MP3 at all, amazon.co.uk has it here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/music/player/albums/B07ZKT138P?ref=sr_1_2&keywords=Queensryche+children+of+the+revolution&crid=323NBDZXF44NQ&sprefix=queensryche+children+of+the+revolutio%2Caps%2C234&qid=1647626041&sr=8-2

The first couple of songs had some sound errors. Sounds like they didn't have it dialed in, and then it gets corrected. This exists on silver CD in various bootleg forms as well. But that Amazon link is the latest version of the show I've seen. It's just purely digital.

The Mindcrime headline run (May 1989) was absolutely incredible. My favorite tour from them. They did sporadic headline shows on that tour, in-between dates with Metallica and Def Leppard. A couple of gigs in North Carolina, some in England. The modified the setlist slightly when they were a full-on headline artist when they went to Japan in May 89, and then came back to play a few gigs in California before closing it all out and starting work on Empire.

Those Japan/U.S. May 1989 dates...man, wish I had been there. Just an iconic setlist. NM 156, Screaming in Digital, London, No Sanctuary, all of Mindcrime...epic.

[Setzer]

Ya…I guess they weren’t big enough anywhere else…but they did headline Seattle for a New Years Eve show on the OMC tour. I was there, and they played the entire thing…..except Suite Sister Mary. Biggest “blue ball” moment in my concert going history.

They had signs posted that they were doing a live broadcast for Z-Rock stations…so I’m surprised a boot of that show never turned up. But now…even as I type this…I’m getting a strange déją vu that I’ve mentioned this before and then someone actually shared it with me. But I can’t remember.

It has existed for a long time
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxDcWR6wjL0fN_KAWmXyFIwvQ4mo_-w9g
There's also an audience recording.

[Setlist Scotty]

As the 'wreck churns...

Here's the latest on the soap opera:
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/queensryches-michael-wilton-and-eddie-jackson-fire-back-at-scott-rockenfield-accuse-drummer-of-abandoning-the-band/

[WilliamMunny]

As the 'wreck churns...

Here's the latest on the soap opera:
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/queensryches-michael-wilton-and-eddie-jackson-fire-back-at-scott-rockenfield-accuse-drummer-of-abandoning-the-band/

I read that yesterday and I couldn't help but shake my head—similar to the whole fallout with Tate.

I truly feel bad for Wilton and Jackson. While I'm sure there's more to the story, Rock left the band high and dry and has done little more than generate bad PR for them over the past few years.

Worst case scenaro? Rock puts together his own cover band, and then there's three versions of QR touring around the country

[jammindude]

Some of the “did he/didn’t he” actually contact the band or not seems pretty “he said/they said” but that loan info is pretty damning.  Rock had no assets to put up for the loan? Then bailed? I’d be pretty ticked too.

[Deathless]

I always got a weird vibe from Scott watching interviews from before the Tate split and after. Obviously his drumming in the band has been so pivotal and IMO it's still really missed. But he genuinely just seems like a different dude. Very bizarre behavior. I don't see him putting another band together either, which is sad because I'd love to hear him play again.

This just sucks for Michael and Eddie because I'm sure Queensryche as a day job probably pays well but not a scenario you want to be in as you push into your 60's.

[ProfessorPeart]

Wow, that whole loan thing to pay off Tate. What a mess. They literally can't stop being QR because the band has to continue so they can continue to pay him. And all those stipulations of collateral. Makes me wonder if it was worth it. Quit QR and let Tate run it in the ground and form another band.

I don't know. When I last saw them I just felt that Eddie and Michael didn't really want to be there. They just didn't seem into it. If it wasn't for Parker and Todd you would have thought it was wax figures up there.

[Samsara]

Sad.

smh.

[Setzer]

Now Tate's comments regarding Scott make a bit more sense. That's definitely not normal behaviour.

[Dream Team]

When you read this kind of garbage it makes you appreciate even more bands that can keep it together for decades.

[EPICVIEW]

: )         yep.....

[Samsara]

When you read this kind of garbage it makes you appreciate even more bands that can keep it together for decades.

Yeah. It also makes me appreciate what they had in their original form that much more. I mean, not many bands go six full studio albums and an EP without a member change. To be honest, unless a band "hits" from the very start, they probably don't get more than a couple of records.

I feel pretty fortunate that I got to see the original Queensryche live a few times, and then their various incarnations afterward. It was never the same, at all, but given all their history, and what went on with that band from the get-go, it's amazing they've been going at it for 40 years straight now.

The original band sits on a pedestal for me. It always will for all the reasons anyone following my posts the last 25 years knows. 

 But looking back at the other versions of the band, including the current one, while it may not be the same, they are still out there making a living and creating new music on a regular basis that people like, and they pay good money to see them live. And that's a victory, albeit not the kind of success they had previously.

It's really a shame they can't get it together for one final album and tour. But if you've followed the history of the band, you obviously know why it's not all that surprising that it hasn't happened.

[TAC]

Those disclosures at least give us some background into what's been going on. I found it very interesting.

I wonder how much they bought Tate out. The fact that they're still paying it off seems..like it may have been an irresponsible settlement.


I have really enjoyed their studio output with Todd. It's quality stuff. But live, they are simply a Queensryche cover band. It's not Queensryche. Not even close.

[The Curious Orange]

If they're in that much debt, sounds like Scott probably just wants to cut his losses and get out. He seems to want a slice of their earnings without paying his share of their liabilities.

[DoctorAction]

I think that ending of One And Only might be my favourite proggy-time-signature-shift ever.

And Empire has aged immensely well, in both songs and sound.