Queensrÿche

Emerging during the ’80s metal boom, Queensrÿche separated themselves from the pack with their progressive licks and conceptual vision—and they’re still at it, more than 30 years later. ∙ Formed in 1981, the band (originally called The Mob) had no lead singer, until they recruited vocalist Geoff Tate and became Queensrÿche, a variant of their song “Queen of the Reich.” ∙ Building momentum with albums The Warning (1984) and Rage for Order (1986), the group broke through with 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime, a Platinum-selling rock opera. ∙ In 1989, Operation: Mindcrime’s “I Don’t Believe in Love” earned a Grammy Award nomination—the first of three that the band would receive in their career. ∙ Queensrÿche reached their commercial peak with 1990’s Empire, which went to No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart and included the power ballad “Silent Lucidity.” ∙ Seeking to revisit the conceptual world of Operation: Mindcrime, the band released a sequel album in 2006, enlisting metal giant Ronnie James Dio to voice the story’s villain, Dr. X. ∙ After Tate’s departure in 2012—and a brief period when two Queensrÿche lineups were operating simultaneously—the band regrouped with former Crimson Glory frontman Todd La Torre on vocals.