Queensrÿche were one of the most talked about metal bands of the 80s, thanks to such state-of-the-art albums as Operation: Mindcrime and Rage For Order. But the Seattle band’s mainstream breakthrough came with 1990’s gleaming Empire, a record that put them in the Billboard Top 10. In 2009, then-singer Geoff Tate looked back on the album that remains their commercial high point.
Memorably described as ‘The Thinking Fan’s Metal Band’, Queensrÿche rose above the pack in the 1980s to deliver music that was as intelligent and elegant as it was hard-hitting. At their peak in the late 80s and early 90s, their forward-looking albums bridged the gap between state-of-the-art metal and the progressive metal movement that would soon emerge in their wake.
The Seattle five-piece’s story began in 1981, when singer Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield recorded a four-track demo under the name The Mob. When they discovered the existence of another band with the same monicker, they opted to rechristen themselves Queensrÿche, after a track on the demo, Queen Of The Reich.
Those four demo tracks appeared on the band’s self-titled debut EP, released in 1983 via Seattle independent label 206 Records. The EP generated a huge buzz, bagging them a deal with major label EMI-America, who put out their full-length debut album, The Warning (1984) and the boundary-pushing Rage For Order (1986). But it was 1988‘s masterful concept album Operation: Mindcrime that gave Queensrÿche their long-overdue breakthrough, selling more than a million copies in the US. A lot was riding on the follow-up, a record that would eventually be titled Empire.
“Chris [DeGarmo] and I had agreed from the early days that we’d alternate between a concept album and a collection of unconnected songs,” says Geoff Tate. “So, we’d done Operation: Mindcrime, now it was time for something else. However, I was already working on ideas for what would be [2006’s] Operation: Mindcrime II, the conclusion of the story. So, it was Chris who came up with a lot of Empire.”
The band was very much driven at the time by Tate and DeGarmo, who had a firm grip on the creative process, with the full co-operation of the other three members.
“The framework for the songs had been worked out before we started to record, because in those days it was a very costly process being in the studio,” says Tate. “But obviously a lot of the songs matured as we went along.”
The man chosen to produce the project was Peter Collins, the Englishman with whom they’d worked on Operation: Mindcrime to such great effect.
“He was the only choice for the album,” insists Geoff. “We’d had such a great relationship with him on the previous record that there was no need to change anything. Peter is such an excellent administrator and organiser. We started off doing basic tracks at Triad Studios in Seattle, where we did the first EP, and then moved to Vancouver Studios for about two months, before mixing at Royal Recorders in Wisconsin.”
The band began recording the album in the Spring of 1990. Collins insisted that the band should follow a definite and disciplined routine. Work would begin daily at about 10am, carrying on until 11pm, although there were two meal breaks. And this would happen seven days a week.
“Peter put lunch and dinner breaks into the schedule, and demanded that everyone adhere to them,” says Tate. “It’s easy to get carried away with being in the studio, and overworking to the point where you burn out, which does nobody any good. Peter ensured we were well fed, and had the time to sleep.”
That’s not to say more traditional rock’n’roll activities were completely off the agenda. “We hired a house in Vancouver a few miles from the studio. So, we could all do what we wanted after 11pm. And, yes, we had a lot of times when we did go out and get very… recreational. As long as we were back in the studio the next morning, ready to work.”
The simpatico working relationship the band had struck up with Collins on Operation: Mindcrime continued here.
“The great thing about Peter was that he never got in our way, creatively,” says Tate. “He was certainly someone with ideas, but was never a dictator. And because he was so disciplined, it meant that we actually recorded the album without overspending. We’d learnt our lesson the hard way on The Warning, which was a bad experience. That had gone so far over budget the label were furious with us, and did very little marketing or promotion. Peter pulled in Operation: Mindcrime on time and without extra expense, which meant we got full marketing support. That happened again on Empire.”
Where Operation: Mindcrime had been defined by its concept – a fictional, conspiracy-based narrative centred on a troubled hitman hired by a shady organisation –Empire jettisoned any such overarching themes. Instead, songs such as Jet City Woman, Della Brown, Another Rainy Night (Without You) and the sleek yet seething title track dealt with everything from social issues to personal relationships.
The album was also home to one of Queensrÿche’s greatest songs. Silent Lucidity was a billowing, dreamlike ballad that owed more to Pink Floyd as it did Metallica. Part of its grandeur came from the lush orchestration courtesy, courtesy of late American composer Michael Kamen .
“I remember so well the day Chris first played me the song at his house, on an acoustic,” says Tate. “When it finished he said, ‘I’m thinking we should get in Michael Kamen.’ We’d met him in London when we were working on The Warning. Our producer, James Guthrie, had introduced us, and we worked with Michael on arrangements for The Warning and Operation: Mindcrime. He was the perfect man for the task here.
“We had the song in the bag, and then Michael’s tape turned up in the mail, as usual. I recall Peter, Chris and I were sitting in the control room when the tape rolled, and we were just blown away by what Michael had done. It was beautiful – too long, which was always the case with him, but it gave us all goosebumps.”
When it came to naming the album, there was only ever one choice. Like the song itself, the title Empire was punchy and concise, but carried multiple meanings.
“I’d come up with the song Empire, and Chris saw it as the best possible title,” says Tate. “I liked the strong feel it had, and the fact that it reflected an album full of powerful songs. Chris and I always had a trusting relationship. If one of us had an idea, then usually the other would accept it, unless there was a good reason to object. As I had no opposing viewpoint, I gave it my blessing. And it was a great choice.”
Empire was released in August 1990. Propelled by the success of Silent Lucidity, it peaked at No.7 on the Billboard charts and sold more than three million copies – still most biggest selling album of Queensrÿche’s career. But its success was a double-edged sword. It would be another four years before they released a follow-up, 1994’s darker Promised Land, by which point grunge had completely changed the landscape (ironic, since they shared a hometown with Nirvana et al).
While Queensrÿche didn’t suffer the same extinction-level event as some of their contemporaries, continuing to release a string of albums, they never scaled the same heights again. Chris DeGarmo left the band in 1997, to be replaced by a string of different guitarists.
Tate admits he doesn’t often listen to his band’s old albums, though he’s happy with the way Empire turned out. “The fact that it had so many radio- friendly songs helped,” he says. “It hasn’t dated at all. I don’t pretend that it’s a contemporary- sounding record – it has a distinct arena sound. The drums, the guitars… everything sounds big, because of the rooms we used. It doesn’t sound like a 90s album, with all the ambience of that era. We were definitely on a creative high
Originally published in Metal Hammer issue 199. Geoff Tate left Queensryche in 2012. He was replaced by singer Todd La Torre. Drummer Scott Rockenfield went on hiatus from the band in 2017 and hasn’t returned since.
