Album review: Queensrÿche—Condition Hüman (2015)

 

Condition Hüman album cover

Album: Condition Hüman

Artist:  Queensrÿche

Label: Century Media

Genre: Progressive metal

Tracks: 12

Total time: 53:27

The smoke has cleared, the furor has died down, and at long last, the battle for custody of the Queensrÿche legacy had a victor. Now that the band's less-than-amicable split with their former singer was officially in the past and both parties were moving on, it was time to get back to what really mattered: the music.

With the 2013 release of their eponymous album, Queensrÿche had proved that they could make it on their own without their iconic former frontman. The album was a true return to form, and showed promise of greater things to come. Clocking in at 35 minutes, the album was a success, but fans longed for more. They could hear in just that short amount of time everything they had been missing for the last decade and a half, and knew that once the band was free to create without the burden of past baggage weighing them down, that the potential of the first album with Todd LaTorre would be realized in even greater capacity the next time around.

Suffice it to say, the next album had a lot to live up to before it was even made. If people were watching the band critically before, they were looking even closer at them now. For the doubters, it was easy to chalk up the first album as being successful because the band and fans alike were still in a “honeymoon phase” with LaTorre; everything was still new and exciting, and the allure had not quite worn off yet. They had managed to make a hell of a great album and to reignite the spark, but the true test would be if they could maintain the fire they had lit. Too often, many bands fell prey to the dreaded “sophomore jinx”, and for a band like Queensrÿche, there was much more at stake because this was not the second album of their career that could be redeemed in another album or two: there was no do-over on a second chance this far into a band's lifespan. They had been given the rare opportunity to rewrite their own history. Now was the make-or-break moment as to whether their future was secured as well.

Even as far back as the 2013 album's release, the band declared that they were already working on songs for a follow-up, and hinting that the music would be in a much more progressive vein than on the previous record. If this hadn't already excited the legions of fans who were waiting on the edge of their seats to hear what Queensrÿche would do next, this sent them into an absolute frenzy. The 2013 self-titled album was proof that the band could get back to their metal roots and rock again; now the fans wanted them to expand upon that and return to the progressive style that made them stand out from all their other contemporaries in the ’80s metal scene.

It may sound like Queensrÿche fans are quite the demanding bunch; but quite simply, we have high standards because we know that the band can live up to them. The band knows this too, and are ready and willing to meet those demands because they are the type of band who wants to top themselves and do better than they did the last time. This is what fans love about them: the band listens to their audience and are completely open to constructive criticism; they aren't afraid to hear honest opinions, because they are perfectionists and therefore have probably already recognized where there is room for improvement themselves! (Not only this, but just observing from the outside as someone who frequents their Facebook page regularly, they listen to negative feedback just as much as positive reinforcement; I daresay I have a much shorter fuse when it comes to a lot of these trolls, but Queensrÿche takes it all in good stride and respectfully acknowledges their viewpoints as much as anyone else who cares to express their thoughts.)

Another note-worthy attribute that Queensrÿche fans have that seems to be lacking in many fanbases in this day and age of instant gratification and online interaction between bands and fans, is that even when certain elements come into play that they are not sure of or don't entirely agree with, many fans remain broad-minded and are not quick to criticize. The perfect example of this is when it was announced that the band would not be working with Jimbo Barton as producer again for the album-in-progress. That probably sent shockwaves throughout the Rÿchean fandom, but overall, there was little public outrage or complaints. Even when it was revealed that the album's producer was Chris “Zeuss” Harris—known more for producing artists such as Rob Zombie and bands such as Soulfly, Chimaira, and Demon Hunter—Rÿche fans remained optimistic; presenting a tolerant attitude and keeping faith that the band they loved knew what they were doing and weren't going to let them down.

Even when the band launched a PledgeMusic campaign (similar to Kickstarter and other crowdfunding projects)—something that many older music fans did not understand or see the point of, or normally saw as a shameless money grab—fans still kept an open mind and as pre-orders on the PledgeMusic site racked up, slowly but surely began to rethink their stance on these issues; because they wanted the new Queensrÿche album that much. Even the band's fans were going back to the way things used to be; their audience was once again encouraged to think outside the box and engage in open discussion about topics that people felt strongly about...even if it was something as uncontroversial as crowdfunding campaigns.

As the weeks and months went on, the process that became Condition Hüman really was like a community effort. The fans, ever-supportive, wanted to do their part to bring this album to life; and contributed in whatever way they could so that the band could carry on and let the artistic process happen with as few bumps in the road as could be managed. It only made sense: Queensrÿche were not the only ones who went through the ups and downs of the last few years; the fans had gone through it with them and wanted the best album possible not only for their own sake, but for the band's too. The fans were rooting them on to go out there, kick ass, and silence the skeptics once and for all. They wanted the album that they knew had been brewing within Queensrÿche for years, and had been waiting just as long to hear.

Although it has only been little more than 2 years since the last album's release, the wait seemed like an eternity. For those of you reading this who are not Queensrÿche fans or do not know the band's history very well...you must understand that even though on a calendar, it was only 2 years and that is really not a long time at all; for fans, it was a much longer wait than that. For years we had endured sub-par albums and getting only a fraction of the band's full capability, due to former bandmembers keeping the musical direction locked in the same place for a very long time. So it was not just 2 years that we had been waiting; we had really been waiting for more like 2 decades! Perhaps the impatience that we fans exhibited might be somewhat forgiven when the context of our restlessness is better understood when you look at it in this way!

Sure enough, when the first single, “Arrow of Time”, was released, it was everything the fans had expected, and then some. Further developing upon the hard-rockin' sensibility of the previous effort, “Arrow of Time” moved it up another notch and clearly showed the band's rapid progression in just those 2 short years.

Everything about Condition Hüman presented the standard hallmarks of classic Queensrÿche: from the music video for the second single, “Guardian” to the album artwork featuring a dark attic room where a little girl wipes the dust away from the window to leave the shape of a tri-ryche looking out on a Seattle skyline; Condition Hüman was shaping up to be exactly what everyone had hoped for and expected. Now it seemed that October 2^nd would never arrive; as the days drew closer, the wait felt even longer. The shining reviews that were beginning to crop up across the internet only seemed like merciless teasing to the fans; we wanted to hear how great it was too!

If you were a PledgeMusic backer, your wait was shortened by just a few hours if you lived on the West Coast: at 9 p.m. on October 1^st, your digital download available with your pre-order was waiting in your inbox! Within moments, the wait was over and I was able to hear Condition Hüman for myself.

“Arrow of Time”: The first single, it's a perfect jumpstart to the album; the twin guitars of Michael “Whip” Wilton and Parker Lundgren are perfect symbiotic assault from the get-go: that counterbalanced style of metal aggression and progressive harmony that is so unmistakably Queensrÿche. From start to finish it's a high-energy song that gets you up off your feet, ready to pound your fists and bang your head. It's also a perfect introductory song to the album because there is much about it that is reminiscent of the first album, yet clearly a step up from its predecessor.

“Guardian”: If the previous song was a fitting introduction to Condition Hüman, then this track continues to set the tempo by bringing in all the balls-out heaviness that made the previous album so good; but again, this is another track that takes all the key elements of the last album and injects them with even more power. The lyrics are even a testament to the band's new direction; playing on one of their most well-known songs, they flip the script by proclaiming what they are all about now: “evolution calling!” Todd lets loose vocally and belts out some wicked high notes that are just crazy! Think of all the heaviest songs from the 2013 album, take all the best parts of each one, and then imagine what a song featuring all those components would be like, and you've got “Guardian”.

“Hellfire”: Starting off with the melodic acoustic guitars that is just as much a Queensrÿche trademark as their heavy riffs, this song sounds as though parts of it were taken from Whip's “Hollow” demo. This is the Queensrÿche we remember that could strike a balance between harmony and heaviness without turning it into a sappy ballad.

“Toxic Remedy”: I see this one being a fan-favorite across the board. This is another song that is not so much on the heaviness in a fast way, but more on the depth of the song's message. There is this slow heaviness to it that channels an aggression that is just as intense as any of their faster songs. Todd sounds sinister in some parts, commanding in others; setting the tone of the lyrics with his vocal delivery. It's got a Mindcrime vibe to it, but also very much a Rage for Order or Promised Land feel to it as well.

“Selfish Lives”: Personally, this is my pick for the next single. It's got all the ingredients for a perfect Rÿche song: passionate vocals from Todd, melodic dual guitars that pack a heavy punch, and lyrics that address something more than the superficial and mundane. This is another song that I feel is a homage to previous albums, but is also very modern.

“Eye9”: OK, so I fuckin' love this song! Eddie's bass is the centerpiece here, and if I had to compare it to an older Queensrÿche song, I would say to consider this the “Disconnected” or “sp00L” of Condition Hüman, in that it's different from your typical Rÿche tune, but it fits so perfectly for them and makes total sense in the grand scheme of things. It's got that dark, creepy vibe; but it's also so fierce!

“Bulletproof”: Queensrÿche officially reclaims their throne as the forefathers of symphonic metal on this song, plain and simple. It's dramatic, it's melodic, it's breathtaking...it's all those things I love about Queensrÿche. Hands-down, this is my favorite track on Condition Hüman. I think I've even fallen a little in love with it, like I did with “A World Without” from the last album. I can't help it; I have accepted that symphonic metal is the music that mirrors my soul, and that is what Queensrÿche does best. They have been making music that mirrors my soul for the last 25 years, ever since I was 11 years old; and this is another song that goes on the playlist to the soundtrack of my life.

“Hourglass”: Where the last song reconnects us with the band's symphonic tendencies, this one is more along the line of their progressive roots: the harmony and melody weaving in-between powerful riffs and energetic grooves. It's also a return to their own “progressive-pop” sensibility, as the chorus is very catchy and hooky, sticking easily in your head and pleasantly remaining there for a long time afterwards.

“Just Us”: Queensrÿche isn't just all about heavy tunes; they are also well-known for composing beautiful slower songs, like this one. Those gorgeous acoustic guitars coupled with Todd's voice makes for a lovely ballad that rivals “Silent Lucidity” or “Some People Fly” or any other similarly-crafted songs. In a strange way, even though this is a more mellow song, some of the parts remind me of the b-side “Last Time in Paris” from the Empire album. Simply dazzling.

“All There Was”: This is probably the heaviest track on the album (maybe rivaling “Guardian” for the title, anyway!); I see a lot of the old-school Rÿchers fond of The Warning and Operation: Mindcrime gravitating to this one. S-Rock's drums are absolutely monstrous on this track, and the guitars are fast and frenetic.

“The Aftermath”: A small one-minute piece, I have been reluctant to say that any of these songs are throwbacks to older albums or that they could have belonged on any of the band's past efforts, but I have to be honest here (and I mean this as a compliment): lyrically and sonically, if you were to put this on Operation: Mindcrime, I think it would have fit perfectly. There is so much to it that has that Mindcrime vibe, and the lyrics echo the theme of the album perfectly. Unlike many of their prog-metal counterparts, Queensrÿche has an uncanny knack for musical economy, and the ability to pack a lot into a short amount of time; to make songs that can be a minute long and still convey all the emotional depth of a 20-minute progressive rock epic.

“Condition Hüman”: Speaking of progressive epics, the title track clocks in at nearly 8 minutes, and it has all the makings of the band's past ventures into epic territory. It has the glorious harmony of “Anybody Listening?”, the dramatic earnestness of “Promised Land”, the bombastic intensity of “Suite Sister Mary”, and the futuristic wonder of “Roads to Madness”...all without sounding like any of these songs at all. “Condition Hüman” is a triumphant return to their rightful place as a progressive metal band; where fans have always longed for them to be, as it is the place where they best thrive. Wilton and Lundgren's intricate solos coupled with Rockenfield's complex drumming and Eddie's elaborate grooves topped with Todd's passionately versatile vocal range and their imaginative, cerebral lyrics; it is the perfect closer to a damn perfect album.

Overall opinion: From beginning to end, Condition Hüman is an album that truly takes you on a journey, as good Queensrÿche albums are known to do. However, when I say this, I also mean it in the literal sense that you start off in one place and end up in another place entirely. One cannot determine just by listening to “Arrow of Time” or “Guardian” alone that you are listening to an album that is going to give you something like “Eye9”, “Condition Hüman”, or even “Just Us”. Each song is like a mini-movie or novel unfolding before the listener to shape images and landscapes that is entirely in one's own imagination. And that, my dear readers, is what Queensrÿche is all about. That's what they are at their best. That's what they lacked for all those years when one person was draining away the creative life force that once made them one of the best in a genre that they helped to innovate.

This is the band who, as I described in one of my previous blog entries, constructed a world through their music that I could escape to—not an imaginary fantasy world like many progressive, power, or symphonic metal bands are apt to do—but the real world, the here and now; a world that is not out of reach and where all things are possible because their music is the proof that these things are attainable as long as you have the courage and the determination to want it. That is the Queensrÿche I have missed for so many long years; the band I thought had gone away after the first splinter in the lineup back in 1998 and that finally came back to us in 2013. The band that wrote lyrics that encouraged their listeners to live their dreams; to “take hold of the flame” and live your life to the fullest. The band that once saved my life through music.

If the self-titled album was indicative of the band's return to their signature sound, then Condition Hüman is a testament that Queensrÿche as we know them and love them is here to stay. For anyone out there who loved the last album and thought it was incredible: Condition Hüman completely blows it out of the water. If the eponymous album was just an appetizer, then Condition Hüman is the main course. Everything that the last album promised, Condition Hüman delivered. This is the album fans have been waiting for since Promised Land, and maybe in some respects even longer than that; maybe even since Operation: Mindcrime.

Vocally, Todd is showcasing more of his vocal versatility; his lower range is demonstrated more often on this album than the previous one, matching the emotional range of the lyrics. His voice goes from high and uninhibited to low and ominous, depending on the song's message. He can rock it out with insane high vocals on tunes like “Guardian”, or set an eerie mood with his lower range on tracks like “Eye9”, then turn around and be completely gentle and sweet on ballads like “Just Us”. Todd has earned the accolades he has received as Queensrÿche's frontman. Contrary to how the trolls of the world would have you believe, he didn't just mimic or imitate his predecessor—he has brought back all of the vocal theatrics that his predecessor had abandoned long ago, and puts his own spin on it.

The rest of the band has also upped the ante as well. Parker Lundgren is no longer one of the “new guys” either; he, too, has earned his place in the band and as a songwriter, knows how to pen tunes that are every bit vintage Queensrÿche as anything written by his predecessor (and that is a huge compliment, coming from me). Because of this “young blood” injected into the dynamic, the other guys are rejuvenated too, and sound as exuberant and vibrant as they did in their early days.

I can't say it enough: ever since dropping the dead weight that was dragging them down, Queensrÿche has been on a roll and they are better than ever. Condition Hüman is indicative of this momentum, and if this is where they are at already with just the second album with this lineup, then one can only imagine what they will have in store for us next time.

My Queensrÿche is back. And I'm never letting them go!!!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Special thanks to Shelly Error-Ribe for sharing the gift of PledgeMusic!

Editorial: Queensrÿche's Promised Land, 20 Years Later

Promised Land album cover

I knew that when I decided to write this 20-year retrospective of Queensrÿche's album Promised Land, that it would be difficult (for reasons that will become apparent as you read on), but now in light of recent events surrounding Todd LaTorre and the loss of his father, it just makes this blog entry that much more difficult. A part of me wants to scrap it altogether. But the more I dwell on this and give it serious thought, the more I think this needs to be written; if only for my own personal reasons, to show what a healing quality music can have in dark times. Because that's why I chose to write this in the first place.

When I decided to do this, I struggled with how I would approach it, because writing this piece would require baring my soul and letting my readers in on a part of my life that I would prefer to keep private. At first, I thought about just keeping it on the surface and only intimating at the events in my life that made this album so personal to me. But now that this tragedy has happened, and Todd's personal life is on display for all to witness and to comment about, I feel that I must be completely honest and go through the painful exorcism of sharing things that I have kept mainly to myself for the better part of 20 years; things that only a handful of people who are close to me know about. There are going to be some people reading this who have known me for the majority of these last 2 decades and will learn things about me that they never knew. They are not sinister or devious things; they are just things that hurt too much to talk about all the time, so I just don't. I am not a person who wishes to feed on self-pity, and I do not care much to live in sadness. So a lot of these things I have put behind me are not because I am trying to deny them or pretend they never happened, but because I choose not to be a victim.

If ever a biography about my life could be described by music or condensed to one album, Promised Land is that album for me. In case you are not a Queensrÿche fan or are not familiar with this album or their material, to say this particular album can sum up my life is not necessarily a good thing; at least not as far as content goes. This is a dark album that speaks of heavy subjects; it's about a band who experienced the highs of success and found that the tragedies we all experience in childhood were not magically cured simply because they were now financially secure or sold award-winning albums (as we are all somehow led to believe). So you're probably wondering, how does this relate to me? Obviously I'm not a multi-millionaire or an award-winning recording artist, so how can their tales about the dark side of fame apply to my teenage life at the time?

Although this is not a concept album, there are several connecting themes throughout the album; the main one being about dealing with the emotional scars left over from childhood (and trying to cope with them as an adult). My upbringing was far from a happy one, so I could not only relate to the album's message, but it came along at a time when I most needed to hear it.

Let's go back to the year 1994, which was what I often refer to as the worst year of my life, if only for the fact that so many consecutively bad things occurred in such a short span of time. There have been greater tragedies in my life since then, and other time periods that were just as difficult; but never before or since have I experienced a solid calendar year where it seemed like one bad thing after another kept happening. When I look back on it (which isn't too often), I know how I survived all of these terrible things. It's something so simple, yet so profound. Music saved my life. More specifically, the album Promised Land saved my life. I am not saying this facetiously or to be over-dramatic. I am completely serious when I say it because it's true. When Promised Land came out, I had just turned 16 and as if the typical stress and strain that come with average teenage life wasn't enough, I was going through all these other problems that it seemed my friends or classmates were not experiencing and could not possibly understand. This album came into my life at a particularly low point when my home life and my school life sucked equally, and my already-unstable world was completely falling apart. This album literally saved my life during a time when I didn't think life was very much worth living.

What was so horrible that happened to me? I guess I will now have to tell my story.

Where do I start? On the very first day of 1994 when shortly after midnight on New Year's, I was almost sexually assaulted at a friend's house, by some bastard who tried to force himself on me? That might be a good place to start. Fortunately, he was not successful at his attempt; but the panic over what could have happened left me with a deep feeling of mistrust. Unfortunately, it's not the worst thing that would happen to me that year. If anything, that incident should have been a foreshadowing of how bad a year this would become. Even going through the Northridge earthquake a few weeks afterwards would be a piece of cake compared to what 1994 had in store for me!

When the year began, I was still 15 years old. Being a teenager is a difficult time for everyone, so it was no different for me. Couple that with being bullied every day for having physical disabilities, and my high school life was complete hell. I had a few friends, but I was far from being the popular kid in school, and I was certainly not the girl that had dates lining up at her door every Saturday night. Most of the time I was happy enough in my own company; if I ever wished to be popular, it was only so that the other kids would stop bullying me. For some reason I thought back then that being popular meant that everyone in school liked you, and therefore you never got teased or bullied. Oh, if only my teenage self could have met her current incarnation: what things I could have told her! (Something like those “It Gets Better” ads, only more metal?)

My home life was no better. I didn't live with my parents, because they had serious addiction problems, which kept them from being the most stable people to live with. I went to visit when I could because I had younger siblings that still lived with them, but they had a rocky marriage and their arguments could get quite heated. I am thankful that I had an aunt and uncle to live with, and they took care of me when my parents could not, and I had a cousin who was 3 years older than me and he looked out for me at school, making sure no one bothered me. I can't say it didn't please me to see some of my former bullies tremble in fear a little whenever my cousin walked with me down the halls. For a while, I felt safe and protected. The New Year's incident completely shattered that feeling. I started carrying a knife to school again, because there would come a day when my cousin left high school and I would still be there, with no one to watch my back. I carried it for protection, because I could not turn to my elders if another bully tried to trip me or jump me from behind. These were the days before anti-bullying campaigns; when teachers and school authorities looked the other way on such matters and felt that kids should handle those sorts of problems on their own. Where oftentimes the teachers would see kids being bullied and offer sage advice such as “get over it”, “no one likes a tattle-tale”, or “grow up”.

Meanwhile, in spite of all the ways my parents were not exactly fit to be parents to the kids they already had, they were about to have another one! A part of me was furious at the idea: I had to live with my aunt and uncle because they couldn't provide enough stability for me or my siblings, but here they were having another kid? What made them think this was a good idea? Well, obviously babies are seldom ever planned in advance; certainly not for people like my parents who probably thought that planning ahead for things was lame.

However, I think I knew the real reason my mom was willing to put herself through another high-risk pregnancy: my father constantly lamented the fact that all of his children were girls, and he didn't have “his son” yet. He made it more than clear that we were a constant disappointment because we were not born boys, and he was a selfish enough asshole to where he thought risking my mom's life so he could get the boy he wanted was a perfectly OK thing. The ends justify the means, right?

It goes without saying that music was what kept me sane through those years. While I certainly liked the grunge music that was popular in the '90s, my personal musical tastes were vastly different from the kids in my school. I loved rock and metal. One of my favorite bands was Queensrÿche, whom I had discovered just before I turned 12 years old. The years from 12 to 16 seem like an eternity to people that young, so in all that time I had not heard any new music from them or owned anything that had not already existed for years (with the exception of the “Real World” single, from The Last Action Hero soundtrack). This probably seemed very old hat to the kids in my school, considering that I was listening to a band that had not made any new music since we were all in junior high school (which, to teenagers, was a lifetime ago!), and probably gave them more reasons to pick on me. But I didn't care.

To me, they were the first band that felt like they were my own personal discovery. They were not a band I knew about from the music my parents listened to, nor were they one of the popular bands all the kids in school listened to. It was something that belonged just to me. Even though I had a friend in school who liked them too, I still felt like Queensrÿche was my special secret. Being that I was a kid that read a lot of books, had a vocabulary that far surpassed my grade level, and liked to write in my spare time; I felt their music was something I could relate to. It spoke of important issues and serious subjects, but never in a way that was beyond the grasp of the average listener. They wrote about things other than wanting to get laid or party every night; which at that point in my life, was most definitely something I could not relate to. Their music always felt like there was a whole world waiting, and they were inviting you to share it with them. An exciting world far beyond the borders of my broken home or my apathetic school. Their music took me far away from all of those things and reminded me that life wouldn't always be this way. Someday I would grow up and leave this place. Someday I could have the life I wanted.

But until then, I had to deal with my at-present situation. About a month or so into the New Year, my newest sibling was born, and he was the son my dad had always wanted and felt he deserved after getting 4 unwanted girls. Yet it wasn't without its share of difficulties: my mom nearly died, and my new baby brother was born prematurely with complications. Seeing as how I was born a preemie, my hardened heart began to soften towards my brother, even if I didn't show it right away. I was still angry at my parents for being so irresponsible as to bring another child into the world; especially now that it seemed he would struggle through life and would need extra care the way I did. Would they foist him on to my aunt and uncle when his needs became too much to handle, like it seemed they did to me?

I couldn't worry about it one way or the other, as I had to get back to my life at my aunt and uncle's house. I just had to hope that maybe this time, my parents could get their shit together and try harder for my brother's sake, and for the sake of my 3 sisters. I was only a couple years away from being an adult and out on my own. My siblings were still very young and needed my parents more than I did.

As spring of 1994 arrived and was well under way, I saw my brother a few times, whenever I could get enough time away to visit for a weekend. I was able to visit during spring break, which was the same week that Kurt Cobain died. Little did I know that death was about to hit much closer to home.

It was the last day of April, a Saturday. I chose not to visit my parents, but instead chose to go to the street fair with my aunt, who was constantly working and seldom had a day off, even on the weekends. It was a rare opportunity for us to spend time together doing something fun, and I could visit my parents anytime. I remember what a great day we had, and coming home to check the messages on our answering machine to see who called while we were away. We received several messages from various family members, urging my aunt to call immediately, but not saying why. As the tape reached the final message, one of my other aunts gave us the news that the other callers had been reluctant to leave on an answering machine: my brother had died earlier that morning. We would come to find out later that he had died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

I do not remember my initial reaction. I do not remember whether I screamed, cried, or stood silently in shock. All I could remember was wondering to myself: why? My brother was not yet 3 months old. How could he be dead? I knew that young people died just as much as older ones did, but it still made no sense to me. After everything my mom went through for my brother to be born, for all the years my father longed for a son, how could this have happened? I blamed myself, thinking that if I had not harbored so much anger towards them about having another baby, perhaps he wouldn't have died. Maybe I was being karmically punished for thinking such thoughts.

The days that followed were a nightmare. I went to my brother's wake, and the image of my mother sobbing as she clung to my brother's little white casket in refusal to let go...I knew that was an image that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I remember after that scene, I couldn't take it anymore. I fled to my aunt's car and stayed there, listening to my Queensrÿche tapes until it was time to leave. It was the only way I could cope. It was the only way I knew how to block out all the misery happening around me. I could turn the music up as loud as I wanted until I could no longer hear anyone crying, until I could not hear even my own dark thoughts, until I could not hear the silence from the absence of someone who should have been there. To this day, I do not recall seeing my father at my brother's wake, and we still had a funeral to get through.

I remember waking up on the day of my brother's funeral in early May, and asking the same questions in my mind over and over again. I somehow felt that this was a mistake. Why was he taken, and not me? He was the treasured son that had always been wanted. I was just a second-rate daughter, and a daughter born with disabilities, at that. I wasn't pretty or popular. I already had the stigma of being born a girl, and I had no redeeming qualities that made up for having been born a girl. If it had been me instead, my family could have carried on just fine. I didn't think they would suffer any loss if I was gone. I don't remember how it happened, but the next thing I knew I was sitting in the bathroom with a razor in my hand. I don't know what stopped me from going any further, but I didn't. Somehow I could not bring myself to do it. The pain I felt inside was still there, but there was something else there too, whether I recognized it or not: a will to live. In spite of everything, and even though I felt that life was about as shitty as it could get, I still wanted to live. Why, I didn't know. Maybe it was because I knew that as much as I wished it could be so, what I was thinking of doing would not bring my brother back. I could not trade his life for mine.

I ended up staying home that day and not going to the funeral. Going to the wake had been a traumatic enough experience, and no one begrudged me for choosing to remove myself from the situation. I wasn't the only one not in attendance. Neither was my father. Obviously, this was another harbinger of things to come.

In just a matter of weeks, my father moved out of the house and separated from my mom. By summertime he was already shacking up with another woman, leaving my mom to pick up the pieces. On the one hand, it was a separation that should have happened long ago because they made each other miserable, and it was probably all for the better that it finally happened. But it was the worst possible timing.

If I had been infuriated before by their collective irresponsibility, it was nothing compared to the seething rage I had towards my father. How dare he? I was not angry for his separating from my mom, because she deserved better. But how could he have the nerve to walk out on her and his family at our lowest point? For all the years she put up with his drinking, cheating, and verbal abuse, he was walking out on her? I guess he figured that she was of no use to him anymore; he wanted a son, now that son was dead, and my mom could not give him any more children, therefore what use could he possibly have for her now? All she gave him were a bunch of girls that he never wanted. I suppose as far as he was concerned, he had no use for any of us, so why stick around? Why stay with an old wife and her sub-par daughters, when he could find a new wife to give him all the sons he wanted? What a coward.

Far as I was concerned, I never wanted to see him again. He was dead to me. But this only built my wall higher, and made my trust issues far worse. I pushed away anyone who tried to be close to me. I sought further refuge in solitude, and the comfort of my books and music. I immersed myself in the world that Queensrÿche's music had opened up for me.

During the summer of '94, there was literally only one piece of good news: there would finally be a new Queensrÿche album. I would finally get to hear new music from them for the first time in my years as a fan. That doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but at that point it was like being thrown a life preserver as I drowned in sorrow.

One thing about living with my aunt and uncle was that they supported my love of music, even if they didn't understand it. When I became excited over the news over the Queensrÿche album-to-be, my aunt promised that no matter what, we would go to see them in concert when they came to town. It was the silver lining in my dark cloud of life. I had something to look forward to, however small it may have been. After the long months of sadness, I was relieved to know that I could still care about something, and that I could still smile.

The album was due a couple of weeks after my 16th birthday, and I still recall the excitement I felt when the local radio station played those 30-second snippets of the new music as a “teaser”. I recorded those sound clips and played them over and over! I remember staying right by the radio when the first single was played, a song called “I am I”. Personally, I loved the song and couldn't wait to hear more. I looked forward to the album's release date, October 18th, more than I did my own 16th birthday earlier that same month.

I will never forget that day. I remember my aunt writing me a note to excuse me from campus during the first break of the school day, so that my cousin could pick me up and drive me across the street to the mall so that I could be the first person in the store to buy the first copy. To this day I still think that is one of the coolest things anyone has done for me. I could have very easily gone to the mall after school to pick up my copy, or given my cousin the money to get it for me while I was at school; but my aunt knew how much this meant to me, and wanted me to have my copy as soon as the store opened, even if that meant leaving school grounds for a few minutes to get it. I asked my cousin to take my new CD home with him so I did not give in to temptation and try to listen to it at school (since portable musical devices were forbidden, and the last thing I wanted was to risk getting my new Queensrÿche album taken from me before I had the chance to hear it!). I was back on campus before the bell rang for class.

Later that night, I came home, went to my room, and listened to the new Queensrÿche album. I opened the CD booklet, which folded out into a sort of poster, with the lyrics printed on the back. I had read magazine interviews with the band, saying that this album had songs that were deeply personal to them and focused on darker lyrical content than its predecessor, Empire, which had been commercially successful with its radio-friendly material; love songs like “Jet City Woman”, songs of heartbreak like “Another Rainy Night (Without You)”, and beautiful ballads like the mega-hit “Silent Lucidity”. As I listened to the music and read the lyrics, it was plain to see that they did not build another Empire. This was something much different.

With each song, I found myself being able to find something in a lyric or verse that I could relate to or that had personal meaning to me, most of all the song “Bridge”, which was a song about a broken father-child relationship. I felt that song could have been written about me. It echoed everything I was going through in my life at that time. So did the song “Damaged”, which talked about getting down to the root of our childhood traumas that shape us into what we become as adults. “Disconnected” perfectly summed up my apathy towards the world around me; the utter disgust I felt towards my shallow teenage classmates who thought that things like getting a zit right before Friday night's big date or not getting on the cheerleading squad was the end of the fucking world; while my brother lay in a grave we could not afford to buy a tombstone for. But all of the songs connected to me on a personal level in some way; even the title track, which spoke of the sacrifices one makes for success. I felt that same alienation among my schoolmates, as I struggled through things they had not. “Someone Else?” was the first song that ever made me cry the first time I heard it. The more I listened to Promised Land, the more it seemed to speak directly to me and almost felt as if the band had taken a peek into my own life and written songs about it.

For the first time since all these things had happened, I did not feel alone, or that no one understood. This music was a clear indicator that there were other people who felt the same way as I did. More than that, they were people I respected and admired. They, too, had experienced hard times of their own, and had the courage to write about it. Sometimes, just knowing that there are other people in the world who have felt what you feel and have come through the tough times can make all the difference. They were not these untouchable superstars that somehow lived on a different plane than I did. They were real people with real problems just like me. Through their music, they were telling me it was OK to feel the things I did. It was OK to cry. It was OK to get angry. It was OK to feel pain. It was OK to finally grieve for my brother. There was no shame in any of those things, because we all feel that way sometimes.

Promised Land became the balm for my wounded spirit, and I would turn to it constantly for solace and comfort. It gave me something to lean on when things got rough. It was just the thing I needed in my life at that time; and I needed all the consolation I could find, because as it turned out, 1994 was not quite finished with me yet.

After my father left our family, it wasn't easy for my mom at first, but even she was doing better. She had met a nice man named Paul who treated her right and adored my sisters. I was skeptical at first, but after meeting him, I could see how easy it was to love Paul. He was a great guy, and my mom deserved to be happy. By Thanksgiving, they were making plans to be married once my parents' divorce was final. It seemed that I would no longer have to worry about my mom, or wonder if my sisters were being taken care of. She had someone in her life that wanted to care for her and my sisters too. Now that there was love and security in my mom's life, maybe she could begin to provide it for her kids as well. Perhaps now that she had someone in her life that encouraged her to be her best instead of living with someone that fed her addictive personality, she could break the cycle of substance abuse. At any rate, my mom seemed happy for the first time in a long while. I couldn't wait to call Paul my stepdad.

But as it had been all throughout 1994, once it seemed there would be some happiness in our lives, something came along to take that all away. In mid-December, there was an argument among some neighbors where my mom lived. Paul tried to break it up before it got violent, and as a result, he was stabbed and killed. It was a devastating loss to us all, especially my mom. How many tragic losses could one person take in such a short time? Even when the scum that killed Paul went to jail, it did nothing to ease our achng hearts. Understandably, my mom could not handle yet another senseless death; and after Paul died, she fell right back into her addictions, something she struggled with for many years afterward.

Through all of this, at some point during the long months since my father walked out, he finally tried to contact me, and I wanted no part of it. My cousin told me that I should at least tell him how I felt so I could get it off my chest. I didn't know what to say to him, so I did the only thing that felt right to me: I typed out the lyrics to “Bridge”, put them in an envelope, and left it there at my mom's house for him to see next time he came over to see my sisters. I would not waste money on a postage stamp, nor would I give him something so personal as my own words in my own handwriting. I apologize to Chris DeGarmo for copying down his words and putting them in this message, but considering the context in which I did it, maybe he would understand it and forgive me. I typed out those lyrics and it felt just as good as shouting them in my father's face. No longer would I feel shame in being a daughter. No longer would I apologize for something that wasn't my fault. No longer would he hurt me. “You never built it, Dad.” I was free.

I wish I could say that after 1994 ended, that my life got back on track and that it's all been uphill since then. But that's not real life. Hardships and sadness are a part of life; it's how you get through them that makes or breaks you. It's always good to have some weapons by your side as you face down the demons in your life, and everyone wields a different weapon. Writing is my weapon, but music is and will always be my shield. It shelters me when I need refuge. It keeps me safe when the pen is not mighty enough a sword. It offers me protection when I am outnumbered by all of life's burdens.

This album is my proof of the healing quality of music and how a song or an album can reach those corners of your soul so as to put you in touch with those feelings you try to deny or bottle up because it's easier than facing them. An album like this is a good example of what music fans mean when they say that music is better therapy than going to a shrink. Personally, I think that Promised Land did more for my healing process than talking to somebody ever would have done; I was so guarded and unwilling to be open with anyone at that time, because in my experience at that point, trust resulted in getting hurt or being betrayed. Music was a place where I could work through these issues without fear of criticism or judgment. The album's very theme encouraged this idea: “Promised Land isn't a place, it's a state of mind.” In other words, I knew I had to create my own happiness. I couldn't sit around waiting for someone to rescue me or to give me the answers. I had to take charge of my own destiny.

I had the chance to meet the band in 1997 and while I would have loved to tell them what this album meant to me and thank them personally for giving me an anchor during those turbulent times, I couldn't find the words. Even now, I would find it difficult to say this to any of them in person. This album means as much to me now as it did then, and I still find myself listening to it when I feel down or need a good cry. So while Empire was the album that sparked my love for Queensrÿche, Promised Land is my heart and would forever cement my loyalty to the band's music, even when they went down a musical path that I could no longer follow.

Many fans gave this album grief when it first came out; feeling disappointed in waiting 4 years after Empire and getting something that, to them, was not the sound or musical direction they'd been hoping for. For some, the introspective lyrical content was too intense to handle, even for a band like Queensrÿche, who have always been known for diving in deep waters.

However, it seems that over the years, Promised Land has gotten its rightful recognition and appreciation by the band's fanbase these days; heralding it as their “last best album” from the DeGarmo years. Maybe it's because these fans are 20 years older and wiser, and can better understand the themes addressed on this album. Or maybe the years have matured us all, and people who didn't care for Promised Land back in 1994 now have the ability to go back and appreciate what this album was trying to accomplish instead of complaining that it was not a sonic duplicate of earlier albums. Perhaps in other respects, it's because the band has accumulated newer, younger fans over the years who do not have a set idea of what their sound should be, or are not personally biased towards certain albums or certain points in the band's musical evolution.

Whatever the cause for this, it's nice to see that Promised Land is finally getting the love it has always deserved; while it's better late than never, for me it is nothing more than everyone finally recognizing what I have always known. This is not to sound boastful or to sound like a music snob; it was because of the things I experienced in my life that enabled me to identify with this album right away, and I can't expect everyone to have the same connection. Some people may never understand it, and that's OK too. That's what's great about music; there is something for everyone, and no two people ever listen to the same song in quite the same way. But for me, I will always have a special love and appreciation for Promised Land, the album that saved my life.

Commentary: One Rÿche to Rule Them All!

“No more suffocation, my true vindication, ascending from all the remains...”

So it's been a while since I made a blog entry, and you probably knew it was coming. My readers know me too well.

At long last, the two-year-long ongoing soap opera of “All my Queensrÿches” has finally come to an end. It's been a long road for everyone: the band, the fans, and former vocalist Geoff Tate. After several court date changes, everyone agreed on a settlement which, according to this article from the Seattle Times states the following conditions:

• The band lineup of Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield, Eddie Jackson, Todd LaTorre, and Parker Lundgren “will now be the sole band recording and touring as Queensrÿche”. (Which means that THIS is the “One and Only” version; there will be no more “Todd LaTorre version” or “Geoff Tate version” from here on out. When you hear the name “Queensrÿche”, it will be in reference to this lineup and no one else!)
• Geoff Tate must now perform his solo projects under his own name or another band name if he so chooses; however, he has retained the rights to the Operation: Mindcrime saga and has the right to perform either or both albums in their entirety. (Which means that while Queensrÿche can play these songs too, they will not be allowed to perform the albums in consecutive order as they have done in the past.)

There is more in the article about the near-future plans of each entity and their statements about all of this being over, which you can read by clicking the link I provided above.

Some other facts and figures, according to the band's recent press statement:

• Geoff Tate will no longer be allowed to make use of the tri-ryche logo or related images in any of his future projects (outside of anything having to do with Operation: Mindcrime).
• Geoff Tate will also be allowed to refer to himself as “the original voice of Queensrÿche”, or “the former vocalist of Queensrÿche” for the next 2 years. Whenever he promotes himself, aforementioned text must be at least 50% smaller than his own name in these advertisements.
• After the two years have expired, Geoff Tate must refer to himself by his own name, with no mention of Queensrÿche whatsoever.
• Geoff Tate will be allowed to finish out his contractually obligated shows under the Queensrÿche name up until August 31st. As of September 1st, the Queensrÿche name will belong solely to Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield, Todd LaTorre, and Parker Lundgren.

One of the many questions I have heard among fans since this has gone down: what about the original Facebook page that was hijacked by the Tates? Does the band get that back, will it be deleted, will it be merged with the band's current page, or will Tate get to keep that? So far, the only answer to this has been on the band's Facebook page, explaining that more will be revealed after the final turnover of the name occurs in September.

Then there are a particular set of questions that fans have also constantly asked throughout this entire ordeal: what about Chris DeGarmo? Does this now open up the possibility of his making a return to Queensrÿche? What is his opinion on the matter, whose side has he been on and does he support the decision? Considering that he has made his living as a pilot for the near-20 years since his departure from the band, it would probably be a safe bet to say no in regards to a reunion with Queensrÿche. But he has been known to do the occasional musical guest spot here and there over the years, so it's anyone's guess as to what may happen. As far as to what he thinks about all of this or where his loyalties lie: only DeGarmo himself could answer that, and it doesn't look like he's talking anytime soon.

Another interesting question that has also come up: what happens to Frequency Unknown, the album that Geoff Tate released under the Queensrÿche name during the time when both parties had equal use of the name? Tate may have exclusive rights to Mindcrime, but because the other bandmembers now have the name, does that mean the Frequency Unknown album has become part of their back catalog? Would they have the right to perform songs from that album if they wanted to? Will future pressings of the album be changed to read “Geoff Tate” instead of “Queensrÿche” (thus turning the original pressing of the album into a sort of collector's item)? Of course most would be inclined to wonder why the band would want anything to do with this album at all; but from a technical standpoint, this is an interesting angle to consider. Again, this is another question that may be answered once the name is officially handed over to the band, but for now, there is no mention of what will become of Frequency Unknown, if anything. (God willing, it will be rendered as part of the settlement that all copies will spontaneously combust as of September 1st!)

Now that we've gotten all the legal bullshit out of the way, let's get to what I do best, which is being opinionated!

I have never made it a secret as to which “side” I took in this entire debacle, so I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone reading this that I'm glad things worked out in the band's favor. Without going into personal detail about certain events that took place as far back as 1999, I will say simply that I saw that the Tates (namely Mrs. Tate) were leading the band down shit creek even then; and while I am no psychic, I cannot say the ultimate turn of events surprised me other than that I expected such an ending a whole lot sooner!

I am also not going to deny that after Chris DeGarmo's departure in late '97/early '98, my interest in the band's music waned considerably with each passing album. I tried to give them a fair shake, but it was clear something was missing. Considering that a majority of the band's earlier work (and most successful songs) were written or co-written by him, I chalked this up to being that he was one of the main songwriters who had a hand in crafting the band's signature sound; therefore without him, the band would suffer a lack of musical direction and it was to be expected. The fact that Tate's lyrical content drifted farther and farther away from the “thinking man's metal” that we knew and loved on albums like Operation: Mindcrime and more towards appealing to the lowest common denominator, it felt as though that the band I once loved was no longer there. 

Basically, I likened them to someone on life support: the body is there and the vital signs check out, but the soul was gone and it was clinically brain-dead. With every new album that passed, I hated to admit to myself that I wished someone would pull the figurative plug because their chance to die with dignity was passing them by. I mourned the loss of one of my favorite bands and moved on to other things. It was easier for me to pretend that Queensrÿche stopped making music after DeGarmo left so that I could continue to love those older albums from 1983 to 1997 without the newer stuff getting in the way of that.

However, as the band muddled through the 2000s, it was impossible as a fan not to wonder how they had gotten this way. How did a band who, just the decade before, went from winning awards left and right and were the darlings of MTV; go to being virtually forgotten in the metal community? It is safe to say that Queensrÿche were one of the forefathers of what would come to be known as symphonic metal, but were hardly ever noted or credited for this. They were seldom ever named as an influence on the genre (if at all), because by the time bands like Nightwish and Kamelot were coming up in the world, Queensrÿche had become so far removed from the movement they had started that many of the younger bands had little to no idea that they were even walking down a path forged by Queensrÿche long ago. A band who was once deemed as “metal for the intelligentsia” were now relegated to playing biker festivals and were a staple on the hair-metal nostalgia circuit; playing alongside the “cars and babes” bands that they worked so hard to always differentiate themselves from. The band had met a sadder fate than any of their conceptual epics could have predicted.

Even if the band was given their proper due for their contributions to power and progressive metal, oftentimes the bulk of the credit was attributed to vocalist Geoff Tate (which, mind you, was not completely unwarranted). An operatically trained vocalist, he was among the handful of frontmen that laid down the groundwork for what would become “opera metal”; so oftentimes when citing the founders of the genre, it was easy to name him as the main component of Queensrÿche's sonic approach. The fact that Chris DeGarmo—Tate's co-songwriter and one of the co-creators of their unique style—had virtually fallen off the face of the earth since his departure from the band made it even easier to give Tate all the accolades for what earned Queensrÿche their status as trailblazers. The fact that Tate took on the bulk of interviews and press statements throughout most of the band's career (almost sharing them evenly with DeGarmo during his years in the band), this made it seem all the more that Queensrÿche was his sole creation and artistic vision. To anyone observing from the outside who did not know anything about Queensrÿche or their history, it all but looked like the other guys in the band were just there to play their instruments, and never contributed a thing to what made their music so special. This couldn't have been further from the truth.

Just when it seemed the story of Queensrÿche would meet an inevitably tragic end, there was a plot twist that no one ever expected, least of all the band themselves. It was a twist that would allow them a chance to redeem themselves, regain their respect, and reclaim their place in metal history. Proving that some things happen purely by luck or by destiny, the stars were aligned when a singer named Todd LaTorre crossed paths with guitarist Michael Wilton at a NAMM convention. What happened afterwards was nothing short of miraculous. I'm not a religious person so I am reluctant to use such terminology, but the word “resurrection” means to rise from the dead; so if I had considered Queensrÿche as dead, then certainly Todd LaTorre was responsible for bringing them back to life.

This is the part of the story that everyone knows; that everyone has talked about endlessly and led us here. We all know about the ultimate meltdown that prompted Geoff Tate's firing. For those fans who were still sticking it out and still supporting the band, they were rewarded by being insulted onstage by Tate such as this incident at Rocklahoma...

For those of you who didn't watch the video, I'll give you a quick recap: Tate tells the audience that they “suck”.

It's not hard to figure out what the rest of the band must have been thinking by this point. Why put up with a guy who will essentially embarrass the rest of them by insulting their fans, when they can hire someone else who they know can sing the songs just as well, and will not be as much of a problem? After all, Geoff Tate was an iconic vocalist for a reason: he has a unique voice and it would be impossible to replace him (which is most likely the main reason they put up with him for all these years and went along with his musical equivalent of a mid-life crisis). Or at least, that's what most people thought until they heard Todd LaTorre for the first time. 

Here was someone that not only sounded like Geoff Tate, but sounded like the Geoff Tate of the early days. Someone who was bringing old-school Queensrÿche back. Someone who could sing the songs that fans have been wanting to hear for years; the songs that Tate no longer had the vocal chops to pull off (or that Tate claimed were too “immature” for him, as he wrote such compelling pieces with titles like “Wot we Do”). For the latter part of his last decade in the band, Tate seemed more interested in hocking cheap wine than in singing onstage. After years of fans putting up with cheesy cabaret shows, clichéd lyrical content, and hackneyed concept albums, Todd was winning over the disillusioned fans such as myself, and reminding us all of why we loved Queensrÿche in the first place.

Now that they were reclaiming their lost fans, it was time for them to reclaim their rightful place in metaldom. It was time to take back their place among the legends, and show the whipper-snappers out there just how it was done.

However, when you are a band who has existed for over 30 years, you are going to have fans who have been a part of that success for just as long, and we humans are creatures of habit. Much as many fans welcomed the change, there were just as many who were outraged by it. After all, Geoff Tate was not such a legendary vocalist without merit. There's no denying that in the world of metal, at one time he was right up there with the Dickinsons and the Halfords. So when the news broke of the split, fans who felt that Tate's voice was the primary attribute that separated Queensrÿche from all the other metal bands also felt that the band was committing career suicide and that Geoff Tate WAS Queensrÿche.

When the legal battle for the band's name first became public knowledge, many people felt the remaining bandmembers were fighting a losing battle and that it was a no-brainer that not only would Tate get the name, but that he deserved it because it was his voice that made them unique (this opinion was shared across the board by many longtime fans and so-called “rock journalists” alike). Other fans felt that neither party should continue with the name, and just go their separate ways and finally put Queensrÿche to rest, as they should have done long ago. I admit that I was one of these fans at first. The way I saw it, the band was already going around as Rising West and getting good buzz from the fanbase, and Tate was already out there promoting his solo album, Kings & Thieves, under his own name. So this was the perfect opportunity, I thought, for both parties to just let Queensrÿche go and for everybody to move on with a clean slate.

However, as we all came to find out as time went on, the issue about the name became less about practicality and more about principle. Needless to say, the band and Todd LaTorre had the odds stacked against them and had a lot to prove. It was time for them to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

As those first few months with Todd passed and the band began to prove their worth onstage, public opinion started to shift. As certain private details about the band's final days with Tate became public, people began to reconsider their stance on the issue. With every show they played with Todd LaTorre, the remaining members of Queensrÿche were winning over both the fans who thought they'd lost interest long ago, as well as fans who thought they were so certain that they could never accept anything less than Geoff Tate.

On the one hand, the fight for the Queensrÿche name brought both parties public attention again; but on the other, it was for all the wrong reasons. As a result, many reviewers and journalists out there felt inclined to weigh in on the hot topic, but many of them had little to no knowledge of the band, or had not kept up on what the band had been up to since their heyday in the early '90s. So a lot of the information being put out there was not entirely accurate, or coming from a very skewed angle. Boundaries were clearly marked, and soon it became the battle of the “Geoff Tate version” versus the “Todd LaTorre version” of Queensrÿche.

Since this IS an editorial, meaning this is written purely from opinion, let me just state for the record that I *hated* when the original bandmembers were referred to as “the Todd LaTorre version of Queensrÿche”. That reference made it sound as if Todd LaTorre had just formed a band from thin air, decided to call it Queensrÿche, and that no one who was part of the original lineup had any involvement at all. By having such a label slapped on them, the bandmembers' contributions were being downplayed and dismissed once again, and further perpetuated the myth that Geoff Tate was the prime mover in all that made Queensrÿche successful.

On the same token, the brand that was called “the Geoff Tate version” had the opposite effect: hired musicians that had never been part of the Queensrÿche lineup during his years in the band or had never contributed to a note of music the band had written were now referred to as members of Queensrÿche; when in reality, the only member of Tate's band who could legitimately make this claim was Kelly Gray, who replaced Chris DeGarmo from '98 to the early 2000s. This is not to say that Tate's new bandmembers were not talented and did not deserve respect for doing their jobs, but to call them members of Queensrÿche? That may have been a bit of a stretch even for fans who were truly supportive of Tate as an artist (i.e., not just rabid blind followers of whatever he was doing simply because he was Geoff Tate).

Because of this, confusion ran rampant on both sides. You'd think that in this day and age of being able to find anything with a quick Google or Wikipedia search, that anyone buying tickets to a Queensrÿche show would be aware of which one they were going to see; but in some cases the internet made things more difficult for the casual fans to figure out what the hell was going on. First, there was the issue of Geoff Tate and his wife stealing the original Queensrÿche Facebook page from the other guys upon his firing; causing them to open up a brand new one of their own. So many people going to the original page looking for the band now featuring Todd LaTorre were promptly banned from the page just for asking innocent questions. Likewise, the Tate fans who could not let things go were known (and are still known) to stalk the band's new page with taunts about how they aren't as good without Tate, and calling them a “cheap cover band” (maybe these fans just aren't familiar with what the term actually means: a cover band is normally defined as a group of musicians playing songs that they did not originally write or perform on...but I digress!).

Even professional websites selling concert tickets seemed to play into the confusion by listing shows for one band and showing a group photo of the other version. The band had to constantly reiterate on their Facebook page that if it wasn't listed there, then it wasn't their show. Yet that still didn't stop many people wishing to hear Todd LaTorre ending up at a Geoff Tate performance instead (or vice-versa). Well-intentioned friends or family members who knew nothing about the band would buy tickets for the Queensrÿche fan in their lives; completely unaware that there were two different versions (or which one their loved one might want to see), unknowingly forcing the recipient of their gift to sit through a show they might not have wanted to see. One could only liken this madness as being similar to what happens when someone steps on an anthill.

Yet through all of this, the band continued to press on; and what might have been impossible hurdles to conquer for most other bands, Queensrÿche plowed them right down with nothing more than the strength of their music...just as they once did back before personal conflicts overshadowed everything. Their self-titled album with Todd LaTorre was a glorious return to form, and the listeners agreed: first-week albums sales scored them a #23 position on the Billboard charts. That might not seem like much, but when is the last time you can remember Queensrÿche on the Billboard charts at all?

However, things did not appear to fare so well for Geoff Tate. His album under the Queensrÿche name, Frequency Unknown, barely cracked the Billboard 100. Not only did one practically have to give copies away, but even the record label tried to turn a negative into a positive by holding a contest based on how much fans hated Frequency Unknown. This was probably the most enthusiasm fans showed for what Geoff Tate was doing; they could hardly wait to upload their videos to YouTube and express to the world what a pile of steaming crap they believed Frequency Unknown to be.

In case you didn't watch this video, this is basically Geoff Tate's reaction to the many videos sent in. It's probably a good time to note that his overall reaction to these videos exemplify the blatant denial and total arrogance that many fans believe has been the downfall of the band over the last decade.

So by the time the issue with the name was finally hashed out, it went without saying that both parties had experienced their highs and lows and were probably all equally anxious to get it over with and move on. In the end, the final decision is win-win for everyone, far as I see it. Tate gets to keep his rights to Operation: Mindcrime, of which the story is his intellectual property. Likewise, the other guys get to keep the name of the band that they formed long before Geoff Tate ever became a part of it (for those of you who don't know your Rÿche history, Geoff Tate was the last member of the band to join). Everyone walks away with something, even if it isn't everything they want.

But, a band breakup is not too unlike a divorce; the fans being the figurative “children” caught in the middle. While the bandmembers have each started the new chapters of their careers, the fans still remain divided and probably always will be. It may take a long time and a lot of water under the bridge before the fans can reconcile their bitter feelings about the breakup (no matter which side they have taken), but that gives both parties a reason to try harder and do better on their next projects.

For all the biased opinion I have shown here, I honestly do wish Geoff Tate well in his future endeavors. Who knows? Maybe one day he will make music that I'll be interested in hearing. I, for one, would love to see him make a return to the thought-provoking lyrics he was once known for. But no matter what he does in the future, hopefully now that he is on his own he will do what makes him happy and that's what is most important; not whether I like it or not.

As for Queensrÿche, I look forward to hearing what they've got in store now that this debacle is behind them and they can carry on towards their future with Todd LaTorre. No doubt many fans have attributed the success of the previous album to the controversy that surrounded them; so it will be great for them to get back to what they were once known for, which is silencing the naysayers by making amazing music on their own terms. I have missed that most of all in the music over the last 15 years, so now that they do not have this hanging over their heads anymore, they are completely free to make music with a clear head and an open heart. While some believe it is strife and tension that makes for the best music, I think the story of Queensrÿche has suffered through enough of that more often than not over the last decade. It's time for them to get back to a good place again; and for the fans who have stuck through the ups and downs with them, it's time for us to enjoy the ride along with them.

Let us all rejoice, for there is only one Queensrÿche!

Video by Rik Johnston; link provided courtesy of Shelly Error-Ribe

*Editor's note: Apologies for the tags below; for some reason Blogger categorizes them in alphabetical order and not the way that I actually placed them, which was by band name first! Sorry for the inconvenience.