Queensrÿche

Their follow-up release, Empire, released in 1990, was also very successful and included the hit single "Silent Lucidity". The band has received three Grammy Award nominations for songs from both albums. In 1998, drummer Scott Rockenfield received an individual Grammy nomination.

Also in 1998, guitarist and primary songwriter Chris DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons, returning briefly in 2003 to write and record the Tribe album. Over the years, his replacements have been Kelly Gray, Mike Stone, and Parker Lundgren. Following a highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in São Paulo, Brazil, in April 2012, Geoff Tate was fired from the band and replaced with then-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. In response to his dismissal, Geoff Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005 to 2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated.

The ruling in the preliminary injunction was that both parties were allowed to use the name Queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decided who would get to use the name. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, in which founding members Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to perform with the lineup that additionally includes lead vocalist Todd La Torre and guitarist Parker Lundgren. During the time both parties could use the name Queensrÿche, Geoff Tate created his own lineup featuring former guitarist Kelly Gray and musicians from bands including Blue Öyster Cult, Ozzy Osbourne,  Whitesnake,

Dio, AC/DC and Quiet Riot.

This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on April 23, 2013, while Queensrÿche (with Todd La Torre replacing Geoff Tate) released their eponymous album on June 24 and 25, 2013 (European and American release date, respectively). Both bands toured in 2013 and 2014. The band has since recorded two more albums with Todd La Torre - Condition Hüman (2015) and The Verdict - while Geoff Tate has continued recording and performing with his version of Queensrÿche under the name Operation: Mindcrime.

In 1981, The Mob put together sufficient funds to record a demo tape. Still without a singer, Geoff Tate  was once again enlisted to help, much to the disapproval of his then-current band, Myth. The group recorded the four songs "Queen of the Reich", "Nightrider", "Blinded", and "The Lady Wore Black", the latter of which Geoff Tate had written the lyrics for. For an entire year, they brought their demo to various labels and were rejected by all of them. The Mob were ultimately offered a management contract by Kim and Diana Harris, the owners of Easy Street Records. However, as Geoff Tate remained committed to staying in Myth, the band reluctantly searched for another singer.

Because the name "The Mob" was not available, their manager urged them to choose a different name. They reportedly ran out of ideas, and decided to name the band after the first song on their demo tape, "Queen of the Reich". The spelling "Queensreich" was modified to prevent association of the band with Nazism; "ryche" is a Middle English cognate to "Reich" which, like the German word, can mean "realm", "kingdom" or "empire". The name "Queensrÿche" is written with a metal umlaut over the letter 'y'. As the band later joked: "The umlaut over the 'y' has haunted us for years. We spent eleven years trying to explain how to pronounce it." The umlaut is used on all of Queensrÿche's releases, except for their 2011 album, Dedicated to Chaos.

Brodey offered Queensrÿche a contract with EMI, spanning 15 years and encompassing seven albums. EMI re-released the EP  Queensrÿche to moderate success, peaking at No. 81 on the Billboard charts. The band toured with Quiet Riot through the Southern US and with Twisted Sister to the East Coast of the US and Canada, and opened for Dio in Seattle.

After the EP tour, Queensrÿche travelled to London to record their first full-length album. The band worked with producer James Guthrie, who had worked with Pink Floyd and Judas Priest. Released in September 1984, The Warning showed the band in an early stage of development, playing classic heavy metal songs. It peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard album chart, a moderate commercial success. While none of the singles released from The Warning charted domestically, "Take Hold of the Flame" was a hit for the band outside the U.S., and particularly in Japan. The band's first full-scale U.S. tour (in support of this album) was as the opening act for Kiss on their Animalize tour and Iron Maiden on their Powerslave  tour. They also opened for Dio and Accept on their tours for The Last in Line and Metal Heart  respectively.

Rage for Order, released in 1986, introduced a much more polished look and sound for Queensrÿche, while the band was pressured by their management to adopt an image more closely associated with Glam metal. Geoff Tate later described the period as "we were really into that image and we failed miserably." However, the album itself was slightly more progressive than the band's previous releases, having a layered and complex musical structure, and featuring keyboards as prominently as guitars. A video was filmed for the song "Gonna Get Close to You", written and originally recorded in 1984 by Dalbello. The song "Rage for Order" was written and demoed for the album, but it was not included on the final release. The main riff from this song was worked into an instrumental piece played during some shows on the tour in support of this album, and eventually morphed into the track "Anarchy-X" on their next album. Queensrÿche supported Rage for Order with a tour that included opening for AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Ozzy Osbourne and Ratt, and playing with other bands such as Black 'n Blue, Fates Warning, Gang Green, Keel and Raven.

The release of Empire (1990) brought Queensrÿche to the height of their commercial popularity. It peaked at No. 7 and sold more than three million copies in the United States, more than their previous four releases combined, and it was also certified silver in the UK. The power ballad "Silent Lucidity", which featured an orchestra, became the band's first Top 10 single. The arrangements on Empire were more straightforward than the band's previous efforts.

The subsequent Building Empires tour was the first full-fledged tour to feature Queensrÿche as a headlining act, the band had previously headlined a tour in Japan in support of Operation: Mindcrime, and had headlined a handful of club and theater shows in the U.S. between 1984 and 1988, and the UK in 1988. The group used its headlining status to perform Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety, as well as songs from Empire. The tour lasted 18 months, longer than any tour the band had undertaken before or has since. The tour also added a black page to the band's history, when during a show in a sports hall in  Ichtegem, Belgium on November 20, 1990, a scuffle in the audience resulted in a Belgian fan fatally stabbed in the chest. Tour manager Howard Ungerleider immediately stopped the show as the band was only playing the seventh song on the set list, "Roads to Madness". A live album, recorded May 10–12, 1991, was released later that year as Operation: Livecrime. The tour also included an MTV Unplugged  appearance at Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles on April 27, 1992.

Compounding the disappointing sales of the album were issues that plagued the band on the subsequent tour. Less than one month into the Hear in the Now Frontier-tour, Geoff Tate became seriously ill and the band was forced to cancel concert dates for the first time. In an even bigger blow, the band's longtime label, EMI America Records, went bankrupt during the same period. Queensrÿche was forced to use its own money to finance the remaining two months of the tour. The band played a handful of December shows in South America because of contractual obligations, and it was during this time, late 1997, that founding member Chris DeGarmo announced that he was leaving Queensrÿche.

However, his departure was not announced to the public until January 24, 1998. Members of the band have later cited burnout and a desire to pursue interests outside of Queensrÿche as reasons for his departure. For example, Scott Rockenfield has said: "He wanted to pursue other things. He felt like he had done what he wanted musically in his life, and wanted to move on." After leaving Queensrÿche, Chris DeGarmo began a full-time career as a professional business jet pilot. His involvement with music has since been sporadic. He remains highly regarded in the eyes of Queensrÿche's fan base.

with band members from Brother Cane and recorded a self-titled album.

After the release of a Greatest Hits collection in 2000, Queensrÿche embarked on another tour, this time in support of Iron Maiden. This enabled the band to play Madison Square Garden for the first time. Unhappy with the lack of support they felt they received from Atlantic Records, Queensrÿche moved to Sanctuary Records in 2001. In July of that year, the band performed a handful of dates at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington. The shows were recorded and released in September 2001 as Live Evolution, the band's second live album. In 2001 and 2002, Geoff Tate worked on his self-titled first solo album, which was released on June 25, 2002.

Kelly Gray was fired from the band in May 2002, which according to Scott Rockenfield was "because of his personal abuse habits and ongoing problems".

The album debuted at No. 14, the highest chart position for a Queensrÿche album since 1997. The group embarked on a headlining tour in support of the album, joined by Pamela Moore in her role as Sister Mary. The tour featured performances of both Mindcrime albums in their entirety. Ronnie James Dio  appeared at the Gibson Amphitheatre show in Universal City, California to perform his vocals as Dr. X on "The Chase", and was shown on a video screen at the other shows. Dio's appearance was recorded, and included as an extra on the 2007 DVD release Mindcrime at the Moore.

Parker Lundgren (formerly of The Nihilists and Sledgeback, who also played on Geofff Tate's solo tour and was in a relationship with Tate's stepdaughter Miranda) replaced Mike Stone on the ensuing tour.

Over the course of the band's next three shows, Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield, and Eddie Jackson felt that Geoff continued to misbehave and they came "to the conclusion that they can no longer work or perform with Mr. Tate." They called a band meeting on June 5 (some sources say June 6). Geoff Tate withdrew from this conference call, after which the other band members voted to "consider Geoff Tate expelled from the band" and "continue to use the Queensrÿche name with a new lead singer", prompting Geoff Tate to take legal action.

While Geoff Tate continued working on an upcoming solo album, Kings & Thieves, and a subsequent tour, Queensrÿche's other band members started the side project that eventually became Rising West. Michael Wilton explained that: "Originally this was deemed as a side project, because we were told by our management that we were not going to do anything for the next year so hey, we have to survive." They already had been approached by Glen Parrish of PGM Management after their show on June 9, 2012, who offered to become their band manager. According to Michael Wilton, Glen Parrish had told the management company in Los Angeles: "I have something very hot here and we should grab these guys before someone else does". After band negotiations with "at least 3 or 4 record labels", Glen Parrish chose to sign Queensrÿche with Century Media.

Still in search of a frontman for the at-the-time unnamed project, Michael Wilton recommended Todd La Torre to his bandmates, the then-frontman of Crimson Glory, whom he had met several months prior at the NAMM Show in January 2012. Their encounter had resulted in a songwriting collaboration, among others on a song named "Don't Look Back", which in 2013 would make its way onto Queensrÿche's self-titled album. The band heard some of Todd La Torre's demos on YouTube, and took a leap of faith by booking and announcing two shows at Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe on June 8 and 9, 2012, even before Todd La Torre met the band members. The project would initially be called "West", which stood for the four members of the band: "Wilton, Eddie, Scott and Todd", but was later renamed "Rising West" at the suggestion of Eddie Jackson.

The band was enthusiastic about this addition to the name, because it reflected the feeling that the project was "something really fresh" for everyone involved; it additionally referred to the band members living on the West Coast, flowed better as a band name than simply "West", and [in deemphasizing the WEST acronym] acknowledged that Parker Lundgren was also going to participate in the project.

The shows were publicly announced on May 29, 2012, revealing that they would focus on Queensrÿche's older work. Both shows sold out in 48 hours, among others to fans from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. When the band flew Todd La Torre in from Florida to Seattle nine days before the show to rehearse at Scott Rockenfield's house, they hadn't played a note together, nor did they know whether it would work. Although Todd La Torre was a big fan of Queensrÿche's older albums, he was not very familiar with the songs on Promised Land and they had only limited time to prepare for the shows, the band focused on the material from the Queensrÿche EP to the band's fourth studio album,

Empire, which are generally considered the band's heaviest releases, and according to Todd La Torre: "are the songs and the time period that most represented the core sound of what Queensryche material was about". Their first rehearsal together went very smoothly, according to Michael Wilton: "we blasted through 18 to 20 songs and everybody was amazed from the professionality, the musicianship and tone of Todd’s voice." Scott Rockenfield was immediately reassured: "the second we played "Queen of the Reich", it was all over."

Meanwhile, Geoff Tate, along with his wife, moved forward with the lawsuit they had filed against his former bandmates, claiming unlawful termination and seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent both himself and the remaining bandmembers from using the Queensrÿche name until the issue was resolved. While the Washington state superior court denied this motion on July 13, 2012, they also denied a counter-motion for a preliminary summary judgment filed by the defense (Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield); collectively, these rulings enabled both parties to use the brand "Queensrÿche" until a court ruling or settlement further clarified the matter. Subsequent to this temporary verdict, both entities toured with independent bands under the "Queensrÿche" moniker between June 2012 and April 2014, with one incarnation consisting of the remaining Queensryche members fronted by Todd La Torre, and the other featuring Geoff Tate with his own lineup. In addition, both versions of the group released studio albums during this time, with Geoff Tate's incarnation releasing Frequency Unknown in April 2013, and the Todd La Torre-fronted lineup releasing a self-titled album two months later.

A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, and a statement from both parties was released on April 28, 2014. The statement announced that Geoff Tate lost the brand Queensrÿche to Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson, who together with Todd La Torre and Parker Lundgren are to be "the sole band recording and touring as Queensryche", while former vocalist Geoff Tate solely has the right to play Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II in their entirety "in unique performances". On May 5, 2014, a press release was released through Michael Wilton's Facebook page, further clarifying the specifics of the settlement.

as well as a video from that tour, although in this context it is used to indicate that the fans are helping to rebuild the band's career.

In a January 2015 interview, lead vocalist Todd La Torre revealed that in February they would "hopefully" start tracking their next album. Three months later, guitarist Michael Wilton spoke to interviewer Jennifer Kessinger at the 2015 Welcome to Rockville Festival about the songwriting progress of the album, which was being recorded at the Uberbeatz studio in Washington with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris. Michael Wilton said that "it is everything that a fan of Queensrÿche would want from the band" and stated that in more recent concerts and festivals, fans had expressed their satisfaction with the band's current line up. Michael Wilton revealed in a later interview that they had finished recording the album, and it was being in the process of being mixed and mastered before being sent off to their record label Century Media Records. However, he did not reveal a title or release date.

On July 17, 2015, the band announced that a clip of a new song titled "Arrow of Time" would be released to fans who participated in their PledgeMusic campaign. The song was the opening track of the new album, titled Condition Hüman. On August 3, the album's track list and artwork were revealed. Todd La Torre stated that "The artwork depicts a beautiful innocence surrounded by the darkness of a jaded unpredictable world." The new album was released on October 2, 2015.

In the weeks leading up to the release of Condition Hüman the band toured North America with German hard rock veterans Scorpions. After the new album's release, the band embarked on a tour of the United States in early 2016, and a European tour in September of that year. In October 2016, the band performed in Australia and the Far East. On March 28, 2017, the band announced Scott Rockenfield  would take paternity leave to care for his newborn son, and that Kamelot drummer Casey Grillo would fill in his spot for upcoming live dates. In August 2018, guitarist Mike Stone returned for a couple of months filling in for Parker Lundgren who had to take care of "personal things".