I had to write this, based on Queensryche's "Frequency Unknown" cover art alone.
For those
not in the know, Queensryche was a band who hit the peak of their success in
the late 80’s and early 90’s. “Silent Lucidity” was their big song, and they
even performed it at the 1992 Grammy Awards Show. It’s a good song but it’s one
of those that you may or may not remember, and if you don’t, you might remember
if you heard it. 1992 was also the year that produced “Love Is On The Way” and “How
Do You Talk To An Angel?”, so if you had decided to plug your ears with flannel
by that point, no one would have blamed you.
Killed 80's rock.
Now, when I
said that the late 80’s/early 90’s was when they peaked, I mean that in terms
of both commercial and artistic success. As part of their old school faithful,
I’ll speak on behalf of us and say that 1994’s “Promised Land” was their last
good album. The one after that saw them trying to adopt some the alternative rock vibe
that was prevalent in the 90’s, but it just didn’t work for them at all. After
that album, guitarist Chris DeGarmo, their main songwriter, quit. The band then
continued releasing albums and touring, until recently.
You may
have noticed that I refer to Queensryche in the past tense. Does that mean they
aren’t together anymore? Well, that is the crux of this write-up. About a year
ago, there was an on stage altercation between frontman Geoff Tate, guitarist
Michael Wilton, and drummer Scott Rockenfield. The details differ, depending on
who is telling the story, but it came down to Tate allegedly punching both Wilton and Rockenfield in
the face. Leading up to this was a myriad of issues, including band politics,
financial problems, and personal issues, and it apparently boiled over at the
soundcheck to a show in Brazil.
There are stories that involved the rest of the band trying to fire Tate's wife as manager, of her using band money to fund one of the other bands she managed, and of Tate selling the rights to their "Operation: Mindcrime" concept album to a movie studio without the rest of the band's knowledge. Before the soundcheck, Tate called a band meeting that addressed these issues, and reportedly it didn't end well. Things escalated on stage when Tate attacked Rockenfield (Tate says that the drummer insulted his wife), then Wilson. So, after some grills were knocked around, the band divided into two camps.
Cabaret singer, saxophone, and a guitar with skulls. Totally on the same page.
Tate
decided to form his own version of Queensryche with all new members. He
recently released a new album called “Frequency Unknown”. Yes, the initials for
this album are F.U. Somehow, I didn’t catch that at first! I really only
realized it until I saw the album cover. Man, oh man. So, here it is…
Subtle!
That is the
album cover. A fist with the Queensryche logo, on the middle finger no less, flanked
by the letters F and U. Wouldn’t it be great if Wilson and Rockenfield
photoshopped that as an impression left on their faces from the punching?
Seriously, short of using a picture of him punching Wilson and Rockenfield,
this is about as not-subtle as Tate could get. Radio personality Eddie Trunk asked Tate about the cover, to which Tate replied that people read into things as they will. That was seriously his answer. We're all a bunch of jerks who can't see an obvious, thinly-veiled insult. Alright then. He also has re-recorded some of the band's biggest hits, one of them being "Silent Lucidity".
Meanwhile, right before the situation escalated to the punching incident, the rest of the band had been performing with vocalist Todd Le Torre under the name of Rising West. They had been performing older, seldom-played Queensryche songs, playing two shows in their hometown of Seattle. After the blowup, they continued playing, but now under the Queensryche moniker. However, so is Tate, having gathered together a new band to back him. Both sides are currently in court, fighting over who can claim the right to the Queensryche name and brand; in the meantime, both are using it. The Le Torre-fronted version of the band is working on their own album, simply titled "Queensryche". Where Tate has gone for the spiteful approach and uses his album to address the situation, the others seem to have gone for a minimalist approach, and would seem to be interested in having the music do the talking.
The other Queensryche's album.
As I'm not in the know and only have to go on what both sides talk about in the media, I cannot say who is right and who is wrong here. It's great to think of bands as brotherhoods, but in the real world it doesn't always work out that way. The music business is just that: a business. Sometimes bandmates are merely business partners. Tate has a well-documented distaste for the edgier material; he went so far as to have 'Ryche perform cabaret shows a few years ago. This would explain why the rest of the band formed what was essentially a cover band to play their own hard rock music. Having not heard Tate's new album, I cannot say how heavy or soft his album is. So, in the end, we're left with two versions of the same band. Both have songs that are available for listening, and it'll be up to the fans to decide who to support.
Somewhere, Chris DeGarmo, now a charter pilot, is shaking his head, glad to be out of this situation.
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