"Empire" is a song by the
heavy metal band
Queensrÿche, appearing on their
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
album ''
Empire''.
The lyrical content of the song warns of a foreboding and unstoppable "Empire" of drug trafficking within the United States and its related crimes, that will inevitably lead to the breakdown of civility in American society.
Known as a fan favorite, the group has played the song often live, doing so over a thousand times as of April 2016, and the track is the band's second most played song in its setlist history. It is exceeded only by "
Eyes of a Stranger".
Track listing
;7" single
;12" single
;CD single
Chart performance
Personnel
*
Geoff Tate – vocals
*
Michael Wilton
Michael F. Wilton (born February 23, 1962) also known as The Whip, for how fast his fingers "whip" around the guitar fretboard, is an American musician, best known for being a guitarist and songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, wh ...
– lead guitar
*
Chris DeGarmo – rhythm guitar
*
Eddie Jackson – bass
*
Scott Rockenfield
Scott Rockenfield (born June 15, 1963), also known as SRock, is an American drummer and composer. He is best known as the drummer for the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, which he co-founded in 1982, and the hard rock band Slave to the Syste ...
– drums
Additional personnel
*
Randy Gane – message left on answering machine
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire (Queensryche Song)
1990 singles
1990 songs
EMI Records singles
Queensrÿche songs
Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer)
Songs about drugs
Songs written by Geoff Tate
Songs written by Michael Wilton