Queensrÿche (EP)
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''Queensrÿche'' is the debut EP by the American
progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad :Fusion music genres, fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven s ...
band
Queensrÿche Queensrÿche is an American heavy metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup ...
, released independently in 1982 through 206 Records and reissued later that next year through EMI-America. A remastered edition was reissued in 2003 through
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
.


Background

In the early 1980s, Queensrÿche was known as The Mob, a
cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. Ne ...
that played songs from popular heavy metal bands such as
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
and
Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...
. Their line-up consisted of guitarists
Chris DeGarmo Christopher Lee DeGarmo (born June 14, 1963) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a rhythm and lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche from their formation in 1 ...
and
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 ...
, drummer
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 ...
and bassist Eddie Jackson. Without a singer, they performed several shows with
Geoff Tate Geoff Tate (born Jeffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959; he later changed his first name to Geoffery or Geoffrey) (Pp. 11, 48). is an American singer and songwriter. He rose to fame with the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, who had commercial ...
, who at the time was the front man of the local band Babylon, and later of Myth. Tate chose not to join The Mob, because he was not interested in performing heavy metal covers. Inspired by the positive responses from their performances at local rock festivals, The Mob decided to switch from playing cover songs to writing original music. The four members, who were between 17 and 19 years old, rehearsed five days a week in the basement of Rockenfield's parents, and took on at least two jobs each to earn enough money to record a 24-track demo tape. They booked the
graveyard shift The shift plan, rota or roster (esp. British) is the central component of a shift schedule in shift work. The schedule includes considerations of shift overlap, shift change times and alignment with the clock, vacation, training, shift differenti ...
s from Monday through Friday at Triad Studios in
Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 census, up from 54,144 in 2010. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an an ...
, to record four songs. Tate was asked to join the band for the recording sessions, and in the same week write the lyrics to one unfinished song, which became "The Lady Wore Black". The whistle at the beginning of "The Lady Wore Black" was unintentional, as Brett Miller recalls: "Geoff needed to set the mood, so he had the lights turned off and sang with a single candle burning in the studio. While waiting for his first verse to come up, he whistled along with the opening guitar not realizing they were taping him. He told them it was a mistake, but everyone agreed it was cool, so they kept it." Attempts to be signed to a label through the demo were unsuccessful. Kim and Diana Harris, the owners of Easy Street Records, ultimately offered The Mob a management contract. As the band name "The Mob" was not available, it was changed to "Queensrÿche". Kim Harris sent the demo tape and a band photo to a friend at the British music magazine ''
Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'', resulting in a glowing review and causing a growing buzz in both the United States and Europe, following which the Harrises released Queensrÿche's demo tape as a self-titled EP on their independent 206 Records label in 1983. After the EP garnered international praise, receiving much
airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...
and selling an unusual number of copies for a small independent release, Tate agreed to leave Myth and become Queensrÿche's permanent lead singer. Kim Harris convinced EMI-America A&R manager Mavis Brodey to see Queensrÿche perform as the opening act for
Zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
in
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and Seattle on June 29–30, 1983. Brodey offered Queensrÿche a contract with EMI, spanning 15 years and encompassing seven albums. To support the EP, the band toured with
Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow and drummer Drew F ...
through the
south South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and with
Twisted Sister Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with m ...
to the
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and Canada, and played in Seattle opening for Dio. After the tour had ended in November 1983, the band began preparations for their first studio album, '' The Warning''.


Reissues

Shortly after Queensrÿche were signed, EMI re-released the EP ''Queensrÿche'' to moderate success, peaking at No. 81 on the
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
charts. "
Queen of the Reich "Queen of the Reich" is a heavy metal song first recorded in 1981 for a demo tape by "The Mob", later known as Queensrÿche. "Queen of the Reich" was first recorded on ''Queensrÿche'' (a.k.a. ''Queensrÿche EP'') along with "The Lady Wore Black" ...
" was released as a single. The 1988 reissue by EMI saw the addition of a bonus track, "Prophecy", which was recorded during the ''
Rage for Order ''Rage for Order'' is the second studio album by the American progressive metal band Queensrÿche, released on June 27, 1986. The album was re-released on May 6, 2003 with four bonus tracks. Overview ''Rage for Order'' was more progressive than ...
'' sessions in 1985–86. This song was performed live by the band circa 1983, and was included on the 1984 ''Live in Tokyo'' home video. A demo version of "Prophecy" appears on the soundtrack for the movie '' The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'', and on the deluxe edition of '' Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensryche''. On the 2003 remastered edition, tracks 5–14 were live recordings of Queensrÿche's second performance in the tour supporting ''The Warning'', held August 5, 1984, at the
Nippon Seinenkan The is a hotel and convention complex in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. The main hall can accommodate 1,360 guests. Performances Musical artists who have performed at the Nippon Seinenkan include Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku, on July 1, 2012. Others inclu ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
,
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. The performance was previously released on VHS in 1984 as ''Live in Tokyo'', but is now out of print.


Critical reception

In 2005, ''Queensrÿche'' was ranked number 336 in ''Rock Hard'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia noted an "obvious
Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...
influence" and the "'dungeons and dragons' lyrical themes" of the EP's songs. Rivadavia praised the song "The Lady Wore Black" for "display ngmore maturity – a sign of things to come." Rivadavia concluded his review by saying "this is a must-have release for Queensrÿche fans."


Track listing


Personnel

;Queensrÿche *
Geoff Tate Geoff Tate (born Jeffrey Wayne Tate, January 14, 1959; he later changed his first name to Geoffery or Geoffrey) (Pp. 11, 48). is an American singer and songwriter. He rose to fame with the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, who had commercial ...
 – lead 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 Christopher Lee DeGarmo (born June 14, 1963) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a rhythm and lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche from their formation in 1 ...
 – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead guitar on "Queen of the Reich" and "The Lady Wore Black" * Eddie Jackson – bass, backing vocals *
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 ;Production * Queensrÿche –
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
* Tom Hall –
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
* Ron Luder – mastering *
Neil Kernon Neil Kernon is an English musician, record producer, mixer and recording engineer from London. He is a Grammy Award winner and has worked on over 100 Gold and Platinum records. Biography Born to a musical family, Kernon's formal musical trai ...
 – production (track 5) * Wes Griswold -
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, concept,
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s


Charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Queensryche (Album) 1983 debut EPs Queensrÿche albums Queensrÿche EPs