Queensryche

Queensrÿche's story starts in a garage in Bellevue, Washington, where its early line-up played covers of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest before finding a direction of its own. Formed in 1980, the American progressive metal band passed through the names Cross+Fire and the Mob before settling on Queensrÿche in 1982. It is often grouped with Dream Theater and Fates Warning as the genre's Big Three.

Its 1982 self-released EP drew a following beyond Washington and a deal with EMI Records, but the breakthrough came with The Warning (1984), Rage for Order (1986) and Operation: Mindcrime (1988), the last widely considered among the greatest heavy metal concept albums. Empire (1990) carried the hit Silent Lucidity, and the band has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. In April 2012 Geoff Tate was dismissed after a backstage altercation in São Paulo and replaced by Todd La Torre. A 2014 settlement gave founding members Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson the trademark, and the La Torre line-up has since released Condition Hüman (2015), The Verdict (2019) and Digital Noise Alliance (2022).