Rushman14 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I guess the writing was on the wall. http://billboard.com/photos/stylus//2281059-queensryche-new-singer-412.jpg Rock band Queensryche is continuing forward without vocalist Geoff Tate, who will be replaced by Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre, Billboard has exclusively learned. "Over the past few months, there have been growing creative differences within Queensryche. We want our fans to know that we hoped to find a common resolution, but in the end parting ways with Geoff was the best way for everyone to move forward in a positive direction," drummer Scott Rockenfield said in a statement. "We wish him the best of luck with all of his future endeavors. We can't wait to bring Queensryche to our fans with Todd behind the microphone." The statement also said that scheduled Queensryche performances "are on hold at [the] present time and revised routing is being worked on. Fans can check the band's website for all of the latest tour information as it [becomes] available." Billboard requested a comment from Tate through Jeff Albright of the Albright Entertainment Group, but it wasn't received by press time. Queensryche also includes guitarists Michael Wilton and Parker Lundgren and bassist Eddie Jackson. Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson are among the group's original members. Tate joined the band after it formed in 1981. Guitarist and founding member Chris DeGarmo left Queensryche in 1997 and briefly rejoined in 2003 for Queensryche's "Tribe" album. Kelly Gray originally filled DeGarmo's slot, followed by Mike Stone, until Lundgren joined in 2009. La Torre said in a statement a few weeks ago, and reiterated during an interview on Ron Keel's "Streets of Rock & Roll" radio show that was posted online on June 14, that he still remains a member of Crimson Glory. Fans and media have speculated about the state of Queensryche, which marked its 30th anniversary last year, for weeks due to rumors of internal conflict. They were sparked by an unconfirmed posting on MetalSludge.tv that Tate allegedly became violent toward other bandmates prior to an April show in Brazil after allegedly being fired. Then, during the Rocklahoma fest during Memorial Day weekend, Tate told the crowd "you guys suck" as he tried to get the audience to respond more enthusiastically. On May 29 the other members of Queensryche announced it was forming a project called Rising West with La Torre. Rising West posted June 5 on its Facebook page that it was "being denied access to our own Facebook page and website (meaning Queensryche)," which promoted other side projects, such as Tate's wine business and Rockenfield's recording endeavors. In response, Tate's step-daughter, Miranda, posted June 7 on Facebook that "it's about time to get some truth on the table" and denied that other members couldn't access the site, among other alleged problems. Rising West played Queensryche's older material at two sold-out shows June 8-9 at Seattle's Hard Rock Cafe. In subsequent interviews, Rising West and Tate deflected questions about the situation. When Rising West appeared June 7 on KISM Seattle radio show "The Men's Room," Rockenfield said it was "a day-to-day" process as Queensryche determined its next move, but the band would definitely continue. Blabbermouth.net reported that during a June 15 interview on KISW, Tate said, "Just hang in there. Everything's moving along and everything's looking good" regarding the group. Queensryche was scheduled to perform June 11 to open for the Scorpions in West Valley City, Utah, but only Tate appeared, backed by his solo band. NRToday.com reported June 18 that Queensryche had canceled its Aug. 10 appearance at the Douglas County Fair in Oregon, with Eddie Money replacing the act. It stated that fairgrounds director Harold Phillips attributed the cancellation to a falling out between Tate and the band. Tate has continued playing dates on his solo tour, which coincided with Queensryche's dates for its current tour. Queensryche is a Grammy Award-nominated band that broke into the mainstream with the 1988 concept album "Operation: Mindcrime." The group has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide, according to the statement. It's biggest U.S. radio hit was 1991's "Silent Lucidity," which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Well...it was coming. Geoff Tate has seemingly been losing his marbles. Now, they are just a Chris DeGarmo away from getting completely back on track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushman14 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (EmotionDetector @ Jun 20 2012, 09:56 AM) Well...it was coming. Geoff Tate has seemingly been losing his marbles. yeah he belongs in some cabaret show in Vegas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Enjoy your career in wine and playing for 100 people Fat Boy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rushman14 Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (metaldad @ Jun 20 2012, 10:22 AM) Enjoy your career in wine and playing for 100 people Fat Boy yes. let this be a rebirth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jun 20 2012, 12:27 PM) QUOTE (metaldad @ Jun 20 2012, 10:22 AM) Enjoy your career in wine and playing for 100 people Fat Boy yes. let this be a rebirth. I am looking foward to it and i read they have songs written Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (metaldad @ Jun 20 2012, 01:41 PM) QUOTE (Rushman14 @ Jun 20 2012, 12:27 PM) QUOTE (metaldad @ Jun 20 2012, 10:22 AM) Enjoy your career in wine and playing for 100 people Fat Boy yes. let this be a rebirth. I am looking foward to it and i read they have songs written Me too...but I really wish that DeGarmo would come back. To me, he was not only a fantastic guitar player, but the guy could write. He made Tate look good. He was the heart and soul of Queensryche IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormtron Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Can't wait for Tate to release a statement saying everything is still fine with the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (Storm Shadow @ Jun 20 2012, 02:08 PM) Can't wait for Tate to release a statement saying everything is still fine with the band. It will happen, I'm sure. As of right now, there is nothing about this anywhere on the official QR site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickfree Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 The way this whole thing went down reminds me of another band that nixed their singer, Live. They fired original singer Ed Kowalczyk over a contract issue and then searched for a singer that took another 2 years after doing a side project album. Only QR managed to find the new singer in less than 2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Finally we might get a good album from Queensryche for the first time in about 20 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (treeduck @ Jun 20 2012, 02:45 PM) Finally we might get a good album from Queensryche for the first time in about 20 years... If only that would happen..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (Workaholic Man @ Jun 20 2012, 03:07 PM) QUOTE (treeduck @ Jun 20 2012, 02:45 PM) Finally we might get a good album from Queensryche for the first time in about 20 years... If only that would happen..... Losing Tate is a good sign... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemispheresserehpsimeH Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Meh, as much as Tate hasn't written a lot of great songs over the years, the band has now lost the two biggest songwriters for the band. DeGarmo and Tate made the band what it was back in the day. With both of them gone now, I'd love to see a good QR album with this new singer, but I get the feeling they'll be some crappy 80s metal band now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Jun 20 2012, 03:32 PM) Meh, as much as Tate hasn't written a lot of great songs over the years, the band has now lost the two biggest songwriters for the band. DeGarmo and Tate made the band what it was back in the day. With both of them gone now, I'd love to see a good QR album with this new singer, but I get the feeling they'll be some crappy 80s metal band now. Critics would say that's all they ever were... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (treeduck @ Jun 20 2012, 03:18 PM) QUOTE (Workaholic Man @ Jun 20 2012, 03:07 PM) QUOTE (treeduck @ Jun 20 2012, 02:45 PM) Finally we might get a good album from Queensryche for the first time in about 20 years... If only that would happen..... Losing Tate is a good sign... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemispheresserehpsimeH Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Tate should just get DeGarmo back on his own now and make another album with him. I'd still take anything DeGarmo writes over Rockenfield/Wilton/Lundgren any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionDetector Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Jun 20 2012, 04:42 PM) Tate should just get DeGarmo back on his own now and make another album with him. I'd still take anything DeGarmo writes over Rockenfield/Wilton/Lundgren any day. Yeah, but I don't believe that Tate and DeGarmo would be on the same wave length in terms of musical direction. I believe that's what drove DeGarmo away originally, and they've only progressively gotten worse since that's time, as well as further away from what they used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeduck Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 QUOTE (HemispheresserehpsimeH @ Jun 20 2012, 03:42 PM) Tate should just get DeGarmo back on his own now and make another album with him. I'd still take anything DeGarmo writes over Rockenfield/Wilton/Lundgren any day. Well I guess we won't be seeing you in the Queensryche threads then or any other Queensryche related threads because that will never happen... I won't miss you either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocket ignites Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Wow... I've been on somewhat of a Queensryche binge lately...rediscovering some of their catalog, and listening to some other material for the first time. Not sure what to think of the band going forward... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beherit Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 odd, I listened to operation mindcrime this morning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Ways Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Interesting story: I was at a Jon Oliva's Pain show last saturday night and one of the opening acts was Jet City, a QR tribute band. The singer in the tribute band actually pointed out the new Queensryche singer who was in attendance at the show. The tribute band singer was actually pretty good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J2112YYZ Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 They've shit so bad on their legacy since Q2K that I can't even begin to care about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metaldad Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 QUOTE (J2112YYZ @ Jun 20 2012, 06:39 PM) They've shit so bad on their legacy since Q2K that I can't even begin to care about this. I thought they fu*ked up after Promised Land . I really think this is giving them a kick in the pants . Screw Tate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGr8imL84AD8inF8sBlackSedan Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I'm surprised to hear this...I didn't know there was anything going on like this...Oh well...Haven't really been into QR in years anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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