Queensrÿche is an American metal band who were among the originators of American prog-metal. The band was originally formed in the early 1980s under the name The Mob, but by the time they recorded their critically acclaimed eponymous EP, it was released under the Queensrÿche name. The Warning was released in 1984 and proved to be a modest success, reaching No.61 on the Billboard charts.
The follow-up, Rage for Order, was an experimental album which saw the band incorporate more electronics into their sound and dip their toes into the concept album as the songs share central themes and seem to incorporate vampire mythos. Operation: Mindcrime saw the band jump headlong into creating a concept album and was a significant success, commercially and with the critics. Empire consolidated this success, with the track “Silent Lucidity” from the album providing them with their first Top 10 single. This album was like a "social train-of-thought" according to Chris DeGarmo and explores urban life from a social consciousness point of view.
Queensrÿche’s fortunes were damaged by the rising popularity of the grunge era, but it didn’t stop Promised Land, another loose concept album which showed the band exploring the damaged metal state of the unnamed central protagonist due to a dysfunctional family situation, achieving platinum sales and a No.3 on the album charts. Hear in the Now Frontier adopted some of the trademark style of the insurgent grunge sound; it was more sparse and stripped back. The sales were somewhat disappointing as fans failed to appreciate the direction shift. The fortunes of the band declined and it wasn’t until they revisited their earlier concept album with the release of Operation: Mindcrime II that their flagging sales were revitalized.
