I literally became a fan of the band last year, and when I discovered some tracks like "Spreading the Disease" and "Take Hold a Flame," I listened to them more. But before, my posts here about Rage For Order were somewhat negative. Now that I've listened to them more, I've realized I'm a complete idiot... I even bought the CD, but it's an imported copy; it's rare in my country.

Insult me ​​here however you want, as if I were a poser.

I'm a new fan but I've followed the band from the side for years. I know the discography and the general history and drama.

But I've always been really surprised that anytime I hear him in an interview he comes off really cool and genuine.

I don't get fake bullshit vibes off of him when I listen to interviews with him. But then of course, We all know what went down and why would the band replace him or speak ill of all the things that happened if the problems weren't real.

And of course the musical results of the last decade are proof anyways

So what's the deal with this guy? He seems like a genuine dude, But he also seems like he's full of shit at the same time, But he doesn't seem like he's lying either (You understand what I'm saying?)

He seems genuine and real, Like he legitimately believes his side of the story, Not that he's lying or making it up.

Really interested what you guys think.

I definitely think of course he was in the wrong in of course is the "villain", But I guess I'm looking for a "psychological" view or whatever.

Are there seriously no fans out there who agree with me on at least SOME of what I'm about to say?

I'm so tired of comments like "This isn't Queensrÿche," "They're just a cover band," "Without Geoff, they're not worth listening to," or "Without DeGarmo, they're nothing." Dude, ENOUGH ALREADY.

DeGarmo left over 30 years ago, and yes, he was an incredibly important part of Queensrÿche. He and Tate were the creative forces behind Operation: Mindcrime. But the guy had other passions, so he moved on. And while the band has never managed to release anything that surpasses that album or quite reaches the same level, sure, they went through a weird era (to put it mildly), a downright terrible one, even. That happens to pretty much every band at some point. But they've still released some incredible music.

And the thing is, the band has been able to evolve. Wilton, Eddie, and the rest of the guys are making absolutely phenomenal music. Just look at Digital Noise Alliance (DNA), their 2022 album. That record is fucking awesome.

And people seriously have the nerve to say this isn't Queensrÿche? Dude, Wilton and Eddie have been there since day one, since the very beginning, when the whole idea of forming this band first came about.

Okay, Rockenfield isn't there anymore. I'll admit that his absence might affect the band's sound or the overall feel of certain songs to some extent, but people are blowing this way out of proportion.

I'm not saying Casey Grillo is Scott Rockenfield, let alone that he's better than him. I'm just saying he's a solid replacement. The guy does a great job.

Then there's Mike Stone. Come on, he's been in the band before. No, he's not DeGarmo, but the same thing applies here as with Casey. He's a solid player, he does his job well, and it works.

And then there's the frontman, Todd La Torre. The guy who saved the band. He's been Queensrÿche's lead singer for 14 years now.

And THIS is where I really lose my mind.

Obviously, he's not Tate. We all know Geoff is one of the greatest singers in the history of metal. But Todd is REALLY, REALLY good. And to all the people who say, "Queensrÿche without Tate isn't Queensrÿche. Just look at that singer," okay, fine. Then take a look at Tate NOW.

Actually, let's go back 10 years. No, better yet, 14 years. You know what? Go watch Queensrÿche's performance at Rocklahoma in 2012, their last show with Tate. The guy was honestly embarrassing to watch. I'm serious. And on top of that, the songs were being played a half step or even a whole step down.

And honestly, it's pretty much the same story today.

Meanwhile, Todd has been absolutely phenomenal ever since he joined Queensrÿche 14 years ago. He's still killing it. The songs are performed in their original keys, and Todd has a vocal tone remarkably similar to Geoff's, with no trouble hitting those high notes whatsoever.

If things hadn't gone down the way they did between Tate and the rest of the band, and Geoff had stayed, I bet some of these same people would be saying things like, "He's James LaBrie 2.0" or "They need to retire."

They'd find something to criticize either way.

These people act like Geoff is still the exact same singer he was 40 years ago, back in Tokyo in 1984. Newsflash: we all get older. That's life. And Todd is a PERFECT REPLACEMENT. He's also been remarkably consistent vocally throughout his entire time with the band.

And here's another thing, whether people like it or not: THIS IS STILL QUEENSRŸCHE.

And I don't mean that just because they still use the name.

Take Judas Priest, for example. They've gone through lineup changes over the years, and even though they no longer have all their original members, nobody seriously questions whether they're still Judas Priest. Rob Halford joined in 1973, four years after the band was formed, yet he's become one of the most iconic and defining members in the band's history.

And it's the same with Queensrÿche. You've still got Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson, two members of the original lineup who helped build the band's identity from the very beginning. That's two out of the five original members. So why the hell should anyone call them a tribute band? Especially when their current frontman has been with them for 14 years and has helped carry the band forward.

Look at Ritchie Faulkner in Judas Priest, too. He wasn't there from the beginning, but he's become a beloved and important part of the band's modern era. Nobody needs him to be K.K. Downing for him to belong in Judas Priest.

So why can't people give Todd La Torre the same chance? He doesn't have to be Geoff Tate. He's Todd La Torre, and he's been doing an incredible job fronting Queensrÿche for 14 years.

And that's the point I'm trying to make. A band doesn't have to freeze itself in time to remain authentic. Members leave, new members come in, the music evolves, and the band moves forward. That's how things work.

Put all five current members of Queensrÿche together, and they sound absolutely KILLER. They're incredible live. Seriously.

And have you even listened to the albums they've released?

That's why I'm so fucking tired of people saying they want Tate back in Queensrÿche. The Tate era is OVER. It ended a long time ago. Fourteen years ago, to be exact. And don't even get me started on DeGarmo.

I'm sick of people disrespecting Eddie and Michael, two absolute legends, by dismissing what they're doing as nothing more than a cover band.

ENOUGH. Seriously, are you even fans of this band? Or are you just a bunch of Geoff Tate ass-kissers?

And honestly, I'm not even sure it's about Geoff himself, because some of these people seem to be obsessed with a version of him that existed almost five decades ago, as if that's the ONLY version of Geoff Tate that ever mattered.

Queensrÿche is still Queensrÿche. And if you can't accept that, maybe you're the one who's stuck in the past.

Venue was about half full but a great time. Tate acts extremely hammy and in character for O:M, especially playing off the Mary singer, which is entertaining. Band seems happy to be there with lots of energy.

As time has gone on and I ignore the politics of the thing, I think Tate’s gamble on getting the rights to Mindcrime was the smart one. Other albums were big to me, but I’d rather see OM as a set than anything else either group can put together.

Thought I'd share a clip of the guys in London earlier this summer, as I thought they absolutely rocked it, and a recent clip of Geoffs band murdering Needle Lies made me look back at it even more fondly. Thought I had actually caught a clip of them doing Needle, but apparently not - still this rocked.

Full album was played!

Still have not met anyone else who thinks The Warning is their best album except for me, regardless i do love every album they have where Geoff Tate was still the vocalist but The Warning just hits different because its a whole different subgenre of music from Empire and OPM that are the usual fan favorites.

had to order a custom cake to celebrate my queensrÿche obsession! i love this band and all the joy their music has brought me for the past couple of years since i first discovered them. cake was done by restinpieces.tx on instagram, check her out! 🖤

rÿche & roll! 🤘🏻

Queensryche for me ended when DeGarmo exited. Life happened and I didn’t follow them for decades. It is really hard to believe so much time went by.

Recently I fell down an internet rabbit hole and have been catching up.

Good grief!

From Geoff’s power plays to whatever happened with Scott…

The Geoff thing isn’t too surprising. I can see how Chris leaving left a vacuum in terms of overseeing the business end and their management dropped them, having the wife of a band member take over might have seemed like a fast solution.

So the Tates are squeezing out power bit by bit over years until the other guys question it. Then it all blows up. Now he’s playing Mindcrime over and over and doing podcasts where he takes micro aggressions at the other guys.

I don’t get the Scott thing. Absent Tate who came in later, these guys were friends since high school. They seemed tight. Or…not? His work shaped their sound in a major way. A lot had to have gone down that hasn‘t been publicly acknowledged.

Was it the younger wife in Scott’s ear? I definitely question anyone having kids in their fifties. By the time that kid graduates high school, you’re in your seventies and you probably won’t ever see THEIR kids…it’s definitely a questionable life choice to limit the time of that relationship. It isn’t fair to the kid, but older men with wives decades younger aren’t necessarily planning for the future. Maybe she was demanding more and more of his time? Maybe the physicality of banging the drums so long has caused tendon or joint issues that he doesn’t want to publicly discuss?

Anyway, I’m trying to absorb the path taken by the band whose posters covered my bedroom walls.

I need someone (not Geoff though) to write a tell-all book like Sammy Hagar wrote. You know, definitely one sided, embellished for sure, but SOMETHING!

​

I do think for sequel they should have leaned more into the trauma, loneliness, paranoia, social stigma that would have confronted Nikki. I'm American i know is somewhat satirical and ironic but still rah rah bullshit.

At the end of the original, Nikki isn't positioned for another conventional political-thriller adventure. He's psychologically wrecked. Sister Mary is dead, his memories are fragmented, he's been imprisoned, and the ideology that gave his life structure has collapsed. The compelling question isn't really “What does Nikki do next?” It's “How does Nikki exist after this?”

A sequel could have dug into several ugly things at once:

Trauma and grief: Mary isn't merely a lost lover. She's tangled up with his guilt, addiction, manipulation by Dr. X, and probably the only genuine human connection he had left.

Paranoia: Nikki has spent years being manipulated and then incarcerated. Even if nobody is following him anymore, he wouldn't necessarily believe that. That's fertile Mindcrime territory because the listener shouldn't always know whether the threat is real either.

Isolation: Who exactly welcomes Nikki home? He's an ex-con, recovering addict, former political assassin and apparent lunatic claiming he was controlled by a mysterious revolutionary mastermind. That's not exactly a sparkling résumé for rebuilding one's social circle.

Stigma and alienation: The world could have changed while Nikki was imprisoned, yet he hasn't. Imagine him discovering that the political revolution he sacrificed everything for has been commodified, forgotten, or absorbed into ordinary partisan noise.

Identity: This could have been the killer theme. Nikki's entire identity was constructed around Dr. X's ideology. Once he realizes he was used, who is Nikki without someone telling him what to hate?

And then “I'm American” becomes more interesting.

You're right that it's satirical. The flag-waving, chest-thumping quality is intentionally excessive. But imagine putting that song into a record primarily about Nikki's alienation. Everyone around him is screaming simplistic patriotic/political slogans while Nikki has firsthand experience with where ideological absolutism can lead.

Then the rah-rah bullshit becomes part of his sensory environment, rather than the sequel's dominant political statement. Nikki is surrounded by people absolutely certain they understand America, morality, patriotism and politics while he's sitting there thinking:

I once believed I understood all of that too. It destroyed everyone I loved.

That would have connected beautifully to the original album because Mindcrime ultimately isn't interesting because of its specific politics. It's interesting because Nikki desperately wants certainty, and Dr. X gives it to him. That's how he gets captured.

A genuinely ambitious sequel could therefore have been quieter, nastier and psychologically claustrophobic. Less “Dr. X is back, everybody!” and more Nikki wondering whether Dr. X ever actually left his head (or existed???).

And that could have been fucking disturbing.

My dad went to a Queensryche concert back in the 90s 2000s, and he pushed his way up to the front where he wasn’t supposed to be. and he was just yelling rockenfields name and at the end of the show Rockenfield threw both drumsticks as the lights went out and my dad jumped onto the ground and was searching for them and he grabbed one but the other must’ve rolled away but now he gave it teenager me (not saying my age) and for my birthday I got an operation mindcrime vinyl and now proudly display both

Couldn’t believe I had this!

Amazing show and was blown away by his voice.

hey all!! i got meet and greet for my dad this thursday and i and i was wondering how it works, it looks like it’s after the show, but where do i go / who do i tell to get the tickets? it says “go to the will call area” but i have no clue where that would be

I'll listen regardless but is it a different band?

Hadn't listened to the album in a hot minute but it felt great to step into that world again and get a few bonus songs off Empire and finally get to hear Queen of the Reich live which introduced me to the band ❤️

Inspired by Speak from Operation: Mindcrime and born out of the anger, disillusionment, and despair I feel watching US institutions crumble under the weight of money and corruption.

Lady Justice is cracked, her scales are tipped by money; a puppet-master hand representing the “rich control the government, the media, the law” line; a Molotov cocktail; and a woman holding a torch with the words Revolution Will Grow.

The fire represents two kinds of change: revolution from the ground up (Molotov Cocktail) and change within the systems themselves (woman burning the puppet masters strings). Not one or the other - Both are necessary.

And the torchbearer is a woman - because women are going to lead the revolution. (What if Dr X had been a woman?)

There are also a few nods to other favorites woven in, like Take Hold the Flame and Screaming in Digital.

Is it possible Tate stole these songs, given what we know about him now? Wasnt Tate ultimately a fill-in singer for Myth?