Geoff Tate, Chris DeGarmo In The Studio For Queensryche's 'Empire' 35th Anniversary

08-25-2025

The 35th anniversary of Queensryche's "Empire" album is being celebrated by the syndicated radio show In The Studio With Redbeard: The Stories Behind History's Greatest Rock Bands.

Redbeard shared this synopsis for the episode: As early as 1983's "Eyes of a Stranger", Seattle's Queensryche had shown that they could rock with conviction, while 1988's thematic Operation: Mindcrime revealed keen collective intellect with bold musical ambition, but it was September 1990's fourth full Queensryche effort, Empire, that planted the quintet's flag in a whole new territory of popularity atop the sales charts. And Empire by Queensryche has aged not a lick in thirty-five years in its ability to rock your viral blues away while surgically implanting multiple massive chorus hooks in your head. Before leaving, Queensryche dual founders Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo held court with me while dealing in the coin of the realm including "Best I Can", "Another Rainy Night", "Jet City Woman", "Resistance", "Hand on Heart", and the epic "Silent Lucidity" here In the Studio.

This Empire had scope, extending into the following year as the #9 seller for the entire year 1991! Watching the February 1992 internationally-televised Grammy Awards, there was Queensryche performing the most unlikely Top Ten Billboard hit and Grammy-nominated Rock Song of the Year, "Silent Lucidity" from September 1990 release Empire, live with a symphony orchestra conducted by the late Michael Kamen. Telecast worldwide to hundreds of millions, I couldn't help but note how far Queensryche had come - how far rock had come - to be recognized in such a prestigious mainstream manner. As you hear in this classic rock interview, it certainly hadn't started out that way for the Seattle quintet.

Co-founder/composer/guitarist Chris DeGarmo and former singer/ songwriter Geoff Tate may be gone now ( the former pilots corporate jets, the latter heads the band Operation Mindcrime), but they tell the story of the blockbuster four million-seller Empire and the amazing songs "Best I Can", "Jet City Woman","Della Brown"," Resistance","Hand on Heart", even a live performance from London's Hammersmith Odeon just weeks after Empire's 1990 release.

Stream the episode here