queensryche Details

In the early '80s, Queensrÿche (along with Fates Warning) fused '70s progressive rock with the screaming guitars and "heaviness" of '80s metal to form a new genre: progressive metal. Dubbed "Thinking Man's Metal" Queensrÿche influenced many of the later bands that would expand the genre even further - including Psychotic Waltz and Dream Theater.
 From The Mob to Queensrÿche (early 1980s)
 The foundations for Queensrÿche began in the early 1980s. Guitarist Michael Wilton and drummer Scott Rockenfield were members of a band called Cross_Fire, who covered songs from popular heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Before long Cross_Fire added guitarist Chris DeGarmo and bassist Eddie Jackson to their lineup, and changed their name to The Mob. The Mob, who were without a singer, recruited Geoff Tate to sing for them at a local rock festival. At the time, Tate was already in a band called Babylon. After Babylon broke up Tate performed a few shows with The Mob, but left because he was not interested in performing heavy metal.[1]
 
 In 1981, The Mob put together sufficient funds to record a demo tape. Once again, Tate was enlisted to help. The group recorded four songs - "Queen of the Reich," "Nightrider," "Blinded" and "The Lady Wore Black." The group brought their demo to various labels and were rejected by all of them. Tate also was still committed to staying in his then-current band, Myth.[1]
 
 At the urging of their new manager, The Mob changed their name to Queensrÿche (reportedly inspired by the first song on their demo). They were the first band to apply the heavy metal umlaut to the letter Y. As Tate later joked: "The umlaut over the 'y' has haunted us for years. We spent eleven years trying to explain how to pronounce it."[2]
 
 The demo tape was widely circulated and received a glowing review in Kerrang! Magazine. On the strength of the growing buzz surrounding them, Queensrÿche released their Queen of the Reich EP on their own 206 Records label in 1983. Based on the success of the EP, Tate agreed to leave Myth and become Queensrÿche's permanent lead singer.[1] That same year, the band signed to EMI and re-released Queen of the Reich as Queensrÿche to moderate success, peaking at #81 on the Billboard charts.
 After the EP tour, Queensrÿche travelled to London to record their first full-length album. The band worked with producer James Guthrie, who had worked with Pink Floyd and Judas Priest. Released in September 1984, The Warning featured more progressive elements than the band's debut. It peaked at #61 on the Billboard album chart, a moderate commercial success. While none of the singles released from The Warning charted domestically, "Take Hold of the Flame" was a hit for the band outside the US (particularly in Japan).[3]