Queensrÿche “Silent Lucidity” charted

Silent Lucidity Queensrÿche

Writer(s): Chris DeGarmo (see lyrics here) Released: February 1991 First Charted: January 26, 1991 Peak: 9 US, 15 CB, 13 GR, 15 RR, 11 AR, 18 UK, 7 CN, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 54.4 video, 67.09 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Wasington. After two gold albums, the band’s third release, Operation: Mindcrime was a platinum-selling concept album buoyed by the album rock hits “Eyes of a Stranger” and “I Don’t Believe in Love.” Still, the band had yet to crack the top 40 in the United States with one of their albums. That changed with 1990’s Empire, a triple-platinum release which reached #7 on the album chart. At first it appeared it would follow a similar trajectory as its predecessor. “Empire” and “Best I Can” were both top 30 hits on the album rock chart, but didn’t dent the Billboard Hot 100. However, the album’s third single, “Silent Lucidity,” propelled the band into new territory. Not only did it top the album rock chart, but it became the band’s first (and, so far, only) Hot 100 hit – climbling all the way to the top 10. The power ballad was sung by the band’s lead singer, Geoff Tate, with an emotive quality that recalled Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” It was written by the band’s guitarist Chris DeGarmo, who wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on Empire. He was inspired by the book Creative Dreaming, which explains how to tap into one’s subconscious mind. SF Tate said that even though he didn’t write it, “I love that song. I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful piece.” SF The song was a departure from the band’s more metal leanings, even incorporating cello. It was built on vocals and acoustic guitar with other instrumentation only being added in the last week the band worked on the record. The producer, Peter Collins, initially didn’t want to release it because he didn’t think it was developed enough. SF The song received Grammy nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Queensrÿche SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 12/22/2022.

Queensrÿche charted with title cut from “Empire”

Empire Queensrÿche

Writer(s): Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton (see lyrics here) First Charted: September 22, 1990 Peak: 22 AR, 61 UK, 17 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.0 video, 9.33 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Wasington. After two gold albums, the band’s third release, Operation: Mindcrime was a platinum seller buoyed by the album rock hits “Eyes of a Stranger” and “I Don’t Believe in Love.” It became one of the most celebrated concept albums in heavy metal history. Still, the band had yet to crack the top 40 in the United States with one of their albums. That changed with 1990’s Empire. The band opted for “a more song-oriented approach that is more art rock and less metal.” AMG The result was a triple-platinum release which reached #7 on the Billboard album chart, propelled by six top-30 entries on the album-rock chart. The first of these was the title cut, which reached #22 and also was the first of four chart entries on the UK chart. It became the band’s second-most played song in its setlist history, only behind “Eyes of a Stranger.” WK The song “is a lot more thoughtful than its explosive introduction leads one to believe.” SF It “warns of a foreboding and unstoppable ‘Empire’ of drug trafficking within the United States and its related crimes, that will inevitably lead to the breakdown of civility in American society.” WK In other words, it is the country’s underground drug empire that will lead to the demise of the American Empire. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Queensrÿche AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/19/2023.

Queensrÿche Operation: Mindcrime released

Operation: Mindcrime Queensrÿche

Released: April 27, 1988 Peak: 50 US, 58 UK, 75 CN, -- AU, 8 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK Genre: metal

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) I Remember Now [1:17] Anarchy – X (instrumental) [1:27] Revolution Calling [4:42] (Oct. 1988) Operation: Mindcrime [4:43] Speak [3;42] Spreading the Disease [4:07] The Mission [5:45] Suite Sister Mary [10:41] The Needle Lies [3:08] Electric Requiem [1:22] Breaking the Silence [4:34] (single, 1988) I Don’t Believe in Love [4:23] (July 1989, 41 AR) Waiting for 22 (instrumental) [1:05] My Empty Room [1:25] Eyes of a Stranger [6:39] (April 1989, 35 AR, 59 UK) Total Running Time: 59:14 The Players: Geoff Tate (vocals, etc.) Chris DeGarmo (guitar) Michael Wilton (guitar) Eddie Jackson (bass) Scott Rockenfield (drums)

Rating: 4.245 out of 5.00 (average of 30 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

The Band’s Early Years The progressive metal band Queensrÿche formed in Bellevue, Washington, in 1980. The original band consisted of Chris DeGarmo (guitar), Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), and Scott Rockenfield (drums). They added singer Geoff Tate in 1982. They released an eponymous EP that year. After signing with EMI Records, they released the studio albums The Warning (1984) and Rage for Order (1986) before making 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. The Concept Album Operation: Mindcrime went platinum after the band’s first two albums had reached gold status. It is considered one of the best concept albums of all time. Nikki is a “fortune hunter” AM and “drug addict” WK who has become “disillusioned with the corrupt” WK “Reagan-era American society.” AM He “reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group” WK who have hatched “a shadowy plot to assassinate corrupt leaders.” AM Singer Geoff Tate got the idea for the album after hearing talk from members of a militant separatist movement in Quebec. He also worked in memories of some friends whose heavy drug use had led them to become derelicts. WK “The lyrics and political observations can sometimes be too serious and intellectual for their own good…But despite the occasional flaws, it’s surprising how well Operation: Mindcrime does work, and it's a testament to Queensrÿche’s creativity and talent that they can pull off a project of this magnitude.” AM The Story The album starts with Nikki, the protagonist, in a hospital in a near-catatonic state. In the song “I Remember Now” his memories come flooding back. “He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society due to the economic inequality, corruption and hypocrisy around him, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution (‘Anarchy – X,’ ‘Revolution Calling’).” WK Dr. X, who heads the organization, manipulates Nikki into becoming an assassin who will act whenever Dr. X uses the word “mindcime” (‘Operation: Mindcrime’). As his position in the “organization grows, so does Nikki’s ego and adherence to his master’s vision” WK (‘Speak’). Nikki befriends a “a teenage prostitute-turned-nun named Sister Mary (‘Spreading the Disease’)” WK and begins questioning what he is doing, as well as Dr. X’s agenda (‘The Mission’). Dr. X orders Nikki to kill her and a priest. While Nikki complies with the latter command, he can’t murder her (‘Suite Sister Mary’). They decide to leave the organization but Dr. X tells Nikki he will “go back to his bleak life as a self-loathing but helpless addict (‘The Needle Lies’).” WK Nikki leaves anyway, but when Mary ends up dead (‘Electric Requiem’) he can’t cope, especially thinking he might have killed her. A 2007 live DVD revealed Mary killed herself when Dr. X threatened to kill Nikki. Nikki starts succumbing to insanity, running through the streets calling her name (‘Breaking the Silence’). Police take him into custody for the Mary’s potential murder as well as other murders he committed (‘I Don’t Believe in Love’). With almost complete memory loss, he is institutionalized in a mental hospital, where he retraces his final moments with Mary (‘Waiting for 22,’ ‘My Empty Room’). The story then comes back to the present with Nikki regaining his memory, “but now stares at his image in a mirror, unable to recognize who he is and what he has become (‘Eyes of a Stranger’).” WK The Music and Songs “For such a detailed story line (there is also a tragic romance thrown in), the band keeps its focus remarkably well, and the music is just as ambitious, featuring a ten-minute track with orchestrations by Michael Kamen. Those experiments don't tend to work as well as the tighter, more melodic prog metal songs, which are frequently gems, especially the singles ‘Eyes of a Stranger’ and ‘I Don’t Believe in Love.’” Those two songs were both released as singles and marked Queensrÿche’s first chart entries on the album rock chart. Reissues During the 1990 tour for the band’s Empire album, they performed Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety and released it as Operation: Livecrime in 1991. In 2006, the original album was expanded to a deluxe box set which also included a full live performance of the album as well as a DVD collection of videos.

Reviews: AM AllMusic.com review by Steve Huey WK Wikipedia Related DMDB Links: First posted 9/6/2025.