Album Review: Queensryche – ‘Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensryche’

By Jeff Swindoll Aug 28, 2007, 13:55 GMT

Queensryche formed in 1981 when band mates Michael Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums), Chris DeGarmo (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), and Geoff Tate (vocals) decided to form a new group called the Mob.

Their manager persuaded them to change their name to Queensryche.  DeGarmo left the group in 1998 and Kelly Gray took over for him from 1998-2001 but Mike Stone replaced him in 2003.  Stone is the current guitarist for the group. 

To celebrate 25 years of rock, Queensryche is releasing ‘Sign of the Times’ which covers their career.  They came into prominence with their concept album ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ in 1988 and ‘Empire’ in 1990.  The songs from those albums will be the most easily recognizable tunes (including their number one hit “Silent Lucidity” from ‘Empire’). 

However you also get “Queen of the Reich” which is where the inspiration of their name came from and is from their self-titled EP.  “All the Promises” is the latest song and is from their 2006 follow-up album ‘Operation: Mindcrime II.’

‘Sign of the Times’ is a fine way to have an instant collection of Queensryche from all eras of their career.  For the dedicated fan there’s a two-disc edition that gathers a bonus disc of demos, outtakes, live recordings, and more.

‘Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensryche’ is now available at Amazon. Visit the music database for more information.