Bands like Queensryche
 

Extreme metal will always be my love, but I've been a fan of more traditional metal, (Iron Maiden, Judas Priest) what some people label "power metal" (Iced Earth, Blind Guardian), and of course prog bands like King Crimson and Rush, for as long as I can remember. More recently I have discovered Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime and thought "What the HELL have I been doing for the last 10 years without this album?!" Needless to say, it's classic. What I love about Queensryche is not only do Tate's vocals fucking rule, but they aren't formulaic like the traditional metal bands, aren't embarassingly cheesy like the power metal bands, and have more melodic guitar work with catchier hooks than the prog bands.

I'm looking for something that can satisfy my recent desire for more Queensryche-ian bands. Can the TFP help me out? :D


*throws on headphones..."AND NOW I STARE!! INTO THE EYES OF A STRAAANGEEEEER!"*

I can't compare them to any other.. but their other album Queen of the Ryche was awesome as well.

Testament's early stuff hs some of the same harmonious vibe.

Galactic Cowboys also.

If you like Rush and more progressive bands I'd recommend Yes (but I guess you already tried that).

Late Metallica should do the job - S&M is very good.

Manowar always makes me laugh. ;)

I've been a Queensryche fan since the early days, they also have an album called "Rage for Order" it's definitely got an '80s metal feel to it.

Dream Theater is another band that's very Queensryche-ish - prog rock and all. They've got something like 8 albums out now and just released a new one, Octavarium, in early June that kicks mighty ass. You might want to check out Images and Words and Awake for their earlier work and Train of Thought or Octavarium for their more recent work.

The first band I saw live was Queensruche - they rocked hard.

At the time we were listening to other bands like the Floyd, Marrillion, early Genesis, Peter Gabriel, and for harder fare, Sabbath, Bathory and Danzig.

Those were the days...

I'll second the nod for Dream Theater. I am a huge Dream Theater fan, own every album. They are by far the premiere band in progressive metal. As bgivnin said, Octavarium is absolutely amazing. For earlier work, I'd probaby recommend Awake. The other album worth checking out is Scenes from a Memory. Amazing concept album.

Another band you may want to check out is Pain of Salvation. They're swedish prog rock, and their CDs can be found at most Newbury Comics. The vocalist is without a doubt the most talented I have ever heard, and the musianship is excellent. Albums from them to check out are Remedy Lane, and The Perfect Element Pt.1.

Just my $.02

I saw Queensryche open for Judas Priest recently. They had the sound together and the dude can certainly sing, but their songs were dull. I was unimpressed.

Regarding Dream Theater...I own Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, and I used to have Scenes From a Memory. There's just something about LaBrie that annoys the crap out of me, especially if he's singing a ballad. But I'll definitely give Octavarium a try, since Train of Thought signaled a change away from DTs goofier aspects.

Trying to find Pain of Salvation as I type.

Check amazon.com. I'm pretty sure they have PoS.

Dream Theater fans, have you heard their cover of Elton John's "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" ? It's an excellent take on the song.

The 'Ryche used to be my favorite band of all time, and I even liked "Hear" and "Tribe". However, that all changed when Chris DeGarmo left the band. "Q2K" is the only disk I've ever taken back to the shop I bought it from and asked for my money back. Now I can only yearn for the days of yesteryear.

Pain Of Salvation is a good recommendation, and here are some others:

Fates Warning
Vanden Plas
Povert's No Crime
Shadow Gallery
Threshold
Ion Vein

...among others.

Queensryche is making a sequel to Operation Mindcrime due out in 2006. You can read more about it at http://www.queensryche.com .

I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about it. QR hasn't exactly been burning up the music scene this last decade (though Tribe was a very good album) and my intial reaction was 'sellout to cash in on a known commodity' since they have always said they would never do another one. After reading through the info and interviews on the site though, it sounds like they might actually pull it off. Apparently Geoff Tate was approached to write a screenplay for a possible Mindcrime movie, something they've always wanted to do, and the sequel was just sort of born out of that. It's going to tell the story of Nikki 15 years later after he is released from prison. Should be at the very least an interesting listen and trip down memory lane.

Of all 8 of their albums, those two (6DOIT and SFAM) are their 'concept' albums. Although I own them, and one of my favorite songs is on SFAM (Home is a WICKED song), the real winners are TOT, Octavarium and their earlier material, IMHO.

Hitting up Amazon and listening to the samples isn't a bad idea, but sometimes they really choose bad parts to sample.

MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR MANOWAR




Sorry, I had to. LISTEN TO MANOWAR. You will laugh hysterically and be headbanging uncontrollably. Manowar is the best band in the entire universe. You will get a kick out of them, and they really do have talent. They are more medieval themed, but 75% of their songs have the word "metal" in them, so it's kosher. Please give them a listen. The lead singer is amazing.

I like DT and QR for a while and then got sick of them. DT has amazing musicians and Mike Portnoy is one of the top drummers out there (Dave Lombardo and the dude from Carcass are still better though) The vocals just got annoying and DT was too ballady. The When Dream and Day Unite and Images and Words were great albums but they really lost me with Awake. If they could just keep it loud and fast I'd be happy with them though.

Then you REALLY need to check out their last album, Train of Thought. That's more than you could ask for when it comes to fast and loud. :)