Queensrÿche has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including over 6 million albums in the United States. They are considered one of the leaders of the progressive metal scene of the mid-to-late 1980s, and often referred to as one of the "Big Three" of the genre, along with Dream Theater and Fates Warning. The band received worldwide acclaim after the release of their 1988 album Operation: Mindcrime, which is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal concept albums of all time. Their follow-up release, Empire, released in 1990, was also very successful and included the hit single "Silent Lucidity". The band has received three Grammy Award nominations for songs from both albums. In 1998, drummer Rockenfield received an individual Grammy nomination.
Also in 1998, guitarist and primary songwriter Chris DeGarmo left the band for personal reasons, returning briefly in 2003 to write and record the Tribe album. Over the years, his replacements have been Kelly Gray, Mike Stone, and Parker Lundgren. Following a highly publicized backstage altercation before a show in São Paulo, Brazil, in April 2012, Tate was fired from the band and replaced with then-Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre. In response to his dismissal, Tate and his wife Susan (who served as the band's manager from 2005 to 2012) filed a lawsuit in a Washington court, claiming that he was wrongfully terminated. The ruling in the preliminary injunction was that both parties were allowed to use the name Queensrÿche until a court ruling or a settlement decided who would get to use the name. A settlement was reached on April 17, 2014, in which founding members Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson were awarded the rights to the band trademark, continuing to play with the lineup that additionally includes singer La Torre and guitarist Lundgren.
During the time, both parties could use the name Queensrÿche, Tate created his own lineup featuring former guitarist Gray and musicians from bands including Blue Öyster Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Dio, AC/DC and Quiet Riot. This version of Queensrÿche with Geoff Tate released the album Frequency Unknown on April 23, 2013, while Queensrÿche (with La Torre replacing Tate) released their eponymous album on June 24 and 25, 2013 (European and American release date, respectively). Both bands toured in 2013 and 2014.
Full article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensrÿche
Studio albums
The Warning (1984)
Rage for Order (1986)
Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
Empire (1990)
Promised Land (1994)
Hear in the Now Frontier (1997)
Q2K (1999)
Tribe (2003)
Operation: Mindcrime II (2006)
Take Cover (2007)
American Soldier (2009)
Dedicated to Chaos (2011)
Queensrÿche (2013)
Condition Hüman (2015)
The Verdict (2019)
Digital Noise Alliance (2022)
Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche
Frequency Unknown (2013)
Deliverance
Queensrÿche Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't you turn back, keep heed in your flame
Kings with no mercy, this planet at war
Torn from enchantment, this land forevermore
Born from obsession, you cried death for light
You saw things before and after you died
Back from beyond to rule again
Back from the dawn
Deliver us right from wrong
Kings forge the way
For your last day
You search the eyes of those
Who fear the law
Dark and light we all must keep the balance strong
One day a king will rise with the sun
The moon, and the stars
And you are he and you must die, to be
Born again, come again, once more be again the king
Back from the dawn
Deliver us right from wrong
Kings forge the way
For your last day
The Queensrÿche song "Deliverance" is a contemplative, poetic reflection on the themes of eternal life and reincarnation, conveyed through a backdrop of warring kings and a world torn apart by conflict. The lyrics speak to the experience of a warrior, born from a single-minded obsession with the pursuit of victory and death, who is brought back to life after death to rule once again. The opening lines of the song, "Ride swift across the plain/Don't you turn back, keep heed in your flame," set the tone for a journey that is both physical and spiritual, filled with obstacles and challenges that test the limits of human endurance.
The central idea of the song seems to be the notion that life is cyclical, that death and rebirth are natural and inevitable parts of the human experience. The lyrics suggest that the warrior's spirit is indestructible, that it has been reincarnated multiple times, and that it will continue to be reborn over and over again. However, this cycle of life and death is not without its challenges, and the constant struggle to maintain a balance between light and dark, good and evil, is a theme that runs throughout the song. Ultimately, the warrior is called upon to suffer and to die in order to be "born again, come again, once more be again the king," a metaphor for the eternal nature of the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
Ride swift across the plain
Hurry through life and don't waste time
Don't you turn back, keep heed in your flame
Don't let anything distract you or dim your passion
Kings with no mercy, this planet at war
The world is a battlefield, and leaders sometimes lack compassion
Torn from enchantment, this land forevermore
The magic and beauty of this land have been destroyed, and it will never be the same
Born from obsession, you cried death for light
You were consumed by a desire for enlightenment or truth, and it nearly led to your demise
You saw things before and after you died
You had a near-death experience that allowed you to see beyond this life
Back from beyond to rule again
You have returned from the afterlife to try once more to achieve your goals
But this life denies you its fight to the end
You won't get to finish the fight you started because your time on earth has ended
You search the eyes of those
You seek a connection with others
Who fear the law
You search for people who are also seeking truth and justice
Dark and light we all must keep the balance strong
In order for there to be harmony, there must be a balance between the forces of good and evil
One day a king will rise with the sun
A great leader will emerge and bring light to the darkness
The moon, and the stars
All of the cosmos will be influenced by this leader's power
And you are he and you must die, to be
You are destined to be this great leader, but you must sacrifice everything to fulfill your destiny
Born again, come again, once more be again the king
After death, you will be reborn to fulfill your role as leader once more
Back from the dawn
Returning from death
Deliver us right from wrong
Save us from injustice and immorality
Kings forge the way
Leaders must pave the path towards a better future
For your last day
You will have accomplished everything you were meant to before your time on earth comes to an end
Lyrics © TRI-RYCHE CORPORATION DBA QUEENSRYCHE PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Michael Wilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind