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)
N M 156
Queensrÿche Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Protect code intact leaves little time
Erratic surveys, free thinking not allowed
My hands shake, my push buttons silence
The outside crowd
One world government has outlawed war among nations
Now social control requires population termination
Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory
Microchip logic
have we no more thought
"Is this wrong" I enter
Answers sought
Punch, punch, punch, transfer this data
Into code. Wide eyes watch my
Number 156 is shown
Created from past life to perform
Illicit function, I fail this conscious
Madness I man/machine imperfection
Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory
End of line
Queensrÿche's song "N M 156" explores themes of technological advancement, social control, and the blurring of lines between man and machine. The lyrics describe a future world where a single world government has outlawed war among nations, but social control requires population termination. The singer is a human/machine hybrid designated as "Number 156" whose job is to transfer data into code. However, they begin to question the ethics and morality of their actions and wonder if they are simply following logic without considering the consequences of their actions.
The lyrics express a sense of fear and uncertainty about the direction of humanity's technological progress. The line "microchip logic, have we no more thought" seems to suggest that people are allowing machines to do their thinking for them and that they have stopped questioning the morality of their actions. The use of the phrase "forgotten lost memory" could suggest that humanity has lost touch with its past and is forgetting important lessons from history. The repetition of the question "have we come too far to turn around?" emphasizes the urgency of the situation and the need for humans to critically examine the effects of their technological advancements.
Line by Line Meaning
Uniform printout reads end of line
The computer prints out a message indicating the completion of a task.
Protect code intact leaves little time
Safeguarding the code is important, but it can delay the completion of the project.
Erratic surveys, free thinking not allowed
Surveys are conducted in a haphazard manner, and people are discouraged from thinking independently.
My hands shake, my push buttons silence
The artist is nervous and hesitant to push buttons that could have serious consequences.
The outside crowd
The general public is not aware of what's happening behind the scenes.
One world government has outlawed war among nations
The world is under the control of a single government that has banned wars between nations.
Now social control requires population termination
The government is now resorting to eliminating people in order to maintain control.
Have we come too far
Have we reached a point of no return?
To turn around
Can we go back to the way things were before?
Does emotion hold the key
Should we rely on our feelings to guide us?
Is logic just a synonym for
Is being logical the same as being heartless?
This savagery, disguised in
This brutality is hidden behind a facade of orderliness.
Forgotten lost memory
We have forgotten our past and the lessons we learned from it.
Microchip logic
Machines are taking over and their logic is becoming dominant.
have we no more thought
Are we losing our ability to think for ourselves?
"Is this wrong" I enter
The artist is questioning the morality of what they're doing.
Answers sought
They are seeking answers to ethical issues.
Punch, punch, punch, transfer this data
The singer is mindlessly processing data.
Into code. Wide eyes watch my
The work is being monitored closely.
Number 156 is shown
The system is tracking the artist's progress.
Created from past life to perform
The artist was designed for this task from birth.
Illicit function, I fail this conscious
The artist realizes that their actions are unethical and struggles with their conscience.
Madness I man/machine imperfection
The chaos and destruction caused by combining human and machine is becoming apparent.
End of line
The system has reached the end of its programmed task.
Lyrics © TRI-RYCHE CORPORATION DBA QUEENSRYCHE PUBLISHING COMPANY
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