I SAW A WOMAN
DRESSED IN BLACK
WITH EYES OF GREY
SHE WORE HER PAIN
LIKE A SHACKLED SPIRIT
ETERNAL LIFE WAS
HER DEBT TO PAY
Queensrÿche
is the debut EP
by American
heavy metal band
released independently
in 1983
through
206 Records
and reissued
later that next year
through
EMI America Records.
A remastered edition
was reissued in
2003
through
Capitol Records.
In the early 1980s,
Queensrÿche
was known as
The Mob,
a cover band
that played songs
from popular
heavy metal bands
such as
Iron Maiden
and
Judas Priest.
Their line-up
consisted of
guitarists
Chris DeGarmo
and
Michael Wilton,
drummer
Scott Rockenfield
and bassist
Eddie Jackson.
Without a singer,
they performed
several shows
with
Geoff Tate,
who at the time
was the front man
of the local band
Babylon,
and later of Myth.
Tate chose not to join
The Mob,
because he was
not interested
in performing
heavy metal covers.
Inspired by the
positive responses
from their performances
at local rock festivals,
The Mob
decided to switch
from playing
cover songs
to writing original music.
The four members,
who were between
17 and 19 years old,
rehearsed five days
a week in
the basement of
Rockenfield's parents,
and took on at
least two jobs each
to earn enough money
to record a
24-track demo tape.
They booked the
graveyard shifts
from
Monday through Friday
at Triad Studios
in Redmond, Washington,
to record four songs.
Tate was asked to
join the band
for the recording sessions,
and in the same week
write the lyrics
to one unfinished song,
which became
"The Lady Wore Black".
The whistle at the beginning of
"The Lady Wore Black"
was unintentional,
as Brett Miller recalls:
"Geoff needed to set the mood,
so he had the lights
turned off
and sang with
a single candle burning
in the studio.
While waiting for his
first verse to come up,
he whistled along
with the opening guitar
not realizing they
were taping him.
He told them
it was a mistake,
but everyone agreed
it was cool,
so they kept it."
Attempts to be signed
to a label
through the demo
were unsuccessful.
Kim and Diana Harris,
the owners of
Easy Street Records,
ultimately offered
The Mob
a management contract.
As the band name
"The Mob"
was not available,
it was changed to
"Queensrÿche".
Kim Harris
sent the demo tape
and a band photo
to a friend at
the British
music magazine
Kerrang!,
resulting in a
glowing review
and causing a
growing buzz
in both the
United States
and Europe,
following which
the Harrises
released
Queensrÿche's
demo tape
as a self-titled EP
on their
independent
206 Records label
in 1983.
After the EP
garnered international praise,
receiving much airplay
and selling an
unusual number of copies
for a small
independent release,
Tate agreed to leave
Myth
and become
Queensrÿche's
permanent lead singer.
Kim Harris
convinced
EMI-America
A&R manager
Mavis Brodey
to see
Queensrÿche
perform as
the opening act
for Zebra
in Portland
and Seattle on
June 29–30, 1983.
Brodey offered
Queensrÿche
a contract with EMI,
spanning 15 years
and encompassing
seven albums
. To support the EP,
the band toured with
Quiet Riot
through the south
and with
Twisted Sister
to the East Coast
and Canada,
and played in
Seattle
opening for
Dio.
After the tour
had ended in
November 1983,
the band began
preparations for
their first
studio album,
The Warning.
On the 2003
remastered edition,
tracks 6–15
were live recordings
of
Queensrÿche's
second performance
in the tour
supporting
The Warning,
held
August 5, 1984,
at the
Nippon Seinenkan
in Tokyo, Japan.
The performance was
previously released
on VHS
in 1984
as
Live in Tokyo,
but is now
out of print.
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