Tate, in simpler days

Forget about having to explain to your friends who this “Rising West” band is you are going to see live.  According to Billboard, Geoff Tate is no longer in Queensryche and the remaining members will continue on with Todd La Torre as singer.  I do not know who owns the name Queensryche, but it did sound like the band wasn’t confident they’d be able to use it, hence the name change.

They have put all upcoming dates on hold, which means the two NYC-area Scorpions shows will not be the debut of Queensryche with the new singer.

Whether or not you think this is a good idea, it is hard to deny this wasn’t a long time coming.  As we covered previously, there has been a lot of friction between the band members and their fans about what direction Queensryche should be moving in.  It did not seem like continuing as a band was a tenable option.  At least fans of Tate’s new direction will be able to enjoy his solo band while old school Queensyrche fans can come back to the shows knowing they’ll hear the classics.  I wonder if the next major announcement will be the return of Chris DeGarmo.