There is speculation all over the internet on whether the band Queensryche may have called it quits, at least under that name.
The band originally formed in 1991 and four of the five original members (Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield) are still with the group. The fifth member, guitarist Michael Lundgren, joined in 2009.
The problems seems to be between lead singer Tate and the rest of the group. What is known is that Tate is now working on a solo career while the rest of the group has joined with Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre to form the new group Rising West. Whether this is a permanent change or not is the part that is not clear.
The controversy started back on April 14 before a show the band was playing in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Sources say there was an altercation between the four band members and singer Tate where Geoff was told that he was being let go from the group. According to the unnamed source, this led to Tate pushing Wilton and going towards Rockenfield with a knife before security stepped in. To see the full story, check out the report at Metal Talk.
Jump ahead to last weekend at the Rocklahoma Festival where Tate told the audience "My God. This is Rocklahoma huh? I think we played here 2 years ago. I think it may be a different crowd though. You guys suck. I am serious."
Here's video of the incident:
Finally, on Tuesday the announcement was made about the forming of Rising West and the fact that they will be recording and doing live shows starting June 8 and 9 at the Hard Rock in Seattle.
So, the question becomes, is Tate out of Queensryche or not? A spokesman for the band told Classic Rock:
The fact of the matter is that Geoff Tate is concentrating on his acoustic solo performances this summer, while the other members of the band have formed Rising West. Everyone wants to stay busy, try new things and do what they do best: rock in front of the masses. Queensryche are slated to perform select dates throughout the year.
