Album
Empire
Empire is the fourth studio album by Queensrÿche, the American progressive metal band, and it arrived on 4 September 1990. It followed Operation: Mindcrime from 1988, and it went on to become the group's biggest commercial success, reaching triple-platinum status. It also picked up a 1991 Northwest Area Music Award for Best Metal Recording.
The song most people remember is "Silent Lucidity", a power ballad that topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and climbed to number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. It earned Grammy nominations in 1992 for Best Rock Song and for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. Worth hearing as the record where a band known for ambitious, progressive-minded metal reached its widest audience, with a hit that sits comfortably alongside the heavier material.
Empire: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 1:03:24Tracklist
- 1Best I CanChris DeGarmo5:34
- 2The Thin LineDeGarmo, Tate, Wilton5:43
- 3Jet City WomanChris DeGarmo and Geoff Tate5:22
- 4Della BrownDeGarmo, Rockenfield, Tate7:04
- 5Another Rainy Night (Without You)DeGarmo, Jackson, Tate4:29
- 6EmpireGeoff Tate and Michael Wilton5:24
- 7ResistanceGeoff Tate and Michael Wilton4:51
- 8Silent LucidityChris DeGarmo5:48
- 9Hand on HeartDeGarmo, Tate, Wilton5:33
- 10One and OnlyChris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton5:54
- 11Anybody Listening?Chris DeGarmo and Geoff Tate7:42
- Produced by
- Peter Collins, James “Jimbo” Barton
- Recorded at
- Vancouver Studios, Triad Studios, Vancouver Studios in Vancouver, Canada, Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington (tracks 6, 12–14)
- Mixed by
- James “Jimbo” Barton
- Mixed at
- Royal Recorders
- Engineered by
- James “Jimbo” Barton, Paul Northfield
- Label
- EMI USA
- Length
- 1:03:24
Line-up
- Chris DeGarmo · keyboard, 12 string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals
- Eddie Jackson · fretless bass, electric bass guitar, background vocals
- Scott Rockenfield · percussion, drums (drum set)
- Geoff Tate · keyboard, lead vocals, vocals
- Michael Wilton · 12 string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Singles
- “Empire” · October 1990
- “Silent Lucidity” · March 1991
- “Best I Can” · June 1991
- “Jet City Woman” · August 1991
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1990 | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1990 | 13 |
| US AOR (Radio & Records) · 1990 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1990 | 14 |
| Finland (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1990 | 15 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1990 | 18 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1990 | 18 |
| German Albums · 1990 | 22 |
| Swiss Albums · 1990 | 22 |
| Swedish Albums · 1990 | 26 |
All 14 charts
| New Zealand Albums · 1990 | 50 |
| Dutch Albums · 1990 | 56 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1990 | 127 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2021 | 141 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1991 | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1993 | Silver |
| United States · 1993 | 3× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
51.4
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
66k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
5.5k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 4 September
Every year →
More from Queensrÿche
Full discography →
Queensrÿche
1982
The Warning
1984
Rage for Order
1986
Operation: Mindcrime
1988
Operation: LIVEcrime
1991
Promised Land
1994
Hear in the Now Frontier
1997
Q2K
1999
Greatest Hits
2000
Live Evolution
2001
Classic Masters
2003
Tribe
2003
The Art of Live
2004
Operation: Mindcrime II
2006
Extended Versions
2007
Mindcrime at the Moore
2007
Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche
2007
Take Cover
2007
American Soldier
2009
Dedicated to Chaos
2011
Queensrÿche
2013
Condition Hüman
2015
The Verdict
2019
Digital Noise Alliance
2022
The best of 1990
All of 1990 →
The Razors Edge
AC/DC · 1990
Rust in Peace
Megadeth · 1990
Cowboys From Hell
Pantera · 1990
Facelift
Alice in Chains · 1990
39/Smooth
Green Day · 1990
1985-03-15: Kabuki Theater, San Francisco, CA, USA
Metallica · 1990
No Prayer for the Dying
Iron Maiden · 1990
Seasons in the Abyss
Slayer · 1990
Live at Pompeii
Pink Floyd · 1990
TYR
Black Sabbath · 1990
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin · 1990
Slappy EP
Green Day · 1990
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1990-09-04; musicbrainz + wikidata 1990-08-20 (15 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 20 August 1990 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 4 September 1990 | |
| Wikidata | 20 August 1990 | |
| US release | 4 September 1990 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 20 August 1990 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | CA | EMI | 077779280629 | other |
| 1990 | — | EMI USA | 077779506927 | other |
| 20 August 1990 | XE | EMI Records USA | 0077779506927 | original |
| 3 September 1990 | GB | EMI Records USA | 0077779506927 | other |
| 4 September 1990 | US | EMI Records USA | 077779280629 | other |
| 19 October 1994 | JP | EMI Records USA | 4988006701793 | other |
| 4 April 2000 | US | Capitol Records | 010963113822 | other |
| 30 July 2002 | XW | EMI | 724347792892 | other |
| 2003 | US | Capitol Records | other | |
| 2003 | GB | Capitol Records | 724358107029 | remaster |
| 2003 | US | EMI | 724358107029 | other |
| 2010 | XE | Capitol Records | 5099990868825 | deluxe |
| 15 November 2010 | US | Capitol Records | 5099990668623 | other |
| 24 August 2018 | US | Capitol Records | 829421850694 | remaster |
| 25 June 2021 | XE | Capitol Records | 602577111945 | deluxe |
| 25 June 2021 | XE | Capitol Records | 602577118517 | other |
| — | — | — | deluxe |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |