New Life A Little Self-Evaluation, And A New Baby Girl, Help Revive Queensryche

Queensryche spent the early part of its career being reasonably successful, building a loyal audience and gaining critical respect.

But they had a hard time dealing with the success of their multiplatinum 1990 album, “Empire,” and were forced to do some serious self-evaluation.

That resulted in the painfully introspective 1994 record “Promised Land,” where principal songwriters Geoff Tate and Chris DeGarmo revealed their foibles and insecurities.

” ‘Promised Land’ was really an album that we needed to do as a band,” singer Tate said in a telephone interview. “It was a direct result (of) our ‘Empire’ record… . It really changed a lot of things; it definitely inspired the question, ‘What really makes you happy?’ “

“Promised Land” didn’t match the success of “Empire,” but that doesn’t bother Tate.

“It’s not commercial stuff,” he said. “We felt really positive about that record and we’re very proud of it. But it was time to move on.”

Thus the band’s new album, “Hear in the Now Frontier.” Guitarist Chris DeGarmo has said the title refers to “what we’re thinking and what’s going on at the moment.”

What Queensryche is thinking about these days are world affairs and society’s flaws, topics they also tackled on records like “Operation: mindcrime” and “Empire.” They continue to advocate free thinking and what Tate called “the search for self-identity.”

And one thing that really changed Tate’s life was the birth of his third daughter - his fourth child was due in a few weeks. He immortalizes the birth of No. 3 in a new song “Reach,” where he writes, “Today I felt something so strong it took my breath away.”

“We had opted for a home birth, which we hadn’t had before … and I must say, I was really moved. It was something that was so intense,” he said, his voice breaking.

“I’m tearing up,” he said. “I’ll just say it changed my life. Seeing my wife giving birth is an empowering vision. I never felt so weak before. There was nothing I could do but encourage her and be supportive.”

How Tate goes about writing music was changed by the experience. Now, he says, “I’m looking for other things; I’m opening myself up for inspiration more than I used to. I’m not thinking about it or intellectualizing it.”

The new record, he says, is “an exercise in minimalism.” The band didn’t spend time “analyzing every note,” as he said, but instead went for capturing the moment. It shows; not only is this a catchy, immediate record, but it’s one of the most musically heavy ones in their catalog.

Tate relinquishes the singing reins on “All I Want,” a Beatle-esque love song written and performed by DeGarmo. He didn’t feel threatened by the guitarist venturing into his territory; in fact, he encouraged it. DeGarmo’s been singing backup for years, but this is his first try at singing lead.

It’s that spirit of cooperation that’s helped Queensryche avoid the internal strife that has plagued other groups. They’ve been the same five-man unit - Tate, DeGarmo, guitarist Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson, and drummer Scott Rockenfield - for 16 years.

“We just do things intuitively, and that’s a great thing that a band can get to the more time they spend together,” he said. “You know what the other guy’s going to do, and then there’s this energy that happens in regard to that that’s very exciting.”

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Queensryche will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at The Gorge. Tickets are $44.65, $34.15 and $29.95, available at Ticketmaster outlets or call (206) 628-0888.