"Jet City Woman"
I had a bit of an internal debate over whether or not to include Queensryche. For one, they were closer to actual heavy metal than most other bands of the day. Their sound was heavier, and their lyrics explored more serious topics. They were kind of a buzzkill, honestly. But they definitely used the trappings of hair metal, at least—the big hair, the wailing guitar solos, etc. And for me, it comes down to two questions: were their videos played on MTV's Headbanger's Ball? Were their songs played on 102.9, the Big WAZU? The answer to both questions is yes. So they count.
The other reason is because getting into them was a really slow burn for me. At the time, I didn't care at all for Operation: Mindcrime, their 1988 concept album, other than "Eyes of a Stranger." What started to draw me in was the song "Last Time in Paris," which was for a movie soundtrack. When singles for Empire started coming out, I was willing to listen with a more sympathetic ear. I liked them. Then along came "Silent Lucidity," one of the quintessential power ballads...and I hated it. But when "Jet City Woman" came along, I liked it enough to override those feelings, and I think that's when I finally picked up the CD.
I'm generally a songs over albums type of guy, but there are certain albums that benefit from a complete front-to-back listen, and Empire definitely qualifies. I would imagine most of Queensryche's albums do. I skipped over both "Della Brown" and "Silent Lucidity" for a long time, but I eventually warmed to them as well (I've made my peace with "Silent Lucidity"—it'll never be my favorite song, but I can definitely appreciate it). I even came around on Operation: Mindcrime and eventually added it to my collection, but that's as far as I've gone. They have a bunch of albums, and I know they're still around, and singer Geoff Tate has broken off to do his own thing (or maybe form his own version of the band? I'm not totally sure), but my interest in them is good where it is.
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