Empire is the fourth studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche, released on September 4, 1990. The album is Queensrÿche's most commercially successful release, reaching triple-platinum status. The primary single, the power ballad "Silent Lucidity", reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Silent Lucidity" was also nominated in 1992 for the Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group. The album won a 1991 Northwest Area Music Award for Best Metal Recording.
Reception
Empire has received generally positive reviews from critics since its release.
AllMusic praised the album, selecting the songs "Jet City Woman", "Empire", and "Silent Lucidity" as the album's best tracks. The review stated that the band went for "a song-oriented approach that is more art rock and less metal" with lyrics that talk about social and physical handicaps in "Best I Can" and issues such as poverty and regret in "Della Brown" and romance with "Another Rainy Night (Without You)" and "Hand On Heart". The reviewer concluded by praising the band's mature sound and the work of producer Peter Collins.
| writer13 = Traditional
| length13 = 3:51
| title14 = Dirty Lil Secret
| writer14 = DeGarmo, Tate
| length14 = 4:07
Personnel
;Queensrÿche
- Geoff Tate – lead vocals, keyboards
- Chris DeGarmo – six-string and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards (on "Best I Can"), lead guitar (on "Best I Can", "Jet City Woman", "Silent Lucidity", "Anybody Listening"), harmony vocals (on "Anybody Listening"), backing vocals
- Michael Wilton – six-string and 12-string electric and acoustic guitars, lead guitar (on "Empire", "Resistance", "Another Rainy Night")
- Eddie Jackson – bass, backing vocals
- Scott Rockenfield – drums, percussion
;Additional personnel
- Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements on "Silent Lucidity", conductor
- Randy Gane – answering machine message on "Empire"
- Robert Bailey – keyboards, keyboard programming
;Production
- Peter Collins – producer
- James Barton – engineer, mixing at Royal Recorders Studios, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
- Marcus Ramaer – assistant engineer
- Dan Harjung – mixing assistant
- Paul Northfield – engineer on tracks 6, 12, 14
- Neil Kernon – producer and engineer on track 13
| 127
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Finland (The Official Finnish Charts)
| align="center"| 15
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 18
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
!scope="row"|US AOR (Radio & Records)
| 1
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col"| Chart (2021)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Year-end chart performance for Empire
! scope="col"| Chart (1991)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 9
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (1992)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| US Billboard 200
| 67
|}
Certifications
See also
- List of glam metal albums and songs