The members of Queensryche have played their hometown of Seattle many times before, but never under the guise of the new band Rising West. The band, which is essentially the same lineup with the exception of Todd La Torre taking over for Geoff Tate, were welcomed with open arms during their first-ever performance Friday night (June 8).

 

The show took place at the Hard Rock Café and featured a mixture of both classic favorites as well as rarely performed songs, with all the material coming from the band's 1983 debut EP up to arguably their most popular record, 1990's 'Empire.'

While there has been much speculation about Queensryche's future given the rumors of an alleged altercation between Tate and fellow bandmates at recent shows and the timing of the new group announcement, guitarist Michael Wilton recently told Seattle's KISW 99.9 FM, "We still very much are Queensryche, and Queensryche will be continuing on. We just want to have some fun, play some old 'Ryche, bring back some memories and just kick it."

Tate will be spending the summer playing solo dates and readying his latest solo album while the members of Rising West have stated they too intend on recording new music.

Rising West return to the Hard Rock Café in Seattle tonight for another performance. Check out the first night's set list and some video from the performance below.

Rising West Setlist:

1. 'Queen of the Reich'
2. 'Speak'
3. 'Walk in the Shadows'
4. 'En Force'
5. 'Child of Fire'
6. 'The Whisper'
7. 'Warning'
8. 'The Needle Lies'
9. 'Take Hold of the Flame'
10. 'Prophecy'
11. 'My Empty Room'
12. 'Eyes of a Stranger'
Encore
13. 'Wrathchild' (Iron Maiden cover)
14. 'Road to Madness'

Watch Rising West Perform Queensryche's 'Queen of the Reich'

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