Song · Queensryche
“Empire” by Queensryche
From the album Empire (1990)
“Empire” by Queensryche appears on 7 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1990 and 2002. It was first released in 1990 on the album Empire. Its best result is #156 on the Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #300 hard rock song of all time.
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"Empire" is the title track of Queensrÿche's 1990 album, written by Geoff Tate and Michael Wilton, and it's big, brooding and built to fill a room. Peter Collins produced with James "Jimbo" Barton, who also mixed, and Paul Northfield recorded it.
The credits show how much layering went into it. Chris DeGarmo and Wilton stack 12-string, acoustic and electric guitars; Eddie Jackson moves between fretless and electric bass and adds backing vocals; Scott Rockenfield handles drums and percussion. Tate sings lead, plays keyboards and even whistles, which is not something you expect from a hard rock singer with pipes like his.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 156 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 1994 | 300 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1995 | 451 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 466 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 1998 | 435 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) | 1000 |
| 1999 | 347 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) | 998 |
| 2002 | 582 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
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