I Remember Now: The Queensrÿche Podcast

It was a night of anniversaries. This was the 250th episode of this podcast, The Asylum Podcast , the 50th(ish) of I Remember Now the Queensryche Podcast , and Queensryche’s second full studio album, Rage for Order (1986). To celebrate, two guests graced the show: Communal Steve from IRNTQP and “Ze German,” Henning, from Germany. Making this a “two-fer” with...

Ray and Steve return with a highly anticipated album review episode as they take a deep dive into Geoff Tate’s brand-new release, Operation: Mindcrime III. Promising heavier moments, callbacks to the classic Operation: Mindcrime storyline, and a fresh perspective from Dr. X himself, Geoff set expectations sky-high for this long-awaited sequel. But does the album actually deliver? The guys break th...

Ray and Steve kick off their new series, “The Headliners!” What’s that, you ask? It’s a new series where the guys focus on the album being toured by a headlining band on a tour that Queensryche opened for. The first episode features Iron Maiden’s 2000 “comeback” album, Brave New World . Halford and Queensryche supported Iron Maiden for a portion of this to...

Ray and Steve are back with a brand-new episode! This time they’re stepping outside the traditional Queensrÿche catalog to dive headfirst into Todd La Torre’s bone-crushing 2021 solo debut LP, Rejoice in the Suffering. Packed with relentless riffs, blistering vocals, and zero compromises, this album shows a whole different side of Todd. With a major assist from lifelong friend Craig Blackwell, the...

Ray and Steve are back with a brand-new episode that finds them venturing into uncharted territory…an episode of a Queensrÿche podcast that doesn’t focus on Queensrÿche! This time, the guys pay tribute to German metal legends Accept. With Accept opening the recently completed Volume & Vengeance Tour alongside Queensrÿche, and with so many fascinating parallels between the two bands,...

Ray and Steve are back with a brand-new episode, and this time they’re diving headfirst into Tribe , the 2003 release from Queensrÿche. With the band facing tight deadlines and creative pressure, the album marked the return of Chris DeGarmo, who contributed both songwriting and guitar work. Did his involvement give the band a spark or was it a case of the magic being gone? You’ll have to tune in t...

Ray and Steve kick off 2026 the only way that makes sense: finally dropping the long-awaited Top 10 of the Classic Queensrÿche Countdown . Yes, we made it. The journey is complete. The debates were heated. The rankings were… questionable! Which songs crack the Top 10? Which tracks are criminally underranked by one host but heroically rescued by the other? And which song rises above the chaos to cl...

Join Ray and Steve as they dive into their recent — and separate — experiences attending Queensrÿche’s Volume and Vengeance Tour , featuring special guests Accept!  SPOILER ALERT – This episode is packed with insights, reactions, and full-on spoilers, so if you plan on catching the tour and prefer to go in blind, consider this your official warning! For everyone else, buckle in for a fu...

Ray and Steve return with the latest installment of The Classic Queensrÿche Countdown! This time, the Top 20 reveal begins as the hosts cover #20 through #11! As usual, there are controversial rankings that lead to laugh-filled arguments and moments of overly dramatic reactions.  Plus, TONS of listener feedback on our Q2K and Geoff Tate Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter review sh...

Join Ray and Steve for an in-depth review of their recent (but separate) concert experiences seeing Geoff Tate’s “Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter” Tour! Just a warning, SPOILERS abound in the analysis of the tour, so proceed with caution if you haven’t seen it yet and want a spoiler-free experience. Otherwise, tune in for the laughs and the stories of an amaz...

Ray and Steve are back with a new episode! In this episode, the guys dig into Queensrÿche’s 1999 album Q2K, the band’s first release after Chris DeGarmo’s departure and the debut of guitarist Kelly Gray. It’s an album that split the fanbase right down the middle… and unsurprisingly, Ray and Steve don’t exactly see eye to eye on it either. They go track by track, rank every song, and compare Q...

Ray and Steve are back with the fourth explosive installment of the Classic Queensrÿche Countdown series! This episode covers rankings #34 through #21 of every classic-lineup-era track, and trust us—things get a little h eated!  Expect passionate debates, deeply personal musical confessions, and more than one “Are you kidding me?!” moment. Which beloved track got the cold shoulder? Which...

Ray and Steve return with part TWO of their “Setlist Extravaganza,” in which they cover the current Iron Maiden “Run For Your Lives” setlist, talk about the three best setlists they’ve ever seen from any bands, get into the best Queensryche setlist they’ve seen from past tours, and a bunch of other nerdy setlist-related stuff! Because it was part two, split and...

Ray and Steve return with their Setlist Extravaganza episode. As any frequent listener knows, Ray has been complaining about the Origins Tour setlist and the recent Queensryche setlists for months. His big gripe is that the band basically treats the music of the Todd La Torre era as an afterthought and will not embrace who they are as a band in the new era. So…the hosts thought it would be a...

Ray and Steve return with the third installment of the Classic Queensryche Countdown! This time, the guys cover songs #46 through #35 on their comprehensive rankings of all “classic-era” songs from the EP through Hear In The Now Frontier. What Queensryche album has Steve apparently never listened to?? What songs cause the most heartache and pain this time?? What song do the hosts agree...

Ray and Steve return with a full track-by-track breakdown and analysis of Queensrÿche’s 2019 album, The Verdict! Todd LaTorre takes center stage on this album with his lead vocals, drumming, lyric writing and even…a guitar solo?!? How does The Verdict stack up to the other modern-era albums and with the classic Queensrÿche catalog? Tune in as the hosts deep-dive into the songs, rank th...

Ray and Steve return with the second installment of the Classic Queensryche Countdown! This time, the guys cover songs 59 through 47 on their comprehensive rankings of all “classic-era” songs from the EP through Hear In The Now Frontier. What songs will cause controversy, hurt feelings and division this time?? Tune in to find out! There’s also plenty of listener feedback rev...

Ray and Steve return to discuss their favorite songwriting contributions from original Queensryche lead vocalist Geoff Tate! The list spans most of Geoff’s catalog while with the band and is a wide-ranging representation of different styles. The hosts also reviewed the feedback received from the listeners on the last two episodes. We’d love for you to subscribe to the show on Apple, Sp...

It’s a combo/co-production episode of both Asylum AND I Remember Now: The Queensrÿche Podcast. In this bonus episode, it’s some Queensrÿche on Queensrÿche gladiators. Ray (of both podcasts) defends the 1986 Queensrÿche classic Rage For Order . In the other corner is our very own Steve , who defended the 1990 classic  Empire . The rules: After a coin flip, the winner can either go first...

Ray and Steve kick off 2025 with the first installment of their new series, “Counting Down Classic Queensryche!” The guys have covered all of the albums from the original, classic lineup and now take on the monumental task of ranking and counting down ALL of the tracks from the classic era, from #74, all the way to #1. Each host did their own individual rankings and then combined the t...

Ray and Steve and Brian Heaton return to discuss part TWO of Queensryche’s 2006 album, Operation: Mindcrime II . The album is given the track-by-track breakdown treatment, complete with song rankings and ranking the album versus the others that have been reviewed. Since Jason Slater produced the album, Brian shares tons of behind-the-scenes stories and insight of the album from his close, pe...

Ray and Steve return after a long absence and welcome guest host Brian Heaton to the show! Brian joins to discuss his new book Jason Slater: For The Sake of Supposing and to sit in as the hosts review Queensryche’s 2006 album, Operation: Mindcrime II. The album is given the track-by-track breakdown treatment. Since Jason Slater produced the album, Brian shares a ton of behind-the-scenes stor...

Ray and Steve are finally back with a new episode! Join the hosts for a discussion of: – What are the top five Queensryche guitar riffs from the classic line-up era? – An in-depth review of the original self-titled Queensryche EP, including a track-by-track breakdown, song rankings, and personal stories about the record! – A ton of feedback from the last two episodes that covered...

Join Ray, Steve, and Producer Tim as they conclude their deep-dive analysis of Operation: Mindcrime. The discussion then turns to the impossible task of ranking the tracks and the not-nearly-as-hard task of ranking the album in the Queensrÿche catalog. We’d love it if you subscribed to the show on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts. Also, rate, like, and revi...

Hey, I Remember Now: The Queensrÿche Podcast listeners…are you ready for Operation: Mindcrime?? Ray and Steve decided it was finally time to tackle the monster 1988 Queensrÿche concept album on this new episode! It’s been a long time coming, and they’ve put it off for months, but the guys finally got it on the schedule. Due to the importance of this album in Queensrÿche history,...