Before establishing themselves as both a commercial and a progressive metal force, Seattle's Queensryche dealt classic metal steeped in English tradition. In fact, their 1983 self-titled debut EP, while largely ignored in America, became a sensation in the U.K. and Europe. The band displays an obvious Iron Maiden influence in their early songs, which often featured "dungeons and dragons" lyrical themes. Their classic "Queen of the Reich" is one such example (with a hilariously primitive adventure video to boot), while "The Lady Wore Black" displays more maturity -- a sign of things to come. EMI scored an extra point when issuing the CD version by adding "Prophecy," a phenomenal outtake from the Rage for Order sessions that helps make this a must-have release for Queensryche fans. [The EMI 2003 reissue includes not only 24-bit remastered sound, but ten live tracks from 1984 that were originally found on the Live in Tokyo video.] ~ Eduardo Rivadavia