ALL of queensryche's post-EMPIRE albums are very good! "PROMISED LAND" was a dark, introspective album. "HEAR IN THE NOW FRONTIER" was actually quite "radio friendly"...full of simpler, more comercially viable (for 1997) tunes..."Q2K" is a great record...melodic, rich, and full of good lyrics and great vocals...
chris degarmo, by most accounts, has dropped out of the music biz all together...