Days later, the group launches its latest tour, a club-and-theater outing that so far comprises about two weeks of dates. Tickets for a number of shows are on sale now, and members of the band's fan club have access to special tickets and passes; details are posted at the group's website.

Queensryche's latest studio set, "Tribe," surfaced last year, and is the follow-up to 1999's "Q2K." The latter set was the group's first without original lead guitarist and band co-founder Degarmo, who left the group following 1997's "Hear in the Now Frontier."

Degarmo returned to the fold for several tracks on "Tribe," and frontman Geoff Tate, who in 2002 released his first solo set, credits Degarmo as being the catalyst for the making of "Tribe."

"We've been trying to figure out how to make a Queensryche record for awhile now," Tate said in a statement. "I guess you can say we've been at odds with one another, having a difficult time communicating, which I guess is natural after 20 years. So in the interim, I made a solo record with some new musicians. I enjoyed the camaraderie. It gave me some perspective. But when Chris joined us for these sessions, the songwriting process started anew and the entire band felt the energy."

Despite his involvement in the recording process, DeGarmo--who is now a jet pilot--opted not to join the band during the upcoming tour. Guitarist Mike Stone, who also played on "Tribe," is currently touring with the group.

Queensryche's most successful album remains 1990's "Empire." The multi-platinum set spawned the group's best-known hit, "Silent Lucidity."