Long before Seattle spawned Nirvana and their grunge ilk, the city was home to many groundbreaking rock bands. In the ’60s, Jimi Hendrix emerged from the jet city. Seattle sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson carried the torch for female hard rockers with their band Heart in the ’70s. Then in the early ’80s, one of the most groundbreaking bands in metal emerged from the city.

Queensryche‘s independently released 1983 debut EP set the metal world on its ear. The band’s sound was the perfect storm of Iron Maiden meets Judas Priest with a bit of Rush-worshipping prog rock thrown in. The delivery was quite unlike anything that came before, especially from an American band.