Origin: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Q5

Gary Thompson - Floyd Rose - Evan Sheeley - Rick Pierce - Jonathan Scott K.

Q5 discography:

When the mirror cracks - 1986 (with lyrics)

Notes about Q5:

- Q5 stands as one of the most unique and revered bands in the history of American hard rock and heavy metal, possessing a legacy that balances the raw power of classic metal with the commercial appeal of 1980s melodic rock. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1983, the group emerged as a local supergroup that united musicians from two highly popular acts on the scene. On one side, vocalist Scott Palmerton—known artistically as Jonathan K.—and guitarist Floyd Rose came from the local band The C.O.R.E., which had disbanded after opening locally for Sammy Hagar. Left with a handful of newly written songs, the duo recruited guitarist Rick Pierce, bassist Evan Sheeley, and drummer Gary Thompson, all of whom had recently departed from the renowned Seattle band TKO. This potent union of talents immediately caught the attention of manager Ken Kinnear—who had previously managed fellow Seattle act Mojo Hand and was by then well known for guiding Heart's career through his company Albatross Productions—and he signed the quintet after being thoroughly impressed by their initial demos.

The band's breakthrough followed the release of their 1984 debut album, Steel the Light. The record was issued in the US on Kinnear's own Albatross label, primarily tracked at the prestigious Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, with additional work done at The Music Source in Seattle, under the production of Floyd Rose himself and Grammy Award-winning producer Mike Flicker. The album was licensed to the London-based Music for Nations for a 1985 European release, with Atlantic Records handling its Canadian distribution. Featuring a spectacular and iconic cover designed by local artist Rollin C. Thomas, powerful anthems like "Steel the Light" and "Pull the Trigger," and a distinct lyrical affinity for science fiction, the European press instantly acclaimed them, frequently associating them with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). This critical impact opened the doors to extensive international tours, sharing the stage with titans of the era such as Twisted Sister, Y&T, and Lita Ford, cementing Steel the Light as an essential masterpiece in any metalhead's collection.

The European success prompted the multinational PolyGram Records, through its Squawk imprint, and the New York management firm QPrime—best known for managing Metallica—to back the band for their 1986 sophomore release, When the Mirror Cracks. Although the original lineup remained intact, the album marked a drastic and controversial musical departure toward AOR and the more commercial melodic rock of American radio, led off by the single "Livin' on the Borderline." The band ditched its classic heavy metal logo and noticeably watered down its sound, forcing Evan Sheeley to pull double duty on bass and dense synthesizer sequencing. Work began on a third album in 1988, but intense pressure from the label and from QPrime to commercialize the sound even further, combined with growing internal and personal differences, fractured the group's cohesion. Jonathan K. and Rick Pierce were the first to leave, going on to found Nightshade, while the remaining trio of Evan Sheeley, Floyd Rose, and Gary Thompson recruited a Canadian singer named Marty and cut a new round of demos. According to band lore, those tapes reached producer Ted Templeman, known for his work with Eddie Van Halen — but Floyd Rose's rival claim over the locking tremolo system and his strained relationship with Eddie are said to have scuttled a deal with Warner Music, closing the door on the original Q5 by 1989.

Following the breakup, Jonathan K. and Rick Pierce chose to forge ahead by rescuing much of the material originally written for Q5's planned third album. In 1991, they founded Nightshade alongside bassist Anthony Magnelli and drummer Jeffrey McCormack. Their debut album, Dead of Night, released by Music for Nations, featured a promotional sticker heralding their past in Q5 and utilized the same spaceship from Steel the Light on its cover to maintain a nostalgic link with their fans—a formula they kept alive over the next decade with two additional albums, Men of Iron and Stand and Be True. The story of Q5 took an unexpected turn in 2009 when Nightshade was invited to perform at the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany, with Evan Sheeley back on bass. The promoters asked them to perform a second surprise set under the Q5 name, and the crowd's response was so overwhelming that it sowed the seeds for a formal comeback. This return materialized in 2014 at the prestigious Sweden Rock Festival, a performance initially planned as a "one-off" reunion show that ultimately sparked the definitive rebirth of the band.

Upon returning to Seattle after their success in Sweden, the group formally restructured, securing drummer Jeffrey McCormack (formerly of Heir Apparent and Fifth Angel) and temporarily bringing in guitarist Kendall Bechtel. Although Bechtel had to leave the project shortly after due to personal reasons, the band quickly secured guitar virtuoso Dennis Turner to complete an official lineup that signed with the renowned Italian label Frontiers Records. Under this new era, Q5 published their long-awaited third studio album, New World Order, in 2016, returning the group to the forefront of international hard rock. Despite undergoing constant line-up overhauls in the following years—including Sheeley's departure in 2019, brief stints by musicians like guitarist Duffy Delgado or bassist Michael Self, and the widespread shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020—original vocalist Jonathan K. has continued to lead the project, surrounded by a gifted new generation of musicians, including guitarist Michael David. With tracks from their debut covered by bands such as Great White, October 31, Powergod, and Wolf, and confirmed bookings at prestigious European festivals like the Pyrenean Warriors Open Air in France, Q5 continues to prove the immortality of their catalog and their undisputed status as a cult legend of global metal. -