Origin: Seattle, Washington (USA)

Q5

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

Q5 albums:

	When the mirror cracks - 1986 (with lyrics)
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Notes about Q5:

 Text in English

- Q5 is a hard rock and heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1983 [1, 2]. Its first album, *Steel the Light*, came out in the United States in 1984 on the independent Albatross label and in Europe in 1985 on Music for Nations, and its second, *When the Mirror Cracks* (1986), moved closer to AOR [3–6]. The band split up in 1989, re-formed in 2014 and released a third album, *New World Order*, on Frontiers in 2016 [1, 2, 7]. Singer Jonathan K. is the only founding member in the current lineup [1].

Q5 brought together musicians from two Seattle bands. Singer Scott Palmerton, known as Jonathan K., and guitarist Floyd Rose, the inventor of the locking tremolo that bears his name, came from The C.O.R.E., which had opened locally for Sammy Hagar and had since broken up [1, 2, 6]. With a number of songs already written, the pair recruited guitarist Rick Pierce, bassist Evan Sheeley and drummer Gary Thompson from TKO to record a demo [1, 2, 6]. They submitted the tape to Ken Kinnear, who managed Heart through his company, Albatross Productions, and had earlier managed Mojo Hand, the band from which TKO had grown; impressed, he signed Q5 to a management contract [1, 6].

According to the band, Kinnear also brought in Mike Flicker, the producer of Heart's early albums [1, 8]. *Steel the Light* was recorded mostly at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, with finishing touches at The Music Source in Seattle [1, 3]. The original Albatross edition credits the production to Floyd Rose alone, for Rose Enterprises, with Dave Raynor as engineer and mastering by Greg Fulginiti [3]; the Music for Nations and Canadian editions add Flicker as co-producer of two songs, "Come and Gone" and "Rock On" [4]. Rose is credited on all nine songs and Jonathan K. on eight; Pierce shares the credits for "Missing in Action" and "Rock On", and Sheeley for the title track. The Music for Nations sleeve also names two co-writers from outside the band, F. Morissette, on "Missing in Action" and "Come and Gone", and M. Rain, on "In the Night" [4]; according to Metallian, Mike Rain had played bass in The C.O.R.E. [6].

Kinnear's label, Albatross Records, released *Steel the Light* in 1984 (AL 4006), in a sleeve designed by Rollin Thomas [3, 6]. In 1985 the album was licensed to Music for Nations in London, which issued it on 8 March (MFN 39) with a new cover, a spaceship painting by the British science-fiction illustrator Angus McKie, and to Mercury in Canada and Victor in Japan [4, 6, 9]. Music for Nations promoted the record widely and released the title track as a 12-inch single, with "That's Alright With You" on the B-side [4, 6]. According to the band, *Steel the Light* was less known in the United States than in Europe, so Q5 came to be seen as a European-style band and was often grouped with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal [1]. The band opened for Twisted Sister, Y&T and Lita Ford [2, 6, 10].

*When the Mirror Cracks* was recorded at Floyd Rose Studios by the same lineup [5, 6]. Rose produced it, again for Rose Enterprises, and engineered it with Thompson; Sheeley, Rose and Thompson mixed it, and Mike Reese mastered it at The Mastering Lab [5]. Sheeley played bass and keyboards and handled the sequencing, and Thompson added drum programming to his drums and percussion. Sheeley, Rose and Jonathan K. are credited on all ten songs, Thompson also on the title track, and Pierce on the title track and "Let Go" [5]. Metallian describes the album as a turn towards AOR, with the keyboards to the fore and without the logo used on the debut, while the band calls it a slight departure from the first record [1, 6]. Licensed from Albatross, it was released in September 1986 by Music for Nations in Europe (MFN 64) and in North America by Squawk, through Mercury and PolyGram; in the United States, Squawk issued the opening track, "Livin' on the Borderline", on a promotional 12-inch [5]. According to the band, the album earned Q5 a contract with PolyGram and a production deal with Q Prime, the New York company that managed Metallica [1, 6].

Work on a third album began in 1988 [1]. Musical differences arose within the band, and the record company wanted a softer sound; according to Metallian, PolyGram's A&R staff, who were also Metallica's managers, turned the new material down [1, 6]. Jonathan K. and Pierce were the first to leave, to form Nightshade, and in 1989 Q5 broke up [1, 6].

Nightshade's first album, *Dead of Night*, was released by Music for Nations in 1991 (MFN 122), with Anthony Magnelli on bass and Jeffrey McCormack on drums [2, 11]. Produced by the band with Stevie Adamek and written by Jonathan K., credited as Jonathan Scott K., and Pierce, it included material originally intended for Q5's third album [2, 6, 10, 11]. The cover bore the words "Formerly Q5" and the same spaceship as *Steel the Light* [6, 12]. Nightshade released two more albums on Hellion Records, *Men of Iron* (2001) and *Stand and Be True* (2008), and kept Q5 songs in its live set; Sheeley joined in 2003 [1, 6, 11].

In 2009 Nightshade was booked for the Headbangers Open Air festival in Germany, and the promoters asked it to play a second set as Q5 [2, 10]. Jonathan K., Pierce and Sheeley took the stage under the old name with Nightshade's drummer, Frankie Rongo, and both sets were released on the festival's DVD [1, 6, 13]. Q5 did not play again until 2014, when Sweden Rock Festival invited it for what was meant to be a one-off show, with Metal Church guitarist Rick Van Zandt; after the concert the members decided to carry on [2, 6, 10]. Back in Seattle they brought back McCormack, formerly of Heir Apparent and Fifth Angel, and recruited guitarist Kendall Bechtel, also formerly of Fifth Angel, and the new lineup made its debut in November 2014 at the Rock You To Hell festival in Athens, followed by a headline show in Cyprus [6, 10]. Bechtel left for personal reasons and was replaced by Dennis Turner, and in August 2015 Q5 signed with Frontiers [2, 10].

*New World Order* was released on 8 July 2016 (FR CD 743) [7]. Produced by the band, recorded and mixed by Richard Williams at Plum Tree Studios and mastered by Troy Glessner at Spectre Studios, it featured Jonathan K., Pierce, Turner, Sheeley and McCormack and was the first Q5 album without Floyd Rose [6, 7]. Frontiers released a video for "The Right Way" [7].

In 2017 the band played Keep It True XX in Germany [6, 13]. In July 2018 the Greek label No Remorse reissued *Steel the Light* as a double CD remastered by Bart Gabriel, adding the B-side of the 1985 single, the 1984 demo, an unreleased 1983 demo and live recordings made in Seattle in 1983 and 1984; the band had called the earlier CD reissue by the German label High Vaultage (2000) unofficial [4, 14]. That August Q5 toured Europe playing the album in full [6, 15]. By then Pierce had left, and James Nelson had joined Turner on guitar [6, 16]. Sheeley left in 2019, and in 2020 a further overhaul left Jonathan K. as the only remaining member [6]. Among those who passed through the band in those years were guitarists Chris Egar and Blake Turner, Dennis Turner's son, and bassist Michael Self [6]. The current lineup has two guitarists, Duffy Delgado, formerly of Ruff Justice, who had first joined briefly in 2020, and Michael David, formerly of TKO and FireWölfe, whose arrival, planned for that year, was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic; bassist Chad Thomas, in the band since 2022; and drummer Jarratt Vandyke, who joined in February 2023 [1, 6]. On 13 September 2025 Q5 played the ninth Pyrenean Warriors Open Air at Torreilles, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, on a bill headed by Jag Panzer and Riot City [1, 17].

Other bands have recorded Q5 songs. Great White included "Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady" on *Recover*, a covers album recorded in 1989 and released in 2002; Powergod recorded "Steel the Light" for *Bleed for the Gods – That's Metal Lesson* (2001); and Wolf added "Missing in Action" to the special edition of *Devil Seed* (2014) [8, 12, 18]. October 31 have also covered the band [2, 6, 10]. -

Notas sobre Q5:

 Texto en Español

- Q5 es un grupo de hard rock y heavy metal de Seattle (Washington) formado en 1983 [1, 2]. Su primer disco, *Steel the Light*, salió en Estados Unidos en 1984 en el sello independiente Albatross y en Europa en 1985 en Music for Nations, y el segundo, *When the Mirror Cracks* (1986), se acercó al AOR [3–6]. El grupo se separó en 1989, volvió a reunirse en 2014 y publicó un tercer disco, *New World Order*, con Frontiers en 2016 [1, 2, 7]. El cantante Jonathan K. es el único miembro fundador de la formación actual [1].

Q5 reunió a músicos de dos grupos de Seattle. El cantante Scott Palmerton, conocido como Jonathan K., y el guitarrista Floyd Rose, inventor del trémolo de bloqueo que lleva su nombre, procedían de The C.O.R.E., que había teloneado a Sammy Hagar en la zona y ya se había disuelto [1, 2, 6]. Con varias canciones escritas, los dos reclutaron en TKO al guitarrista Rick Pierce, al bajista Evan Sheeley y al batería Gary Thompson para grabar una maqueta [1, 2, 6]. La cinta se la entregaron a Ken Kinnear, que llevaba la carrera de Heart a través de su empresa, Albatross Productions, y antes había sido mánager de Mojo Hand, el grupo del que había surgido TKO; impresionado, firmó con Q5 un contrato de representación [1, 6].

Según el grupo, Kinnear recurrió además a Mike Flicker, productor de los primeros discos de Heart [1, 8]. *Steel the Light* se grabó sobre todo en los Cherokee Studios de Los Ángeles, con los últimos retoques en The Music Source, en Seattle [1, 3]. La edición original de Albatross atribuye la producción solo a Floyd Rose, para Rose Enterprises, con Dave Raynor como ingeniero de sonido y masterización de Greg Fulginiti [3]; las ediciones de Music for Nations y la canadiense añaden a Flicker como coproductor de dos canciones, «Come and Gone» y «Rock On» [4]. Rose firma las nueve canciones y Jonathan K., ocho; Pierce comparte la autoría de «Missing in Action» y «Rock On», y Sheeley la de la canción que da título al disco. La funda de Music for Nations nombra además a dos coautores ajenos al grupo, F. Morissette, en «Missing in Action» y «Come and Gone», y M. Rain, en «In the Night» [4]; según Metallian, Mike Rain había sido el bajista de The C.O.R.E. [6].

El sello de Kinnear, Albatross Records, publicó *Steel the Light* en 1984 (AL 4006), con una portada diseñada por Rollin Thomas [3, 6]. En 1985 el disco se licenció a Music for Nations, de Londres, que lo editó el 8 de marzo (MFN 39) con una portada nueva, una nave espacial pintada por el ilustrador británico de ciencia ficción Angus McKie, y también a Mercury en Canadá y a Victor en Japón [4, 6, 9]. Music for Nations lo promocionó ampliamente y publicó la canción titular en un maxisencillo, con «That's Alright With You» en la cara B [4, 6]. Según el grupo, *Steel the Light* fue menos conocido en Estados Unidos que en Europa, de modo que a Q5 se le tuvo por un grupo de estilo europeo y a menudo se le asoció con la New Wave of British Heavy Metal [1]. El grupo actuó como telonero de Twisted Sister, Y&T y Lita Ford [2, 6, 10].

*When the Mirror Cracks* lo grabó la misma formación en los Floyd Rose Studios [5, 6]. Rose lo produjo, de nuevo para Rose Enterprises, y se ocupó de la ingeniería de sonido junto a Thompson; Sheeley, Rose y Thompson lo mezclaron, y Mike Reese lo masterizó en The Mastering Lab [5]. Sheeley tocó el bajo y los teclados y se encargó de las secuencias, y Thompson tocó la batería y la percusión y se ocupó de las programaciones de batería. Sheeley, Rose y Jonathan K. firman las diez canciones; Thompson figura además en la que da título al disco, y Pierce en esa y en «Let Go» [5]. Metallian lo describe como un giro hacia el AOR, con los teclados en primer plano y sin el logotipo del debut, mientras que el grupo lo considera un ligero cambio respecto al primer disco [1, 6]. Licenciado por Albatross, salió en septiembre de 1986 en Europa con Music for Nations (MFN 64) y en Norteamérica con Squawk, a través de Mercury y PolyGram; en Estados Unidos, Squawk distribuyó la canción que lo abre, «Livin' on the Borderline», en un maxisencillo promocional [5]. Según el grupo, el disco le valió un contrato con PolyGram y un acuerdo de producción con Q Prime, la empresa neoyorquina que representaba a Metallica [1, 6].

El trabajo en un tercer disco empezó en 1988 [1]. Surgieron diferencias musicales en el grupo y la compañía quería un sonido más suave; según Metallian, el departamento de A&R de PolyGram, cuyos responsables eran también los mánagers de Metallica, rechazó el material nuevo [1, 6]. Jonathan K. y Pierce fueron los primeros en marcharse, para formar Nightshade, y en 1989 Q5 se separó [1, 6].

El primer disco de Nightshade, *Dead of Night*, lo publicó Music for Nations en 1991 (MFN 122), con Anthony Magnelli al bajo y Jeffrey McCormack a la batería [2, 11]. Producido por el grupo con Stevie Adamek y compuesto por Jonathan K., acreditado como Jonathan Scott K., y Pierce, incluía material pensado en origen para el tercer disco de Q5 [2, 6, 10, 11]. La portada llevaba la leyenda «Formerly Q5» y la misma nave espacial de *Steel the Light* [6, 12]. Nightshade publicó otros dos discos con Hellion Records, *Men of Iron* (2001) y *Stand and Be True* (2008), y mantuvo canciones de Q5 en su repertorio en directo; Sheeley se unió al grupo en 2003 [1, 6, 11].

En 2009, Nightshade figuraba en el cartel del festival Headbangers Open Air, en Alemania, y los promotores le pidieron que tocara un segundo concierto como Q5 [2, 10]. Jonathan K., Pierce y Sheeley subieron al escenario con el antiguo nombre y con el batería de Nightshade, Frankie Rongo, y las dos actuaciones se publicaron en el DVD del festival [1, 6, 13]. Q5 no volvió a tocar hasta 2014, cuando el Sweden Rock Festival lo invitó a un concierto que iba a ser único, con el guitarrista de Metal Church Rick Van Zandt; tras la actuación, sus miembros decidieron seguir [2, 6, 10]. De vuelta en Seattle recuperaron a McCormack, que había pasado por Heir Apparent y Fifth Angel, y reclutaron al guitarrista Kendall Bechtel, también exmiembro de Fifth Angel, y la nueva formación se estrenó en noviembre de 2014 en el festival Rock You To Hell de Atenas, antes de encabezar un concierto en Chipre [6, 10]. Bechtel se marchó por motivos personales y lo sustituyó Dennis Turner, y en agosto de 2015 Q5 fichó por Frontiers [2, 10].

*New World Order* salió el 8 de julio de 2016 (FR CD 743) [7]. Producido por el propio grupo, con grabación y mezcla de Richard Williams en los Plum Tree Studios y masterización de Troy Glessner en los Spectre Studios, contó con Jonathan K., Pierce, Turner, Sheeley y McCormack y fue el primer disco de Q5 sin Floyd Rose [6, 7]. Frontiers publicó un vídeo de «The Right Way» [7].

En 2017 el grupo tocó en el Keep It True XX, en Alemania [6, 13]. En julio de 2018, el sello griego No Remorse reeditó *Steel the Light* en un CD doble remasterizado por Bart Gabriel, con la cara B del maxisencillo de 1985, la maqueta de 1984, una maqueta inédita de 1983 y grabaciones en directo hechas en Seattle en 1983 y 1984; el grupo había calificado de no oficial la reedición anterior en CD del sello alemán High Vaultage (2000) [4, 14]. En agosto de ese año, Q5 hizo una gira europea tocando el disco completo [6, 15]. Para entonces Pierce ya no estaba en el grupo, y James Nelson acompañaba a Turner a la guitarra [6, 16]. Sheeley se marchó en 2019, y en 2020 una nueva renovación dejó a Jonathan K. como único miembro [6]. Por el grupo pasaron en esos años, entre otros, los guitarristas Chris Egar y Blake Turner, hijo de Dennis Turner, y el bajista Michael Self [6]. Completan la formación actual dos guitarristas, Duffy Delgado, que había tocado en Ruff Justice y ya estuvo brevemente en el grupo en 2020, y Michael David, antiguo miembro de TKO y FireWölfe, cuya incorporación, prevista para ese año, se aplazó por la pandemia de COVID-19, además del bajista Chad Thomas, en el grupo desde 2022, y el batería Jarratt Vandyke, que entró en febrero de 2023 [1, 6]. El 13 de septiembre de 2025, Q5 actuó en la novena edición del Pyrenean Warriors Open Air, en Torreilles (Pirineos Orientales, Francia), en un cartel encabezado por Jag Panzer y Riot City [1, 17].

Otros grupos han versionado canciones de Q5. Great White incluyó «Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady» en *Recover*, un disco de versiones grabado en 1989 y publicado en 2002; Powergod grabó «Steel the Light» para *Bleed for the Gods – That's Metal Lesson* (2001), y Wolf añadió «Missing in Action» a la edición especial de *Devil Seed* (2014) [8, 12, 18]. October 31 también ha versionado a Q5 [2, 6, 10]. -

Sources/Fuentes

1. Q5, official website. Home page: https://www.q5official.com/. "History": https://www.q5official.com/q5-members-over-the-years. "Current Lineup": https://www.q5official.com/current-lineup. Consulted 19 October 2026.

2. Blabbermouth.net, "Reformed Seattle Rockers Q5 Sign With FRONTIERS", 6 August 2015: https://blabbermouth.net/news/reformed-seattle-rockers-q5-sign-with-frontiers.

3. Q5, *Steel the Light*, LP, Albatross Records AL 4006, US, 1984. Sleeve and label credits as transcribed in Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/6003286-Q5-Steel-The-Light.

4. Q5, *Steel the Light*. LP, Music For Nations MFN 39, UK, 8 March 1985: https://www.discogs.com/release/2125939-Q5-Steel-The-Light. LP, Mercury 826 359-1, Canada, 1985: https://www.discogs.com/release/2565705-Q5-Steel-The-Light. LP, Victor VIL-6173, Japan, 1985: https://www.discogs.com/release/7248330-Q5-Steel-The-Light. "Steel The Light", 12" single, Music For Nations 12 KUT 115, UK, 1985: https://www.discogs.com/release/1141549-Q5-Steel-The-Light. Credits as transcribed in Discogs; all editions are listed under https://www.discogs.com/master/276211-Q5-Steel-The-Light.

5. Q5, *When the Mirror Cracks*. LP, Music For Nations MFN 64, UK, September 1986: https://www.discogs.com/release/1662081-Q5-When-The-Mirror-Cracks. LP, Mercury/Squawk 422 832 728-1 Q-1, US, 1986: https://www.discogs.com/release/7401022-Q5-When-The-Mirror-Cracks. "Livin' On The Borderline", promotional 12", Squawk PRO 533-1, US, 1986: https://www.discogs.com/release/5121183-Q5-Livin-On-The-Borderline-. Credits as transcribed in Discogs; all editions are listed under https://www.discogs.com/master/457941-Q5-When-The-Mirror-Cracks.

6. Metallian, "Q5": https://metallian.com/q5.php. "Nightshade": https://metallian.com/nightshade.php. Consulted 19 October 2026.

7. Q5, *New World Order*, CD, Frontiers Music SRL FR CD 743, Italy, 8 July 2016. Credits as transcribed in Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/8747467-Q5-New-World-Order.

8. Wikipedia, "Q5 (band)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q5_(band). "Mike Flicker": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Flicker. "Dreamboat Annie": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamboat_Annie. "Recover (Great White album)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recover_(Great_White_album). Consulted 19 October 2026.

9. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, "McKie, Angus", entry updated 12 September 2022: https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/mckie_angus.

10. Frontiers Music, "Q5", artist page, consulted 19 October 2026: https://www.frontiers.it/artist/1892.

11. Nightshade, *Dead of Night*, LP, Music For Nations MFN 122, UK, 1991: https://www.discogs.com/release/4099883-Nightshade-5-Dead-Of-Night. *Men of Iron*, 2001: https://www.discogs.com/master/935294. *Stand and Be True*, CD, Hellion Records, 2008: https://www.discogs.com/release/6257698. Discogs.

12. Metal Kingdom. Nightshade, *Dead of Night*: https://www.metalkingdom.net/album/nightshade-dead-of-night-153496. Powergod, *Bleed for the Gods – That's Metal Lesson*: https://www.metalkingdom.net/album/powergod-bleed-for-the-gods-that%27s-metal-lesson-25058. Consulted 19 October 2026.

13. Various artists, *Headbangers Open Air 2009*, 2×DVD, Hellion Records, 2010: https://www.discogs.com/release/15232301-Various-Headbangers-Open-Air-2009. Various artists, *Keep It True XX*, 2×DVD, Metal Entertainment, 2018: https://www.discogs.com/release/11940361. Discogs.

14. Q5, *Steel the Light*, 2×CD, deluxe edition, No Remorse Records 0744430522366, Greece, 16 July 2018. Credits and notes as transcribed in Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/12293953-Q5-Steel-The-Light.

15. Pat "Riot" Whitaker, "Oldschool Sunday: Q5", *Riff Relevant*, 15 April 2018: https://www.riffrelevant.com/2018/04/15/oldschool-sunday-q5-steel-the-light-re-issue-tour-2/.

16. "Gig Review: Q5 – Bannermans, Edinburgh (29th August 2018)", *Moshville Times*, August 2018: https://www.moshville.co.uk/reviews/gig-review/2018/08/gig-review-q5-bannermans-edinburgh-29th-august-2018/. Discogs, Q5 artist profile, consulted 19 October 2026: https://www.discogs.com/artist/594809-Q5.

17. Festival en France, "Pyrenean Warrior Open Air — édition 2025", consulted 19 October 2026: https://www.festivalenfrance.com/festival/pyrenean-warrior-open-air/2025.

18. Wolf, *Devil Seed*, CD, special edition (digipak), Century Media 9984398, Germany, 25 August 2014. Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/6374010-Wolf-3-Devil-Seed.