My one and only tattoo is the Queensrÿche symbol, and so I'm a biased fanboi. Tate was my favorite vocalist - followed closely by Dickinson and Halford back in their heyday. That said, I've been so disgusted by their output over the past several albums that I don't bother to see them on tour - especially with Tate's range diminishing over time, and their odd choices - Cabaret, really?
While Tate is certainly the main draw because of his (past) vocal ability, I'd be kidding myself to say I believe that the band has flourished of late. Geoff is still a great singer even with the toll age and cigarettes have placed on his vocal chords, but clearly his heart and mind are not in the same universe as the one the fans of the band crave. Simply look at their 1st week record sales on the past releases, which have each declined dramatically from one to the next, and it's clear the band has lost its way with its fanbase (B'mouth used to put the stats in nearly every article on QR, but it's not in this one.)
Rush, on the other hand, just had 100K 1st week sales and debuts at #2 on Billboard.
While this is sad for me as a fan of the band since the debut, perhaps this will be the proverbial shot in the arm the rest of the boys need to release a metal record worthy of the name. My hope is that Geoff/Susan have been controlling the band's direction, and the other guys have been saving up their metal riffs for a day just like today. It may be a longshot [no, not directed at you, John ;-)] but at least it's a shot, and simply based on the YouTube videos of the Rising West shows - I'm at least willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.