Michael Wilton — born in the United States on 23 February 1962 — is Queensrÿche's founding guitarist and, alongside bassist Eddie Jackson, the only member present throughout the band's entire history. His function is the counterweight to Chris DeGarmo. While his partner wrote open arrangements and progressions that moved away from heavy metal, Wilton kept the weight: solid riffs, firm attack and solos with technical phrasing inherited from the British tradition. That combination of two distinct schools within the same band is what gives the classic records their texture — elaborate melody over a base that is still metal. When DeGarmo left in 1997, and later when Geoff Tate left the group in 2012, it fell to Wilton to carry the continuity. He is the one who held the band through the court disputes over the name and the successive changes of line-up, arriving at the recent records with Todd La Torre on vocals. He is the link that lets line-ups separated by forty years still sound like the same group.
Metalicks is a community-run informational and cultural portal. The information on this page — texts, images, logos, cover art and other materials — is credited to their respective authors, artists, bands, labels and rights holders. Metalicks does not claim ownership over any of the works portrayed here, and all rights remain with their rightful owners. Content is gathered from public sources and community contributions; any inaccuracies can be corrected using the button below. Rights holders who wish to request a correction or removal of any content may do so at any time.
