It’s time to get back to the celebration of 1984, which will run to the end of this year to commemorate the 40^th anniversary of this great music.

Today’s song comes from the debut album of Seattle metal outfit Queensrÿche. I covered the album last year before I realized I’d be doing this running 1984 deal, but I can pull the signature song and have a deeper look at it.

Take Hold Of The Flame was released as the second single from the album The Warning. It didn’t chart in the US and I don’t have any international chart information, but this was reportedly “big in Japan.” That does track, as Queensrÿche headed over there in short order and even recorded live stuff in Tokyo.

This is honestly a straightforward metal song from an album with a bit of embellishment on it, and from a band whose career could accurately be described as “out in left field.” But this is off and running riffs that are largely contained and pounding drums and bass. There’s a solo, of course, this one I believe credited to Chris DeGarmo, but nothing really wild or flashy going on with this song.

The star of the song is the band’s singer Geoff Tate. Even in an age with luminaries like Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson, Ronnie James Dio and others providing a master class on heavy metal singing, Tate seemed to be from another planet on these early performances. He doesn’t necessarily show off here except for a small part at the very end, but his voice delivers these lyrics with full force.

Queensrÿche were really on some trippy stuff lyrically during their early run – AI robots, war, more AI robots, wives of prisoners and all sorts of other stuff that does somewhat involve AI robots. But on this song the group chose to hold off on predicting more of what 2024 would be like and provide a more relatable treatise on motivation and “grabbing the brass ring,” if you will. To some extent the song does dwell on those who did not get up and go get it, those lost who will fade from history. But overall the song is a memo to get off your ass and get it done, whatever “it” might be.

Take Hold Of The Flame became an early crowd favorite and Queensrÿche were happy to oblige – it remains the band’s fourth most-played song out live. This is counting the lineage of the band present today, Geoff Tate has played the song 214 times live while solo, good for sixth on his own list.

For Queensrÿche, this song was a part of a triumphant beginning that would launch one of the more unique careers in music. The band wouldn’t sound like this again but this early material is still widely hailed to this day.