You ever find a band that feels like a secret handshake? That’s basically The Black Queen. If you’ve spent any time in the orbit of heavy music, you probably know Greg Puciato. He spent fifteen years as the manic, vein-popping frontman of The Dillinger Escape Plan. But The Black Queen is a completely different beast. It’s not metal. It’s not "mathy." Honestly, it’s one of the most vulnerable and sonically dense electronic projects of the last decade.
They didn't just pop up out of nowhere. The trio—composed of Puciato, Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv, ex-Nine Inch Nails), and Steven Alexander Ryan (a long-time tech for NIN and Puscifer)—started as a shared obsession with 80s R&B and cold, dystopian synths.
They’re a "supergroup," but they don’t act like it. No ego. No massive marketing machines. Just three guys making music that sounds like a rainy night in a futuristic version of Los Angeles that never actually happened.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Sound
Most people see Greg Puciato’s name and expect a sonic assault. They want the screaming. They want the chaos. Instead, they get "Ice to Never." It’s a track that leans heavily into a New Order-meets-Janet Jackson vibe. Yeah, seriously.
The Black Queen is often slapped with the "synthwave" label. That’s kinda lazy. While they use the tools of the 80s—prophetic synths, gated reverb, and those distinct, icy drum machine clicks—they aren't just doing retro-cosplay. There’s a grit here. It’s "hookier, but more insidious," as Puciato himself once described it.
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The Foundation: Fever Daydream (2016)
When their debut album, Fever Daydream, dropped in 2016, it felt like a weirdly personal transmission. The band self-released it. They even did these incredibly limited editions—like 33 copies of a cassette—which created this immediate cult-like aura.
Songs like "Secret Scream" and "The End Where We Start" showed a side of Puciato’s voice that fans hadn't really heard: a breathy, soulful croon. It was intimate. It was scary. It was beautiful.
The Evolution: Infinite Games (2018)
By the time Infinite Games arrived in 2018, the band had been through some stuff. Their storage space was robbed. They lost gear. They lost time. But they also gained a label of their own—Federal Prisoner.
This second record moved away from the "pop" structures of the first. It’s more ambient. More textural. Tracks like "Thrown Into the Dark" still have that driving pulse, but the album as a whole feels like a singular, hour-long mood. It’s the kind of record you listen to on good headphones when you’re alone at 2 AM.
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The Current State of The Black Queen in 2026
It’s been a minute. We’re sitting here in 2026, and the "will they, won't they" regarding a third album (LP3) has been a constant conversation in Discord servers and Reddit threads for years.
Greg Puciato is arguably the busiest man in music. Between his solo records (Child Soldier, Mirrorcell), fronting Better Lovers, and touring with Jerry Cantrell, you’d think he’d forgotten about the synths. But he hasn’t.
As of late last year and into early 2026, the band has teased that "LP3" is finally hitting high gear. They’ve always said they won't force-create. They wait for the vibe to be right. That’s why their music doesn't age—it’s not tied to a trend cycle. It’s tied to their actual lives.
Why They Still Matter
- Total Independence: They proved you can bypass the traditional label system and still build a global following.
- Vulnerability: Seeing a "tough" metal frontman pivot to raw, emotional electronic music gave a lot of other artists permission to experiment.
- Visual Identity: Their aesthetic—the triangles, the black-and-white photography, the "Federal Prisoner" branding—is as much a part of the band as the music itself.
How to Get Into the Band Today
If you’re just discovering them, don’t start with the deep cuts. Go for the hits first. "Ice to Never" is the gateway drug. It’s got that infectious rhythm that makes you want to move, even if the lyrics are a bit bleak.
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Once you’re hooked, move to Fever Daydream in its entirety. It’s the most accessible starting point. Save Infinite Games for a night when you can actually sit still and listen. It’s a grower, not a shower.
Practical Steps for Fans
- Follow Federal Prisoner: This is their home. It’s where the vinyl drops and the cryptic teasers happen. If you want to know about LP3 before anyone else, this is the spot.
- Check the Gear: If you’re a synth nerd, look into their collaboration with Sequential. They use hardware like the Prophet-5 to get those lush, organic sounds that software just can't quite mimic.
- Go Solo: Dig into Greg’s solo work. While it’s more "rock" than The Black Queen, you can hear the crossover in tracks like "A Pair of Quiet Weapons."
- Listen to Telefon Tel Aviv: To understand the DNA of the production, you have to hear Joshua Eustis’s other work. Fahrenheit Fair Enough is a masterpiece of electronic architecture.
The Black Queen isn't a band that's going to top the Billboard 100. They don't want to. They’ve built a world that is "as much an act of refusal as it is a statement of intent." In a world of AI-generated filler and corporate pop, that kind of authenticity is rare. It’s why, even in 2026, we’re still waiting on every word they whisper.
Stay tuned to the official Federal Prisoner channels for the inevitable LP3 announcement. Given their history, it’ll likely drop with zero warning and a lot of beautiful, expensive vinyl options.