This is getting ugly. Even though a band publicist stated last week that the members of Queensryche were doing their own thing as part of a new project called Rising West while Geoff Tate performed solo this summer, the tensions are becoming more public by the day.

The members of Rising West took to their official Facebook page to reveal that they were being locked out of all of Queensryche's websites. They stated, "We are being denied access to our own Facebook page and website, so please spread the word about Rising West … Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at our shows!"

The group, which features the current lineup of Queensryche with the exception of singer Todd La Torre taking over for Tate, are making their live debut this Friday and Saturday at Seattle's Hard Rock Café, where they will perform songs from the first five Queensryche albums. However, in the long term, they say there are plans to hit the road to record an original group of songs this summer.

Rumors have traveled swiftly over the past month about a physical confrontation between Tate and longtime band members Michael Wilton and Scott Rockenfield in which the singer allegedly pulled a knife.

As for La Torre, he's had to deal with a few things publicly since Rising West was announced as well. The singer, who also plays with Crimson Glory, issued a statement last week that he was not leaving the band, and that Rising West was merely a second project on top of what he was already doing. He added, "I am proud and honored to be a part of this! Crimson Glory is still writing new material for our record, do not worry!"

La Torre also expressed his respect for Tate and what he's done with Queensryche and he asked that fans continue to show respect for him and all that he's accomplished.

Tate has solo acoustic dates booked for the summer, and he entered the studio in late February to begin work on his second solo album.

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