Here's the thing. To piggyback on what SW and Setzer are saying, Queensryche has become a much different band in comparison to the expectation that the name carries. And it should, as 3/5 of the original group, including 2/3 of the songwriting team, is different. And only the minor third of that original songwriting team remains. It IS different, and it SHOULD be. I think The Verdict is a really good album, and the best one with Todd La Torre. Other than Wilton's signature solo style, and some fills La Torre borrowed from Scott on drums, it sounds very little like Queensryche's past, and they've really gone their own direction. And as a former fan of theirs, I applaud them for it. They SHOULD be proud of what they accomplished.
The problem, however, is that they absolutely NEED the name, and NEED to play the classic QR material in order to make ends meet. They know it, promoters know it, fans know it. They would have left the Queensryche name alone in 2012 had promoters wanted them as Rising West, or under another name. They didn't, and that made them push to take the Queensryche name, which they ultimately did. That's fact.
From a stamina perspective, while I personally (and most of us in general) can't obviously sing the way La Torre does, he clearly doesn't have the stamina to give people a show that many expected from the Queensryche name -- a big headline set. The fans will kiss ass and defend him, and defend the band. Whatever. The band knows, and TLT knows he can't deliver a 110-120 minute set consistently. And while I am sure there are some business reasons to the 85-90 minute (and sometimes shorter) headline set, there has only been ONE time in the TLT era that they've played for two hours. And that was the very first "official" QR gig with TLT as vocalist. And he ran out of steam and faltered by the end. They've never even gotten close to 2 hours ever again again. The facts don't lie. And my guess is, Queensryche never will deliver two hours on a regular basis ever again -- not with La Torre. I'll gladly eat my words if he proves me wrong and apologize if he does a whole tour with two-hour sets. But I'd bet a lot of cash on it that they won't. Because La Torre can't.
And as I said way too many times in the past, he does NOT sound good (to my ears) on anything starting with Mindcrime (some of it he sounds good, other parts not so much), but especially the Empire and PL material. And that material, particularly Mindcrime and Empire, is what people have come to see. Particularly casino gigs. And that's not a knock on TLT's voice. Its just naturally thinner than Tate's, and those songs were written for a deeper, more commanding voice. He tries, he pushes his larynx down to make things sound deeper (which is not quite what you want to do), but that's just not his voice. He does the best job he can do with material not written for him.
And they try to straddle the line with the fan base they are catering to. They try to please everyone by going out there and doing a balance of headline tours, casino gigs and other greatest hits gigs as openers, and then a metal festival here and there. Then a hair metal combination once in awhile. They are trying to touch all the bases. I get it. I get the business reasons why. I get them trying to also satisfy everyone. The more satisfied your customer base is, even if they aren't fully satisfied, the more likely it is they will still come to a show and buy some merch. But the bottom line is, they trot themselves out there as "Queensryche" because they own the name, and technically, and legally, they ARE Queensryche. But there comes a point where you take away so many of the parts that made the band distinct in the first place, and it becomes simply a shell of what it once was. The term "Frankenryche" offends some. Too bad. It fits.
So, when it comes to evaluating this band on its own merits, I think they are a solid band, with some solid material (2013 self-titled, Condition Human, The Verdict) that they should be proud of and emphasize playing that material. But if you hold this band, as currently constituted, and compare it with what it was with the original lineup of Queensryche...there's really no comparison. Two different bands entirely.
Topic: Official Queensryche thread: Kickstart the next album (Read 706449 times)
