Queensryche – Live Review – The Longbranch, Raleigh, NC – 3/23/13

The “Queensryche” story took a nasty turn last year, leading to an acrimonious split leaving Geoff Tate standing on one side of a courtroom, facing his three former corporation partners and band-mates, Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson. I don’t intend to reiterate the story here, except to note for now there are two versions of Queensryche, one with Tate and a collection of hired hands, and the other with the original three members, plus Parker Lundgren who joined in 2009, and the most recent member, Todd La Torre on vocals. While the story will remain unsaid here, it would be impossible to ignore the situation, but trust me; I have tried to keep the animosity out of what follows.

Queensryche fans are a passionate bunch, with some falling hard on the side of Tate, while others have thrown their support behind the La Torre fronted version (from here onwards referred to simply as Queensryche in this article). The true diehard fans reading this will know that Tate was not an ‘original’ member and basically was brought in as a session singer for the self-funded/self-titled EP that broke the band. It was only after the EP had sold a significant number of copies and received worldwide praise that Tate would leave his band “Myth” and join Queensryche as a full member. Shortly after this the band were signed to a 15-year/7-album deal with EMI. My point here is that Queensryche were never the “Geoff Tate band” which the impression you get from some people when they discuss the current situation.

However you view it, the first five albums put out in the period 1984 through 1994 are classic metal albums that should have a home in every rock fans collection. Following this period and perhaps facilitated by Chris DeGarmo’s departure in 1997, the bands releases have become increasingly inconsistent, as have the live performances from the band. My opinion on this is that Geoff Tate was never a “metal-head” rocker at his core, and I think some of his solo work really takes us to a place he is more comfortable with, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

Anyway, Queensryche have been gigging consistently since the split with Todd La Torre out front, and have been receiving much praise and solid support. Despite a pretty busy schedule they also found time in the past 12 months to record a new album due for release this coming June. As soon as I heard my favorite promoter, Marty Burns, had booked Queensryche to play The Longbranch in Raleigh, NC, I was ready to hit the road and find out for myself. So, this is where we found ourselves last Saturday, making the 300 mile ride down I-95 to see what I hoped would be the re-born Queensryche.

Also on the bill were three other local bands, Devyce, Dark Design and Widow, but I’m going to save reviews for these for another time, since I think I have plenty to cover with Queensryche alone, however I will say they all did a fine job of warming up the crowd and by the time Widow left the stage The Longbranch was fired up and ready to rock.

Just to set the scene, I feel it’s only right to let you all in on a little background here – Queensryche have been consistently in my top 10 bands ever since I first discovered them in the pages of Kerrang! magazine back in 1984, and saw them on their first ever tour of the UK supporting Dio in October ’84. I vividly remember walking into Hammersmith Odeon a few minutes into their set and being totally stunned by how good the band was, the guitar harmonies and searing vocals. However, this is not to say that this is a blind addiction and with the exception of Mindcrime II (2006) I have been increasingly frustrated with the album releases starting with “Hear In The Now Frontier” in 1997. I’m not saying there isn’t some good music in this period, but you have to work much harder to find it.

Just prior to writing this review I revisited the most recent album from the Tate era, “Dedicated To Chaos” and it’s a good record… but it seems to have come from a different band entirely when you stand it up against “Rage For Order” or “Empire” for example. And I don’t think this is just 30 years of evolution – you only have to look at other contemporaries such as Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Y&T, etc, to see that a band can still grow, but not grow away from what made them successful.

Looking back, particularly to the show at the M3 Festival last year, which was the last time I saw Queensryche live, the writing was on the wall, and while the ructions were being contained below the surface, there was a painful vibe from the band that just couldn’t be hidden.

When I read all the details following the split, it all seemed to fit together, and I will close with the thought that I sincerely hope that Geoff Tate finds his place in the music industry – he is one amazingly talented vocalist – however the animosity and vitriol that continues to leak out to the press isn’t helping his case (at least for me) and trying to ‘compete’ the two versions of Queensryche is just sour grapes.

So, we turn to Todd La Torre. What I knew about Todd prior to him joining QR could have been written in one sentence: “Current vocalist for Crimson Glory”. End. So, clearly he was an entity unknown, but when I heard about the Rising West project (which was essentially Queensryche without Tate), and that they were playing only material from the first five QR records, I started a little digging. Given that a lot of Crimson Glory material has similar underpinnings to QR, it wasn’t surprising to me that Todd could handle the QR vocals, but the question was how well? That question was answered emphatically in the first YouTube video I saw – he NAILED IT! Life was back in the QR ranks… What has happened in the past 10 months or so, and the transition from Rising West into the full-time position of Queensryche vocalist continues to be a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but it is great to see the members of Queensryche bind together and move forward, no matter what Geoff Tate might get up to.

So, back to The Longbranch and as Widow cleared the stage we get the first glimpse of the new QR. The stage backdrop was cool with a new skull logo covering both sides of the stage, and anticipation grew as the stage crew knocked off a quick sound check. You could feel the audience was charged with energy and it seemed these few minutes took far longer to pass. I managed to snap a picture of the set list taped to the stage and what a great list it was – see the photo of the signed list below (along with other goodies the band signed…).

So, the wait was over and the night opened with “Queen Of The Reich”, and immediately two things struck me; the first was how comfortable Todd La Torre was, and the second how relaxed the band was – wait a minute? They almost look as if they are enjoying this! In the past this was one of my biggest gripes, particularly in the last 10 years, where I can’t honestly recall anyone except perhaps Geoff Tate smiling. It was all so serious. But tonight there was a different vide altogether. Todd took command of the center stage and just nailed the song and it was hard not find myself drawn back to that first concert, back in 1984 and that feeling of experiencing something very special.

Next up was “Speak” from Mindcrime and at this point the ride was off and running, and it was clear the band were energized and firing on all cylinders, no holds barred. Anyone that had reservations about just how well Todd La Torre could fill Geoff Tate’s shoes should have just forgotten the question at this point since it is a question of no value. Todd is the real deal and the band in front of us is the Queensryche no questions asked.

Over the course of the following 15 songs we were treated to a showcase exclusively from the first five releases of the band that in total broke down as follows: EP 1 track, Rage for Order 2 tracks, The Warning 6 tracks, Mindcrime 5 tracks and 3 from Empire. Despite the new record being “in the can” and listed for a June release we’re going to have to wait for those to debut live. Overall I would say this was a very unique set list since in the future it is inevitable that fewer of the oldies will make it to the stage, so I for one feel privileged to have experienced this.

A few notes on the performances from the band. Scott Rockenfield has always been an exceptional drummer, but I think this show was the best I have ever seen him. There was an energy and dynamic that seemed to bring a particular snap to his snare drum and punch to the kicks. I’m going to lump Eddie Jackson and Michael Wilton together and say one thing – I saw them both SMILE. Not something I could have ever written from any previous QR concert, but they were clearly enjoying the new spirit of the band and what they were feeling from the audience. Nice.

And, last, but not least, for those with instruments on stage, Parker Lundgren. Now, I have to admit, previously I have not really been 100% convinced with regards to Parker in the band. The story regarding how he ended up in the band seemed to be more of the Geoff Tate shenanigans, having something to do with dating and subsequently marrying (and then later divorcing) Tate’s step-daughter, and lo, behold, Parker is in the band… but I was converted at The Longbranch. In the past, he seemed to operate in his own little space over on the left side of the stage, but for this show he was far more integrated into the show and his playing was spot on, perfectly complementing Michael Wilton.

So, this leaves Todd La Torre. Basically there is little to say. He already has become and integral part of Queensryche and I would attribute the energy and passion that the band is now displaying almost entirely to Todd and what he has brought to the band. Revitalized is the word I would use. His vocals were spot on all night and he never missed a note. Check out the video below – my wife was down at the very front of the stage and had the trusty iPhone out and was videoing as the band started “Eye’s Of A Stranger”. Todd noticed her, checked the camera was running and took it for a walk around the stage before carefully returning it to her. What a priceless moment.

At the end of the evening all I could think was this was by far the best I had ever seen the band since that very first time in 1984. Back then everything was new and the energy running through the band was brought about by the discovery that the music the band was bringing was being soaked up by the fans – a young band that was about to make it big. This time around we had that same energy back, with the band rediscovering that the music that launched them was still as vital and enthralling as it was nearly 30 years ago, but with the added bonus that nearly everyone in the audience knew almost every word of every song!

I will go and see the Geoff Tate band in a couple of months when they make it through the D.C. area, because to judge without witnessing would be hypocritical, but it will be an incredibly tall order to get anywhere near what Queensryche managed to bring last weekend. I do wish Geoff Tate the best of luck, but Queensryche are back, they are on fire and I anticipate the new record with great expectation. My score for the show 10/10.

Swag signed by the band after the show