Todd La Torre is a vocalist who really came from nowhere when he debuted as a guest vocalist in Crimson Glory at ProgPower in 2009. From this gig people started talking about this thirty year old guy called Todd who just killed all of the Crimson Glory material; a formidable task considering the vocal expertise of Crimson Glory’s first vocalist, Midnight. Not much was seen of this new guy for a few years as Crimson Glory seemed to disappear off the metal map; once again. Then in 2012, he was announced as the new lead vocalist of Queensryche amongst the tumultuous ousting of original lead singer Geoff Tate. These were monumental shoes to fill under very trying circumstances, where the remainder of the band were recovering from the decision of letting their front man go and countering the looming lawsuit from Mr Tate that followed. Throughout all of this the band stood strong and resolute and Todd La Torre seemed to be this guiding light that enabled the band to rebuild and rise from the ashes of the line-up split. The band released the first album with Todd in 2013, with their self-titled release. Todd was welcomed with open arms by fans and critics alike. He is a vocalist with tones not far different from a younger Geoff Tate, but with a subtlety and vocal maturity all of his own.
Fast forward to 2016, the band has since released their second album as the current line-up Condition Human, a more complex and richer release that harks back to early Queensryche with a new sense of urgency and passion. The band are now heading our way for the first time as this line-up in October and I was lucky to sit down with Todd and have a chat ahead of the tour.