Less than a week away from seeing them live for my eleventh time, here is Queensryche. A name known throughout the rock and metal world. A band whose sound has evolved over time. I have grown up listening to this band almost my entire life, thanks to my older sister. It is also a band I started to lose faith in over releases, that laid stagnant. Only to realize the band had never really lost their sound. Sure one of their guitarist left(the great Chris Degarmo), then their singer thought he should make all the rules, and we all see how that worked out for him! Ok so I digress on that, because that singer, was one of the voices of the musical landscape of my childhood and through my teenage years. With 2013’s self titled release through now, we have three releases all different from one another, yet still sounds like Queensryche. Condition Human took everything from early ‘Ryche through Promised Land and mixed in a blender with a modern production. It was my album of the month when I reviewed it. With The Verdict, were they ready to stay in the same zone they were in, or was something about to change?
I had read previous articles about the band saying they wanted this release to be heavier, and the first song, Blood Of The Levant, they definitely did that. First thing is the immediate presence of Todd La Torre’s vocals. Whatever comparisons made to who he should not be named, should be erased. This sounds like Todd to me, and he truly comes into his own voice immediately. The songwriting perfectly compliments his dynamic and acrobatic range. Twin guitar harmonies, driving drums(La Torre plays all the drums on this release, as Scott Rockenfield does not perform on this release, and live, Casey Grillo of Kamelot is on tour with them). Man The Machine was the first thing I heard and saw a lyric video on Youtube of.