June 14, 2006. Last time Queensryche played in our country. It has been many years and – finally – those who did not have the luxury of enjoying the supercar outside of Greece will be able to do so for two nights. An interview currently works refreshingly. Refreshes the whole affair, offers a pleasant reading time and intrigues for the concerts to follow. On the opposite side of our phone line is the singer – and in charge of the drums on the new album “The Verdict”- Todd La Torre. Gentle, humorous and very honest, “Take Todd Of The Flame” talked about our country album, tour, upcoming tours. Beautiful things from beautiful people and yet we haven’t seen anything. Appointment in November? Of course! Many thanks to Chako Pervanidis, who arranged for this interview.
You’re back in Greece after thirteen years … How do you feel about coming to our country after so long?
It’s been a long time since Queensryche came to Greece for the last time. And this will be my first time in Greece with Queensryche. We are all very excited, of course. I’m excited! I have many friends in Greece, I have family in Greece … And Greeks are very passionate and full of energy at concerts, which always leads to a very memorable experience. I would say that the excitement has gotten red for me to come to Greece to play LiVE with the band.
Queensryche’s latest album, “The Verdict”, was released this year. It seems like from 2013 and the album “Queensryche”, every single album you release is even better than the previous one, with the previous one actually being a great record! What causes all this? Collaboration, inspiration, love for Metal music?
(Laughter) Look … you really don’t know what the record is going to look like unless you’ve composed a lot of tracks for it. It’s basically a demo situation and you’re not sure what this job will be like when it’s ready. But we keep writing songs … You always want to make records that are as robust as the previous ones … or better, if that is possible. Or different in some way. Maybe as good as the previous ones, but with some differences that will allow them to stand out and stand alone on their own. I think these three tracks I’ve done with the band sound different from one another, but they all sound like Queensryche of today. Apparently, the album has a great and great response … We’re already talking to each other to start composing, for the next disc. Who knows how the next one will sound … We hope that the evolution will be greater, with more and more going forward, compared to our previous work.
It’s impressive that you’re constantly on the road and touring … And finding time to record and bring new ideas to the table. How do you find the time to do all this? How do you manage them?
(Laughs a lot) What can I tell you … I don’t know … It’s difficult … It’s really hard to write music. It’s hard on the road. You’re on a bus, you’re tired, and then you head to the next city. And you’ve got to do the soundcheck, there are the meet and greets, maybe some interviews. Then you will eat something, take a bath and again on the road. So finding the time can be very difficult. Besides, you have to deal with yourself, with your psychology. You may be able to find time, but you will not want to compose, you will not want to record. You just want to calm down … Okay this question … That’s why it might be difficult to get a record, let alone a record every two years … I already know that we’re closed for concerts by July 2020. That time will come and go. , before we even understand it. And it’s been almost a year since “The Verdict” came out. You just try to take advantage of all this and when you go back and find yourself with the band and one of the kids comes up with a song, like an idea. And the conversation about this song will start … This is how ideas start to unfold and become songs …