t’s been almost a decade since Todd La Torre took the microphone from Geoff Tate at Queensrÿche. Since then, the band has regained its splendor, allowing the three opuses in which the frontman participated to gather a lot of deserved praises. Some changes are to be noted within the staff. La Torre has
stopped his interim drumming and has entrusted it to Casey Grillo (ex-Kamelot), while Parker Lundgren has ped his guitar in favor of Mike Stone. The latter is well known by the fans of Queensrÿche since he used his six-string between “Tribe” and “Take Cover”.
The musical style remains in accordance with the latest attempts: between direct heavy metal and progressive convoluted pieces, the Americans spread their know-how during one hour. Alternating obscure, even oppressive moments, ethereal passages, telluric riffs and melodic blows of teeth, they have, without any doubt, discovered the fountain of youth. The particularly worked texts evoke the death of a loved one, the prisoners of war, the pandemic and the serial killers. Topics, according to La Torre, not to tell people what to think, but simply meant to make people think.
Qualitatively equal, the first eleven tracks propose mainly progressive structures with omnipresent guitars. Their solo interventions are blinding flashes in the ambient darkness, notably on the breathtaking finale of ‘Behind The Walls’. In this ocean of pain and suffering, only ‘Out Of Black’ has a cheerful melody. As for ‘Forest’, it is the lull of the opus. In the spirit of ‘Silent Lucidity’, it sees La Torre step out of his range with a softer voice. It is just a pity to find at the very end of the album a cover of Billy Idol’s ‘Rebel Yell’ which arrives incongruously like a clown in a funeral ceremony.
Queensrÿche has just made four albums in a row, it’s been a long time since it happened. The fans of the great era will be delighted. However, it is not good to have the blues when listening to this album. But, as chanted in the 60’s, “black is beautiful”…