Project Description

QUEENSRŸCHE

‘The Verdict’

Album Review

Reviewer: Paul Tadday

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Okay, I’m gonna cut right to the chase here…

Is Queensrÿche’s new album The Verdict any good?  
Hell Yes!

Should you rush out and grab a copy ASAP?
Absolutely!!

And here’s why…

For those diehard Queensrÿche fans that have been there since the band’s glory days of the 80’s and early 90’s, the idea of yet another mediocre album release doesn’t particularly inspire much enthusiasm. Indeed, it could easily be argued that since 1994’s brilliant “Promised Land” album, highlights in the QR catalogue have been very few and far between. Exit one Geoff Tate (founding vocalist) in 2012 and you could be forgiven for thinking that the once mighty Queensrÿche was a now a band waning haplessly on its last legs… WRONG!

The band’s acrimonious split with Tate opened the path for fresh blood to be injected into the band, and the inclusion of Todd LaTorre as his replacement was certainly the transfusion that was needed. The result of this new union initially saw a return to the band playing the classic ‘prog metal’ songs that made it a force to be reckoned with during the 80’s, many of which had rarely been played due to the former vocalists’ unwillingness (or inability) to perform them for the greater part of two decades. Following the recruitment of LaTorre and a return to a classic Queensrÿche sound, the band experienced a resurgence in popularity and released two albums (“Queensrÿche” in 2013 and “Condition Human” in 2015). Whilst both of these were solid releases, providing a clear indication of the band’s renewed musical vigor, both also sounded like a band finding its feet and trying to get comfortable with itself again.

Enter 2019 and the revamped Queensrÿche prepares to release its third album with LaTorre, only this time the enthusiasm and anticipation that has been absent for so long is now palpable. THE VERDICTis Queensrÿche’s 15th studio album and the second to be helmed by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Hatebreed, Rob Zombie) at the mixing desk. It’s an album that needs to make a statement on where the band finds itself heading into the next decade.

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”The Verdict is that statement for us – in much the same way that (1984’s) The Warning was,” says founding guitarist Michael Wilton. “This one’s the creative convergence of this lineup. We got together and worked on every song as a band. The spontaneity, the creativity; it came out of all of us, working together as a band should.”  Wilton’s comments provide an insight into perhaps what had been lacking since 1994’s Promised Land ; and some hope that the band might finally be returning to the higher echelons where it belongs. Sonically, the band has never been better.  Crunching riffs and twin-guitar harmonies are a standout feature of this album.  Along with soaring vocals, pounding bass and dynamic drumming The Verdict is a more than welcome return to a signature Queensrÿche style long thought by fans to have been abandoned.

From the opening strains of “The Levant”, all of the classic QR attributes are there – although I can’t help but think the second track “Man The Machine” (first single) would have been an even more powerful opener to the album. The song has hallmarks of the brilliantly fast paced “The Needle Lies” (Operation: Mindcrime), delivering an intensity that has been absent for more than just a few albums.

“Light-Years” has a very proggy verse structure that would definitely not be out of place on the Promised Land album. Interestingly, LaTorre was recruited to fill the vocal position for Florida metal band Crimson Glory in 2010.  It was a tenure that lasted three years and produced very little by way of recorded material. However, it’s even clearer on this album why he was sought after by CG, given the vocal overtones of “Midnight” (ex Crimson Glory vocalist) that are more evident on this album than ever before. And before anyone makes the predictably boring and blatant comparison of LaTorre to Geoff Tate, let me just say that range aside, they are very different singers in every other respect. Todd has really cemented his place in Queensrÿche folklore with his performance on The Verdict and those who have labelled him as a Tate clone in the past probably need to take a fresh listen.

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One of the highlights of the album for me is “Dark Reverie”, with its hauntingly familiar tension and melancholic splendour, it’s reminiscent of classic QR tracks like “My Empty Room”, Someone Else”, “No Sanctuary” and “The Killing Words”.  This is a track that would be totally comfortable among the band’s early catalogue. Queensrÿche has never been afraid to write thought-provoking songs and lyrically, this album has plenty to say.  From Syrian dictatorships to the unstable political climate at home, from the poor treatment of Native Americans to environmental disasters attributed to corporate greed, the narrative of The Verdict pulls no punches.

The bond that runs through the current lineup of Queensrÿche (rounded out by bassist Eddie Jackson and guitarist Parker Lundgren) was tightened and tested during the making of  The Verdict. When personal commitments forced drummer Scott Rockenfield to sit out the recording sessions that spanned between Seattle’s Uberbeatz studio, Michael Wilton’s Washington State home studio and Zeuss’ Planet-Z Studios in Hadley, Massachusetts, La Torre ably handled the drumming chores with the sort of reverence for Queensrÿche’s subtleties and nuances he demonstrates behind the mic. “I’ve been drumming for 30 years,” says La Torre. “I certainly know the nuance and style of Queensrÿche’s drum parts first hand so it certainly made me a logical choice to record the drums.”

It’s difficult to find a standout track off this album, mainly because the quality of songs is of a much higher and consistent standard than we’ve heard from Queensrÿche in such a long time.  Clocking in at slightly less than 45 minutes, the running time of this album feels just about right too, with no filler tracks thrown in just for the sake of producing a longer album. If you’re a fan of classic Queensrÿche you will want to hear The Verdict.  And even if you’ve never heard of them before The Verdict is a very solid introduction to the world of Queensrÿche to say the least.

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