Ace of Spades is a short drive from my home, here in Sacramento, but unless I really want to deal with humans, I do not get there often. In this town, I do not know security, the will-call person, or anyone for that matter, so when I do go it is always a crap shoot if something goes sideways. However, this time I made sure I was getting in; no matter if a photopass was waiting for me or not. With tickets in hand, I was not missing this show, I checked in!Continue reading
Long-running Heavy Metal legends Queensrÿche recently released their excellent new album The Verdict on Century Media Records. We caught up with founding member Michael “Whip” Wilton at their sold-out show at Irving Plaza in New York City and talked about the new album, the loyalty of their fans, working with Chris “Zeuss” Harris, the bands’ approach to music videos, their tour plans for the rest of 2019, some key upcoming milestone album anniversaries in their career, and much more. Interview by Keefy and videography by Omar Cordy of OJC Photography.Continue reading
Operation: Mindcrime, in support of their début album took to the legendary venue of The Chance to showcase material from The Key (Frontiers Records) album and as well as Queensryche classics in 90 minute set full of musicianship. With openers Mike Campesa, Christian Gisondi and Parallel Universe the crowd was well primed for a night of stories through songs.
Opening with a string of ‘Rchye songs starting with ‘Neue Regal’ and ‘Screaming in Digital’, the show was one big sing-a-long. Along for the ride again with Geoff Tate are drummer Simon Wright, the masterful time-keeper who just handled everything with such ease. Keyboardist wizard Randy Gane and guitar maestro Kelly Gray (who looks more like a frontiersman sheriff nowadays) bring their A game and some solid harmonies. New to the fold is second guitarist Scott Moughton and bassist Tim Fernley who both fit in smoothly with the bunch. They gel so well you forget they’re the rookies of the group.
Keeping the crowd guessing, the band went into an acoustic set of ‘Jet City Woman’, ‘Take Hold of the Flame’, ‘Silent Lucidity’ and ‘The Weight of the World’. After another story intro from Geoff, they preformed a slew of songs from The Key. From opener ‘Burn’ and ‘Re-Inventing the Future’ you get a glimpse at what this band has in store for this first act of a massively planned trilogy. With saxophone in hand they went into ‘The Fall’ which is one of my favorite songs off the album. Ending the night with ‘Breaking the Silence’ and ‘Empire’, everyone in attendance seemed well satisfied with the song choices of the evening.
From opener to headliner, this was a great night for progressive music fans. The year’s early, but this is easily one of my favorite shows of 2016. Operation: Mindcrime is a must see live act.
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY OMAR CORDY
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Elephants in the room exposed, monkeys off their backs with legal issues cast aside and now sole owners of the rights to the name and catalogue of Queensrÿche, the band who produced the greatest album to originate from Seattle can now leave their manure-filled zoo of shite behind. With Todd La Torre firmly ensconced in their ranks, and contributing fully to the writing of the bands fifteenth album, Condition Hüman (Century Media), the opportunity is there for the real Queensrÿche to stand back up.
Having promised a return to their more progressive metal-tinged leanings, an introductory dual guitar lick references their early traditional metal outputs before we embark on album that displays every element of trademark Queensrÿche that you could wish for. Condition Hüman is a mature album, at times reminiscent of Parallels (Metal Blade) from former tour buddies Fates Warning, happy to reference the foibles and distinctive nodes of yesteryear while still firmly holding its place in where the band is now. There are the expected gallops, ‘All There Was’ and ‘Guardian’ could be out-takes from the Operation Mindcrime (EMI) sessions, but in the main, here lies a series of intelligent rock/metal songs proudly reflecting a band that is once again able to produce the music that people expect from them and are more than happy to oblige.
That’s not to say this is an album without heaviness – ‘Hourglass’ builds from a dark, stabbed beginning to a spiralling (reference intended) epic, while ‘Eye9’ could be the rÿche polish applied to a long-lost jam session for the new Tool album – but it’s used sparingly, intelligently, with progressive and cerebral rock the order of the day. La Torre is the ideal frontman, sounding effortlessly like the ousted Geoff Tate, with hints of Michael Kiske, a flawless voice that is indisputably Queensrÿche, adopting some of the idiosyncrasies of his predecessor for that added touch.
Condition Hüman fits seamlessly into the Queensrÿche canon, a natural evolution from, and improvement on, its’ self-titled predecessor, almost as if their discography actually runs Empire (EMI) to Queensrÿche to Condition Hüman and the intervening twenty-three years be damned. Ignore side-show circuses, ignore the flaccid projects of “formerly of…” members, and ignore the memory of experiments and failures; Condition Hüman is a confident and telling step forward in restoring the legacy of a once great band.
The Queen of the Rÿche has seen off the usurper, and now proudly surveys her domain once more.
8.0/10
STEVE TOVEY