Queensryche vocalist Todd La Torre has had to maneuver through a lot in the ten since he joined the band, replacing former vocalist Geoff Tate. It's a group that has seen it's foundations nearly broken amid bitter acrimony not just between band members and Tate, but original members—drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson, and guitarist Michael Wilton—with both parties accusing the other of breach of contract, neglecting financial duties, and many other grievances that were filed in separate suits.
For what it is worth, La Torre has been grounded about it all, telling Eddie Trunk on an new episode of Trunk Nation on the SiriusXM radio, "You're not going to please everyone… But if you take the biases aside and you just listen to the band now and judge the work, I think it stands on its own merit. The people that are not on board are a very small minority when you consider how many people really have gotten on board, how many people dropped off many years ago that have come back into the fold and are just supporting everything that we're doing and they understand that life happens; people have different desires and paths in life. But this is Queensryche now, and this is how it's been for 10 years."
La Torre continued by saying, "… [W]e're already writing new ideas for the next [album], and I kind of feel like the next one's gonna be the summit of what I've done so far. But I do believe that each record, there is a progression." [As transcribed by Blabbermouth]
Queensryche's new LP Digital Noise Alliance was released earlier this month and is being generally received with open arms. In fact, you can read our review of the album, released through Century Media, right here. Noted in our review is how the "numerous callbacks to classic Queensrÿche albums along with modern touches" are a "good balance of past and present."
Queensryche formed in the Seattle area in 1980 taking heavy cues from NWOBHM acts—particularly Iron Maiden—and North American progressive rock like Rush. Their "classic" lineup featured Tate, Rockenfeld, Wilton, Jackson, and guitarist Chris DeGarmo. That line-up released their two masterpiece LPs: Operation: Mindcrime and Empire; the former ultimately being acknowledged as one of the greatest metal albums of all time, and the latter bringing Queensryche their most mainstream success to date, with the hit singles "Empire, "Jet City Woman," and the international smash hit, "Silent Lucidity." DeGarmo would leave shortly afterwards, and the band would spend much of the 2000s embroiled in a messy separation. Tate now performs often as Geoff Tate's Operation Mindcrime, and continues to perform the classic era music of Queensryche in his shows across the globe.
