Although best known as the current vocalist for Queensrÿche, Todd La Torre just released his first solo album, Rejoice in the Suffering, on Rat Pak records. In this interview, we talk about his record, why metal means so much to so many, the discomfort of wearing women’s clothing, and the status of a live Queensrÿche record with Todd.
Todd: Hey, how ya doing?
William: Hey, great! How are you doing?
Todd: Pretty good. Do you go by William or Bill?
William: I go by William. Sometimes people call me Will.
Todd: That was my dad’s name, William, but everybody called him Bill or Billy.
William: My dad goes by Bill, so I tend to go by William to kind of . . .
Todd: Separate it.
William: Yeah. Like you, I’m in the Central Florida area. I also know from reading other interviews that, like me, you take the pandemic very seriously. Besides making a solo album, how are you staying sane? I need some tips!
Todd: Who said I was sane? [Laughs] I’m keeping it together through the music, man. And doing video chats with some of my friends in different parts of the country and overseas. It helps seeing your buddies even on a video call. It’s like, “Man, that was so good” even though it wasn’t in person. It’s tough, man. This is a different way of life; this is not how we’re wired to be. I’m pretty comfortable being alone at home anyway and not going out a lot. It’s not affecting me as badly as some people, but it definitely has an effect—for sure. I think the music has been a big saving grace for me.
William: I dig it. I’m an introvert, but still . . . this is excessive. I notice the ouroboros, the snake consuming it’s own tail, on the cover of Rejoice in the Suffering? Why did you pick that for the cover? What does that symbol mean to you?
Todd: That’s a good question. Actually that was my wife’s idea. I said, “I want the TLT logo there, but it needs to have some other stuff.” With the title, the ouroboros fit in really well. You could use that symbol, which is an ancient symbol, for many different things. It can have many different philosophical meanings. What does it mean to you? It could be that we are rejoicing now due to the suffering that other people, unfortunately, went through and paid a price for before us. For example, civil rights. A lot of people suffered and fought for rights that we have whether it’s gay rights, women’s rights, civil rights for minorities, etc. The ouroboros is a multifaceted symbol. The ouroboros represents eternity or infinity, a rebirth. Here’s this ouroboros eating himself, so this thing’s hungry but it’s killing itself at the same time by consuming itself. There’s a lot of things we do that are like that. Maybe we’re harming ourselves for what we perceive as a greater good, but it’s not a greater good. So it can mean a lot of different things. It doesn’t have to just be a this or that interpretation.
William: I love that answer. We hear you giving us a lot of different voices that we haven’t heard from you before, and guitarist Craig Blackwell really shows us his range, too. Besides the fast riffs, the grooves, and the classic-sounding extended solos, I’m thinking, for example, of that bluesy kind of ride out at the end of “Crossroads to Insanity” and the acoustic intro of “Vexed.”
I think what I’m trying to do with this question or statement is just kind of give him a little acknowledgement because I know a lot of people are going to focus on you because your name is on the album and is maybe a little more recognizable.
Todd: I love that you’re focusing on him. If you want me to touch on that subject, I can.
William: Sure.
Todd: He’s a guy that I’ve been best friends with since my early teens. I’m sure you know a guy growing up who was a great guitar player and you thought, “Oh, one day, that’s guy’s gonna make it.” And we all know people that didn’t happen to. So when it came time to do this record, I wanted him. We just think the same way when it comes to metal and music. This is the record that we never got to make in our 20s. He’s an awesome guitar player. He’s a total badass. I’m super-excited for people to learn about Craig and hear his playing. He can play other styles, too—blue, jazz. He’s a great songwriter. He’s somebody that nobody’s really heard of outside of the Tampa Bay / Florida area.
I’m excited for people to learn about him and, hopefully, people will want to interview him at some point, exclusively, and talk to him and find out more about who he is. Maybe it opens doors for him to collaborate with some other artists that are known. He just deserves the platform and he was the guy that I wanted to do this record with, regardless of if he had a famous name or not. I didn’t care about that. I just cared about what I knew he could bring to this. He’s the reason that the record sounds the way that it does with me. If it was another great guitar player, maybe that would have been a really great album, too, but it wouldn’t have been this record.
William: Later on, I’m going to pitch the idea of interviewing him to one of the places I write for.
Todd: That would be awesome. He would love that. He would love that.
William: Rejoice in the Suffering is a blend of old school sources but the production sounds very current. It hits me as a celebration of metal. For me, there’s a real sense of honesty and staying strong in the face of adversity in this album. Not to sound too cheesy, but can you speak some about “the power of metal”?
Todd: In general?
William: Yeah.
Todd: Sure. Different genres are for different people. Music is my religion. I’m an atheist. I don’t believe in God. Music is what I lean on for a source of comfort. Music is what I lean on for a source of strength. Music can put me in a depressed, very sad, melancholic state of mind. It can put me in a fun, happy frame of mind instantly. Heavy just gives you that . . . . It’s the underdog. There’s a power that heavy metal provides that I don’t think any other style of music does. There’s something about the distorted guitars, the groove that happens, the very demanding vocals that make metal a powerful thing. It’s what I’ve always loved since I was very, very young. It’s what I still love today. It’s not a fad.
For people that are into metal, it’s not a trend. If you’re really a metalhead and you’re into this stuff, it’s probably for life. I think that there’s just fundamental elements and sounds of heavy metal that are powerful and, again, it’s the bass drums, it’s the vocal delivery, it’s typically the lyrical content, which usually expresses strong positions and powerful things. Harsh words. We’re not singing “baby” and talking about fast cars, for example. We’re talking about deeper issues and, typically, timeless issues, political issues, religious issues, thought-provoking subjects that spark debate or conversation.
William: I definitely agree with you about the longevity. I’ve been into metal since my teens, and it’s three decades later.
Todd: Same here. If you put on Cowboys From Hell, you still like it. Maybe somebody that listens to Justin Bieber when he came out . . . . In thirty years, are they still gonna sing those songs?
There’s a nostalgia to it that also has a great value. We can remember a time in our life when we were younger and certain things happened. You can reflect on those and it puts you right back into a spot. That’s music, in general.
But heavy metal . . . . If you’re feeling down or kind of shitty, you can just put on something that’s kickass and it just gives you that boast, that strength inside that makes you feel better.
William: That’s definitely true. I wrote the question because I’ve had a lot of anxiety with this pandemic, so I’ve pulled back from some darker, heavier things I enjoy and your solo album is the first heavy album I’ve listened to from start to finish in probably a year or close to it. It just made me feel so much better.
Todd: That’s awesome. That’s awesome. There’s different kinds of metal that can take you down. Like it’s heavy and brutal, but maybe it’s too dark and you’re thinking, “Gloom and doom.” Mine, hopefully, is more like “Fuck yeah! We’re gonna tackle this thing.” It has a strength that way but it’s not depressing; it’s empowering. That’s what you want. You want metal that feels empowering. There are types of metal that definitely have a sadness to them— even though they’re heavy—that maybe during this time aren’t for people like you and me. I’m a very emotional person. I have anxiety, too. I have depression, too. How do you have that balance between listening to heavy metal and not having it bring you down, but lift you up and make you feel like, “Okay, we’re going to tackle this day today and whatever problems there are we’re going to deal with and overcome them?” You want to hear something like a fight song.
William: An anthem. Something to kind of power you up and rally behind.
Todd: There you go. Yeah! Like “Vanguards of the Dawn Wall.” That’s a fast, heavy tune. It’s not depressing. I’m glad that you’re able to listen to this record, especially during this time, and feel somewhat empowered by it or feel good about it. Happy.
William: Definitely. I don’t know if I’m quite rejoicing in the suffering yet.
Todd: [Laughs]
William: But your record is definitely helping me push through it and make it through the suffering—endure it, at the very least. “Vanguards of the Dawn Wall” definitely got me fired up and feeling better.
Todd: We’ll feel better when we reach herd immunity and things start to get safe and open up safely—not like Florida here. I’m in St. Pete and there don’t seem to be the measures that a lot of other states are taking, and people are denying a lot of stuff. “Oh, the numbers aren’t real” and “Oh, it’s just like the flu.” “I have friends that got sick and they’re fine.” There’s this ignorance and tendency to look the other way and not understand that hey, there’s a real bad side to this. People are dying from this. At some point, you’ll be able to rejoice in the suffering.
Looking at the good side of it, there is all of the hard work that scientists are putting in to create medicine and a vaccine and things that will help us. They will be rejoicing, just like the Mars rover landing. There’s a lot of probably painstaking hours and dedication to this, and, then, boom! touchdown. Now, they’re rejoicing, but I’m sure there were long nights and long hours and headaches and anxiety and all kinds of things to make that a success. It’s the same thing with this. At some point, hopefully, we can have some element of rejoicing that science was able to do what it can do and get us back to some sense of normalcy in the world.
William: I get that the realities of the pandemic are unpleasant, but denying it doesn’t make anything better. Denial gives it power. I think that you have to confront things if you’re going to overcome them. I get what you are saying about rejoicing. This time has made me think more about relationships and get focused on my physical and mental health. It’s me appreciate some basic things in my life a whole lot more. Those are good things.
“Apology” is my favorite song off the record. I know from other interviews it’s about your father and some of the song is from his point of view. I’m also wondering if certain lines are from your point of view such as “You never even said goodbye” and “in the end, you did this your own way.”
Todd: That would be me speaking there, yeah. You hit the nail on the head. A lot of it is a first-person thing from him and then it moves into me speaking at the end.
William: Is the idea that the apology is from him or to him?
Todd: No. That’s a lot deeper than I probably feel comfortable getting into.
William: That’s totally fine.
Todd: It’s not about me apologizing. It’s more or less him apologizing and there are some things that surround his death as to why that would be him apologizing, but again it’s not something I feel like getting into.
William: Of course. Do you want me to strike that whole thing out of the interview?
Todd: No. That’s a whole other interview, to be honest. It’s not me apologizing. We’ll just put it that way. It’s an awkward question for me, but I know you don’t mean it to be. It’s a totally valid question: “Hey, what does this title mean?” But it’s just not something I want to get into.
William: I got you. I appreciate the thoroughness of your answer. Thank you so much.
Todd: It’s all good.
William: Cool, man. I really like that various packages for Rejoice in the Suffering. I spent the extra $10 and bought the CD bundle with the bonus tracks, autographed slipcase, guitar pick, sticker, and insert.
Todd: Cool. Thank you.
William: You’re welcome. I’m so glad bands are still servicing fans like me with special physical product. How did you decide what to put in the package?
Todd: Joe from Rat Pak Records takes a lot of time and care into putting it all together. The packaging looks really professional. He puts the extra goodies in there for people, whether it’s the album pick or some stickers—just some extra stuff and a nice little package for everybody. We talked about that together, but he’s been doing that a long time. He knows what he’s doing. He knows what the people appreciate, what they like to get. I’m really, really happy with the job that Joe and the label have done for the people. They seem really pleased when they get their merchandise and they open it up and everything’s put together well and it looks professional. It’s not overwhelming and overdone, but it’s not so simple that you don’t get anything. He put together some really great bundles and packages.
William: This is coming from my wife. I told her a couple of years about how you were selling the pants you wore in the “Blood of the Levant” video. The article said they were size one women’s pants, and my wife wanted to know how in the hell you fit in those. What is your fitness regimen?
Todd: [Laughs] It’s called genetics. Those pants are really tight. Really right. A lot of stuff I’ll buy at thrift stores. Then, I’ll modify ‘em. I’ll paint ‘em. I’ll stitch different things in ‘em. They’re not that comfortable [Laughs]. My wife can wear ‘em. My wife’s tiny. She’s like a size zero. She puts ‘em on and she’s like, “They’re a little loose in the waist.” Are you kidding me?
Sometimes something will look cool, and it’s like, “God, they look cool, but damn these things are not comfortable,” especially women’s pants. They’re not made to have space in the front, if you know what I mean. Sometimes that’s really a problem [Laughs].
William: Helps you hit those higher notes.
Todd: I’ve worn ‘em on a show a couple of times, but I don’t wear them anymore. I still have ‘em. After they didn’t sell, I just put ‘em away. I have the whole outfit. I’ve got some boxes of stuff from Queensrÿche videos that I’ve been in. Live touring stuff. Honestly, it just gets to the point, William, where I just have too much stuff. That’s why I’m like, “Alright, maybe I can unload some of this stuff. It’s just consuming space in the closet. I’m not gonna wear this again.” And some people really like to have that kind of memorabilia from a video or a tour, so I keep it thinking, “Maybe I’ll just sell it one day, and I’ll use that money and buy new stage clothes.”
Those pants are really small. No regimen, dude. I’m just a small guy.
William: Man, you’re blessed. The only way I could wear those pants would probably be as a hand puppet.
I saw you with Queensrÿche headlining at Leesburg Bikefest a few years ago. Killer set and performance. It made me hope for a live album from you guys. I’ve read a few things in the press suggesting that may happen. Any developments there?
Todd: Well, yeah. Eddie has a bunch of hard drives that he picked up from Michael that have two years’ worth of live touring multitrack recordings. I’m supposed to be receiving some hard drives with those songs. The idea was that each of us would be designated three songs. With five of us, that would be fifteen songs. We’ll just find the best live versions of those and then compile that together to, hopefully, put out a live record. I’m just waiting on the hard drives to be sent to me so that I can start sifting through the hundreds of shows for songs.
William: That’s good news, and something else to look forward to. Well, that’s all my questions. Thank you so much for this interview and making this record. I think it’s a record a lot of people need right now. I needed it right now.
Todd: My pleasure. I’m glad that you like it. I hope that other people learn about it, check it out, and like it, too. I appreciate your time and interest to talk about it, so I would thank you.
William: Cool, man. You’re definitely welcome.
Todd: Have a good day, bud.
William: You, too. Thanks so much.
