Ahh when a band splits the fallout never really goes away in the eyes of the fans does it! Whilst ex-Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate’s ‘Operation Mindcrime’ project went for variety and subtlety in it’s three-album debut trilogy and Queensryche’s initial post-Tate forays Queensryche (2013) and Condition Human (2015) seemed a little hurried, at least in part; on first listen to this new release ‘The Verdict’ I can honestly say that Queensyche seem to have returned to making the sort of music we always loved them for. This is an album that screams for your attention.
‘Blood of the Levant’ that opens ‘The Verdict’ just has that echo, that familiarity, that pace, precision and power that made Queensryche, back in the day, one of those bands that everyone could enjoy whether you loved your Hard Rock, your Metal, or had more Progressive leanings. The band prefers to see this album as a further progression of the work commenced with the first self-titled album (2013’s Queensryche) though: “Todd and I were the new guys and we wanted to stick to the legacy of Queensryche, and stick to the legacy of the first five classic records,” says Parker, who initially joined the band in 2009. “Then when “Condition Human” came out, we were able to branch out a little bit, pushing the limits stylistically. This album is really the next step for us.”
Whatever your thoughts on those early post-Tate albums though one thing is for sure, as Eddie Jackson says in the press release: “Having Todd and Parker in the lineup does create some new chemistry and new ideas when it comes to the songwriting. Having new blood in the band certainly gave us some new life for these past three albums. This is something we all have a passion for and having the freedom to write, record and tour without any limits is nothing short of refreshing.”
Produced and mixed by Chris ‘Zeuss’ Harris (Hatebreed, Rob Zombie), who also took the reigns for 2015’s “Condition Human”, this is the band’s third album with frontman Todd La Torre and ‘The Verdict’ is the album that sees all that hard work take flight. The fact that they worked on every track here “as a band” seems the key.
So if you’ve loved the band from the off then there’s plenty here to commend it – “Man the Machine’ is unforgiving and driven by a relentless pace, ‘Light Year’ rides a tripping ear-worm of a riff and ‘Inside Out’ leans East as it crawls before it bursts into life, and we’ve only just scratched the surface.
Getting to the meat of the album ‘Propaganda Fashion’ may well be the best track here as it spins into it’s controlled attack with hypnotic melodies and searing guitars whilst ‘Dark Reverie’ injects a reflective moodiness and ‘Bent’ sports an intro that takes you right back to ‘Rage for Order’ and ‘Empire’s’ deeper, darker moments.
Bringing it home ‘Inner Unrest’ wails and writhes whilst penultimate track ‘Launder the Conscience’ leaves you in no doubt of the band’s renewed passion, and closer ‘Portrait’ tracks back to reflect and wonder. This is going to sound so damned good live. Queensryche is back with their biggest and best in years.
