Stage Buzz: Queensryche @ Concord Hall

ilentertainer | January 10, 2016

Queensryche, 2016

Prog-metal pioneers, Queensrÿche, haven’t stopped growing since their iconic, 1983 self-titled EP. The Seattle quartet opened up doors that no other band had yet to explore in the heavy metal genre at the time.

By the late-’80s and into the early-’90s, Queensrÿche was unstoppable, due to the release of iconic albums Operation: Mindcrime (1988) and Empire(1990).

Fast forward to 2012 with its well-publicized band split into two separate camps and a subsequent lawsuit over its bandname between original members vocalist Geoff Tate vs. drummer Scott Rockenfield, guitarist Michael “The Whip” Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson, which ended with the latter as the official winners of the band name.

In this new chapter of Queensrÿche, the band recaptured its early-era roots on its 2013 debut release and continues this formula on its second Tate-less full-length release, Condition Human.

Joined by new vocalist Todd La Torre and guitarist Parker Lundgren, the band has delivered a sound that die-hard Queensrÿche fans have been clamoring for decades.

“It’s more of a democratic situation and not a dictatorship,” Wilton said. “There’s no shortage of creativity in the band now. Because we tour a lot, there’s time on the road to write songs and get lots of ideas. So if you’re touring on the road for a year, you come home with a lot of ideas. That’s how we started this album and it just grew and grew.”

With the current state of the record industry, a band’s bread and butter is playing tons of shows. And Queensrÿche have been the ultimate road warriors since their split with Tate. The band’s recent opening slot for German rockers Scorpions was a huge honor for Wilton, as they were one of his favorite bands while growing up.

“It was a dream for me to see them play every night on the tour,” Wilton said. “Here they are, and we’re playing big shows in an arena and they are just on their mark. They’re just running all over the stage, even at their age. It was so inspiring.”

From playing huge arenas with the ‘Scorps’ to their own upcoming headlining club tour, the band is pumped to be out on the road.

“In 2016, we’re happy to play anywhere,” Wilton said. “A tiny club is very intimate and it has great energy. We played a festival in Wacken, Germany (Wacken Open Air) for 65,000 people, what a rush! We’re just happy to play all types of events. If you’re going to do this for a living, you can’t just play sheds or stadiums, you have to do a bit of everything. You get your opportunities and you have to take advantage of it.”

The upcoming show at Concord Music Hall on Jan. 31 will mark the band’s umpteenth trip to Chicago.

“We’ve played in Chicago many times and played at so many different places,” Wilton concluded. “Some of the clubs come and go but we’ve played everywhere you can think of. We’re bringing our show into (Concord) with a couple of cool bands opening up for us, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Atlanta modern prog-metalers Halcyon Way and Meytal open.

– Kelley Simms

For Ticket Info visit HERE

Tags: Concord Music Hall, Eddie Jackson, FM Entertainment, Halcyon Way, Kelley Simms, Meytal, Michael "The Whip" Wilton, Parker Lundren, Queensryche, Scorpions, Scott Rockenfield, Todd La Torre