Queensrÿche
The Verdict

Replacing the historic singer and getting everyone to agree again. This happened to Queensrÿche after the split from Geoff Tate and the beginning of the new era with Todd La Torre. Usually, after such an important change, you might expect to encounter nostalgic comments lamenting the former member, but according to fans, Queensrÿche have been on a positive streak for three albums. The Bellevue formation - often credited with contributing to the birth and development of progressive metal (a recognition often subject to debates and controversies) - practically became, from the mid-90s, the laughingstock of heavy metal, on par with Metallica and Dream Theater, due to several stylistic choices considered too far from the group's attitudes. But the change of vocalist has incredibly changed things. But are we sure that all this renewed enthusiasm is truly the result of rediscovered inspiration?

"The Verdict" is, like its two predecessors, an album of melodic hard & heavy fully in line with the group's glorious history. The riffs are based on a rather classic heavy metal, not overly hard nor too dynamic, perhaps more akin to a certain hard rock, which does not marry the desire to become modern at all costs, only a rather brilliant and rocky production makes the album incredibly current; moreover, La Torre's voice is nothing but the classic lyrical and high-pitched voice that a purist of heavy would expect; overall, the tracks are not very elaborate, with little experimentation, just a noticeable attention to melodic refinement and some timid instrumental finesse that makes everything just a bit more grandiose, which doesn't make it just "any heavy metal album," because Queensrÿche are not meant to be any band and the band's fan knows it. Everything sounds really great, goes straight to the ears, doesn't overstay its welcome and at least in those scant forty-five minutes satisfies the ear, it matters little if in the long run it will all get lost in the myriad of heavy albums without distinguishing itself for any reason and will ultimately become just another “ordinary album”.

The fact is simple: Queensrÿche with La Torre have simply done what the purists of the group would have wanted, only missing that touch of courage to dare just enough that the band had in the '80s and early '90s, the old school fan knows that after so many years of career you can't ask for too much and therefore pretends not to ask, settles. The band traveled to a safe harbor where it knew it wouldn't be swallowed by currents, "The Verdict" is a cheeky album to the max, an album I could define as "safe," "comfortable," exploiting an obsolete and overused idea knowing that way they can't go wrong, there’s nothing truly original that makes a leap in quality, everything is ordinary administration.

I, on the other hand, go against the tide; I admit I listened to it a lot during the summer months, in the end, it is still a great album and has a good dose of energy, but I don't think there's a need to shout a miracle as someone did, evidently for many fans returning to a very classic sound equals "rediscovering the right inspiration"; for me, the change behind the microphone wasn't exactly a godsend, from Queensrÿche I had appreciated precisely that desire to walk new paths even at the cost of becoming unpopular, I had appreciated the alternative rock steering to the brink of post-grunge from 1997-2003, I had appreciated the sophistication and symphonic touch of "Operation: Mindcrime II", an album I sincerely wouldn't know how much it should really be considered inferior to its first chapter, but feel free to kill me if I say I can't understand the hatred towards "Dedicated to Chaos", practically the "Lulu" of Queensrÿche on a critical level, doesn’t even reach an average of two stars on Progarchives and on Rateyourmusic as if it were an album by Sfera Ebbasta, yet in that sort of catchy and edgy hard pop there was an overall more original idea, a willingness to dare and risk even by playing with fire, and now? Now they are simply a band that pleases everyone and that's it, it might be just fine, it will always be a pleasure to listen to them, but in music, you should always move forward, I hope this is just a nostalgic phase.