THE VERDICT

"The Verdict" is the 15th full-length studio album by US prog/power metal act Queensrÿche. The album was released through Century Media Records in March 2019. It´s the successor to "Condition Hüman" from 2015 and the third studio album by Queensrÿche featuring lead vocalist Todd La Torre after Geoff Tate was fired from the band. Drummer Scott Rockenfield had a child and after the touring cycle supporting "Condition Hüman (2015)" chose to take a leave from the band to care for his child. However when it became time to record "The Verdict", Rockenfield did not feel ready to begin playing with Queensrÿche again, and as the rest of the band felt it was time to record a new album, they had to look for an alternative solution on the drum post. Fortunately La Torre is not only a brilliant vocalist but is also a very capable drummer, and therefore the band opted to let La Torre record the drums for the album, instead of bringing in a session drummer.

Stylistically the material on "The Verdict" continue the melodic US power/heavy metal style of the two direct predecessors (which also feature La Torre on vocals). All three albums are actually very similiar in sound and style, and while I was relatively satisfied with the first couple of La Torre-fronted Queensrÿche releases, we´ve come to a point, where it would have been nice with an album which doesn´t sound almost one to one like the last couple of releases.

No one can dispute the high quality of the music though (including me). Queensrÿche are a very well playing act and La Torre is a top tier heavy metal vocalist. "The Verdict" is well produced too, featuring a relatively powerful and detailed sound, which suits the music well. So it´s the songwriting which lacks the last catchiness and memorable hooks. Some tracks of course stand out more than others, and the band also try a few new things on the album, but there are simply too many tracks on the album which are very similar in style and sound, and which don´t stand out. A 3.5 star (70%) is still deserved though.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)