Queensryche Concert Review Arizona Federal Theater 03/16/22

Queensryche Concert Review Arizona Federal Theater 03/16/22

Queensryche have finally returned to the world stage in 2022 as direct support for the Metal Gods aka, Judas Priest. Originally, they had planned to return in 2022 with the Scorpions for a Las Vegas residency tour but when the opportunity to open for Judas Priest came up, it was no surprise that the band jumped on board. Also, for the residency tour; Skid Row have since joined the Scorpions in place of Queensryche. For this tour, the band has also returned with guitarist Mike Stone who is replacing Parker Lundgren who officially departed the band in 2021 for the pursuit of other business ventures. Stone previously handled guitar duties for Queensryche from 2003 until 2009, a six year run that made him the definitive guitarist for this tour.

L-R_Mike Stone-Todd La Torre-Eddie Jackson

The band went deep into their vast catalogue for their 12 song set on this tour which included; four tracks from their 1984 release “The Warning” , three songs from their iconic 1988 release “Operation: Mindcrime“, three songs from their 1986 release, “Rage For Order”, one song from the 1990″ Empire” LP and finally, one song from the debut self titled EP with the track “Queen of the Reich”

The band’s set was a high energy performance that did not contain any material that had been recorded with singer Todd La Torre, perhaps they just wanted to touch on some material that hadn’t been played in a while. In any case, I did miss some of the newer material which is as good if not better than their older material but you can’t go wrong with time tested material. La Torre once again proved that he is more than capable of handling the older material which is no easy task and with his powerhouse voice, his vocals effortlessly sored over the top of a band that’s known for playing with such intensity that the immense force would overpower a lesser vocalist.

The band hit the AZ Federal hard from the get go with a song from their 1983 debut self-titled EP “Queen of the Reich” not an easy warm up song by any stretch. La Torre nailed the iconic wailing vocal yell in the song’s beginning with razor sharp precision as the band ripped into this track with a brute force. Their set was a mix of up tempo and steadfast hard hitting songs with only one semi ballad, the classic “Eyes of a Stranger.” For this tour, the band also pulled out a couple of songs that had not been performed live since 2015 and 2016 with, “En Force” and “The Warning” respectively.

If you’re a fan of hard hitting progressive rock with blistering vocals, Queesryche are not a band to be missed and are a brilliant additional to the “50 Metal Years” tour with Judas Priest, check out this tour now

Check out the Queensryche Arizona Federal Theater Photo Gallery here!

Queensryche Arizona Federal Theater Set List was:

Queen of the Reich

Warning

En Force

NM 156

Empire

Walk in the Shadows

The Whisper

Operation: Mindcrime

The Needle Lies

Take Hold of the Flame

Screaming in Digital

Eyes of a Stranger