Archive photo: Zoran www.sonic-shot.com

With a noteworthy career filled with ups and downs, and some truly spectacular breakups and lawsuits, Seattle’s prog metal legends have seen it all. The fact remains that through it all, Queensrÿche managed to keep going and, most notably, managed to pull off a return with a new singer, Todd La Torre, so late in their career. Since then, they’ve released one strong record after another, and even though their latest album, Digital Noise Alliance, is perhaps the weakest of the four albums released in the La Torre era, it’s nevertheless a strong record. But this tour is not focused on that, or even on the La Torre-era Queensrÿche. On this tour, the band is focusing on their very beginnings, hence the name – “The Origins Tour.” The tour sees Queensrÿche performing their debut EP and their 1984 debut album The Warning in their entirety.

Supporting them on this tour are Night Demon, a Californian band who emerged in 2010 during the global renaissance of classic heavy metal. Since then, the band has released three studio albums and toured the world many times, often as a support band to some of the classic names of the genre.

Despite the small stage at Pumpehuset and the even smaller part at their disposal, they still managed to make their presence known with three large banners, the band’s logos on mic stands, smoke, lifted podiums, and even that Eddie-like figure strolling the stage during “The Chalice.”

The band’s delivery, too, was very well planned to enhance the dramatic effect. At times, it did come across as overkill, but that’s in a way their music as well. Inspired to the bone by NWOBHM, it’s nearly a carbon copy of the giants of the period, such as Iron Maiden and Diamond Head. But that is the band’s goal as well, and they do it so well. The evening’s set-list was packed with eclectic songs, which, together with the band’s infectious dedication and energy, managed to win over a somewhat sceptical crowd.

Towards the middle of the show, the energy dropped a bit due to some more complex and nuanced songs, which might even be superior to their more straightforward, upbeat material. But live, those simpler, energy-filled tracks work better for a crowd largely unfamiliar with the band. Night Demon also made sure to close their 45-minute-long set with those kinds of songs.

New drummer Brian Wilson did his job just fine, but his presence on the stage contrasted with the explosive energy of the other two members and the overall approach of the show.

Rarely do support bands put on a show that is so calculated and cleverly arranged, and it was that, combined with Night Demon’s tunes and energy, that for sure made them several new fans last night in Copenhagen. Respect.

Knowing that despite a very positive response to the last four albums from fans and critics alike, Queensrÿche is aware that most of their fan base holds their old material closest to their hearts. So, playing Queensrÿche EP and The Warning in their entirety makes sense. It is perhaps a signal of what is yet to come, with the 40th anniversary of Rage for Order approaching. Perhaps it, too, will get the same live treatment. It’s also likely that down the road, the band will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their career-defining albums Operation: Mindcrime, Empire, and hopefully (but unlikely) Promised Land. It’s a safe approach in a time when artists (especially of this size) rely on live performances to earn their living.

Think of it what you may, but as long as they do a good job live and continue to release strong records, one can hardly expect more from Queensrÿche in 2025.

Last time the band visited the same venue, they put on one hell of a show. This time around, the band packed the venue almost as much as last time, but already a few songs in, it was clear this was not going to be the same kind of show as in 2019.

Playing an album (and a half) in its entirety is tricky business. It can work extremely well when the band is performing those flawless and career-defining albums, like when Metallica played their entire Metallica record or when Therapy? a few months ago, delivered a blistering performance of their landmark album Troublegum at Pumpehuset. On the other hand, when a band decides to play their entire new album, it rarely works, just like it didn’t work for Iron Maiden on the A Matter of Life and Death tour or when Dream Theater decided to play their entire new double album The Astonishing back in 2016.

Performing the band’s first album and EP falls somewhere between those two extremes because, while these releases are highly respected by the band and played an important part in defining prog metal, they are still not the releases that are the absolute commercial and critical milestones of the band’s career. Nevertheless, they do feature lots of Queensrÿche classics, and getting to experience those releases live is something special, especially for those who have been following the band for three or four decades.

So that is one of the reasons why last night’s show was not as explosive an experience as the previous one. The other reason, which is the more important one, was the fact that the general sound was not that good. That resulted in some songs coming across as hazy and messy. That affected the crowd’s involvement, as did the fact that La Torre left the stage every time a guitar solo started, and just about between all the songs as well, which made it harder to keep a firm grip on the crowd. It messed with the energy level and the flow of the show, which is a pity, especially because he is such a good frontman and one of the crucial reasons why the band’s return after their split with singer Geoff Tate worked out so well.

His performance last night was utterly impressive, especially considering the demanding nature of the music and the fact that the 50-year-old performed songs in their original tuning. That’s a fact that La Torre pointed out which is a well deserved tap on his own shoulder, but perhaps also bit of a message to Geoff Tate, who happened to be in the audience last night.

As the concert progressed, La Torre did manage to get the crowd going some more, and the sound did improve a bit, but never to the standard expected from a band like Queensrÿche.

Other than that, the band did their job well without leaving the crowd in awe. Bassist Eddie Jackson was far more into the show than last time, guitarist Michael Wilton did his part smoothly, just as expected from him, and Casey Grillo did just fine replacing the irreplaceable Scott Rockenfield.

For the encore, the band delivered a strong performance of “Behind the Walls,” one of the highlights from the latest album. Closing the show with the trio of “Walk in the Shadows,” “Empire,” and “Eyes of a Stranger” made for a textbook finale and showed a glimpse of what was so great about their previous visit to Copenhagen.

Queensrÿche is still going strong live and when it comes to creating new music. Visiting their origins last night was fun and important for those of us who have been with the band decade after decade. Improving the sound and tweaking La Torre’s stage presence would’ve done miracles, and if the band gets back to playing “the hits” or focuses on those career-defining albums, there is no doubt they will once again give their Danish audience a show truly worthy of their legacy.

SET-LIST

1. Queen of the Reich
2. Nightrider
3. Blinded
4. The Lady Wore
5. Warning
6. En Force
7. Deliverance
8. No Sanctuary
9. NM 156
10. Take Hold of the
11. Before the Storm
12. Child of Fire
13. Roads to Madness
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14. Behind the Walls
15. Walk in the Shadows
16. Empire
17. Eyes of a Stranger