Queensrÿche - Bristol Review

Following a quiet weekend after two on the road, last night it was time, once again, for gigging. It kicked off what will be rather a chaotic second half of February, which includes five more gigs before the month is out, and, so far, it is my busiest period of the year. It will likely be a very tiring, but entertaining, couple of weeks, then, but last night's show was a one-off - a night in Bristol with the Seattle-based progressive metal legends Queensrÿche. Whilst it was my seventh time seeing the band overall, it was my first Queensrÿche concert since 2019. I saw the band twice in 2019, firstly at Bloodstock Open Air, where they put on a stellar performance in the special guest spot, blowing away the Scorpions, and secondly in Manchester towards the end of the year where they disappointed somewhat due to illness to frontman Todd La Torre and a much truncated setlist compared to the rest of the tour which omitted many of the deeper cuts and newer material I was really looking forward to hearing. The show was still enjoyable, but La Torre was clearly struggling - so it paled in comparison to Queensrÿche shows of the past. Following the pandemic it took the band quite a long time to book some European shows. They have been very busy, releasing Digital Noise Alliance (which I reviewed here) back in 2022, and touring throughout America heavily - sometimes opening for Judas Priest - but for a while it seemed that they had forgotten about Europe. It was frustrating seeing US tour after US tour get announced and Europe seemingly ignored, as the band had always been pretty regular visitors in the past, but last summer what European Queensrÿche fans had long been waiting for happened - as a fairly lengthy European tour was announced, which included a few UK shows. Of the shows announced, Bristol on a Friday night made the most sense. I had not seen the band in Bristol before, so it was nice to not have to travel as far as I sometimes have in the past - and it was also an opportunity to return to The Marble Factory, a venue I had not been to for a few years. Rather than tour in support of Digital Noise Alliance, though, the band decided to bring their on-going The Origins Tour to Europe, which has seen the band playing both their self-titled EP from 1982 and debut album The Warning from 1984 live in full. For a long-time Queensrÿche fan this was certainly an exciting prospect, as I had not seen the band do too many of the songs from both releases live before. A few of them were brought back for the show I caught in 2013, my first time seeing the band live with La Torre, but generally since then only a couple of real staples have been played live. This was very much not a tour for the casual, then, but the band's earlier, heavier material has often been held in high regard - so there were likely plenty of fans who were really up for it. Following a morning's work, then, I got the train to Bristol and, following dinner in Wetherspoons and a brief stop over at my hotel, made the semi-familiar walk through a less salubrious part of Bristol to The Marble Factory.

At first it looked as if the turnout was going to be pretty poor, but this was likely due to the 6pm doors. Due to the venue operating as a night club, there was a 10pm curfew - meaning that the evening's sole support act, Night Demon, hit the stage at 7pm. By the time they started their set, though, there was a pretty healthy crowd in - and the final turnout was decent. I recently saw Night Demon opening for, and then later forming half of, Cirith Ungol in London. I enjoyed the band's set that night, so I was looking forward to seeing them again, but I think I actually enjoyed them more this second time. The setlist was exactly the same, but the sound mix was better overall - and the larger stage allowed the band to make better use of the space and really rock out. The crowd seemed pretty into them overall, too, and there was plenty of energy coming from the stage despite how cold it was in the venue. Kicking off with the title track of 2023's Outsider (which I reviewed here), the band really went for it from the off. They might not be the most original band, as they very much are NWOBHM worship, but their songwriting is generally pretty strong - and Jarvis Leatherby (vocals/bass guitar) has a strong voice and commanding stage presence. Armand John Anthony (guitar/vocals) is a very capable player, too, and his riffing generally drove the 10-song set. I generally think that the band excel when they just go for it. Songs like Screams in the Night and Dawn Rider early on were packed with anthemic chorus hooks and headbanging riffs which the crowd latched onto - and the punchy drumming of Brian Wilson kept the band moving. I am a bit less convinced by the band when they try a more atmospheric sound, but I feel that those songs came across much better live this time. The clear sound mix helped, and it really showcased how much Leatherby was doing with his bass during these songs - as often he was leading things with some fluid and melodic playing. This was apparent during a mid-section of the set which featured slower tracks like Beyond the Grave and The Wrath, both from Outsider - showcasing the slightly more progressive and conceptual sound the band went for on their last album. The band picked up the pace again towards the end, though, and really went for it during the home straight with some galloping old-school metal anthems. Welcome to the Night was one such cut, but as was the case last time it was the two closing songs from the band's self-titled EP which impressed the most - with the melodic The Chalice and their self-titled track bringing a powerful and high-energy set to a close. The setlist was:

Prelude

Outsider

Screams in the Night

Escape from Beyond

Dawn Rider

The Howling Man

Beyond the Grave

The Wrath

Welcome to the Night

The Chalice

Night Demon

The lights soon went down again and the members of Queensrÿche took to the stage - opening with the high-octane Queen of the Reich. I think the band have played the song live each time I have seen them since La Torre joined - but the power metal anthem always works particularly well as an opener, and it was clear from the opening big scream that La Torre was really up for the show. He was struggling through illness when I last saw them, and at some other shows he had adopted a rougher approach, but he was really back to his best last night and he was easily the star of the show. He never once pulled out of a big scream and he worked the crowd well. It took the crowd a few numbers to get fully on board - but the atmosphere was strong in no time, which was likely helped by the band barely coming up for air. The four songs from the EP were rattled out one after the other - with Blinded and the dense ballad The Lady Wore Black really standing out as songs I had not seen the band do live before. This was also my first time seeing the band with Mike Stone (guitar/vocals) - who re-joined in 2021 after previously being in the band between 2003 and 2008. He was perhaps not as flashy as his predecessor, with Michael Wilton (guitar) taking back some of the solos, but he was tight none-the-less and often teamed up well with Wilton for the set's many harmony guitar solos. The EP portion of the set was soon over, then, and the rest of it was then dedicated to The Warning - with the melodic title track opening this part of the night. The Warning has become a real favourite of mine over the years. Queensrÿche would rarely be as heavy nor as primal again following its release. They became better songwriters and experimented more with production techniques - but in terms of pure metal power The Warning is hard to beat, as anthemic tracks like En Force and the rarely played Deliverance showed. Wilton seemed particularly keen to be playing the latter again, since it was one of his compositions on the album, but the whole band seemed fired up. Even the laid back Eddie Jackson (bass guitar/vocals) seemed more animated than usual - and he was often singing along even when he was not harmonising with La Torre. Drummer Casey Grillo also deserves a shoutout for perfectly recreating all of the off-kilter drum fills which helped Queensrÿche to stand out early on - with snappy pieces like NM 156 really benefitting from his drumming. La Torre took an opportunity to talk with the crowd half way through, outlining the reason for the tour - and also conducting a bit of a sing-a-long during the intro of Take Hold of the Flame. By this point everyone was on board, too, seeing deep cuts like Before the Storm and Child of Fire hit home, with the latter being a particular standout - before the lengthy Roads to Madness rounded out the main set. This song showcased that Queensrÿche were progressive from the off and it was a great way to end the main set. Following some cheers the band came back out for a four-song encore of songs from other albums. It seems the encores are being changed up a little each night - and Bristol was treated to four fan-favourites which kicked off with Walk in the Shadows. Empire allowed La Torre to introduce the band during the instrumental mid-section before Wilton's big solo, whilst the industrial Screaming in Digital saw Stone solo. The night came to an end with a rousing Eyes of a Stranger, which always works well as a full stop - and the band took their bows to plenty of cheers. The setlist was:

Queen of the Reich

Nightrider

Blinded

The Lady Wore Black

Warning

En Force

Deliverance

No Sanctuary

NM 156

Take Hold of the Flame

Before the Storm

Child of Fire

Roads to Madness

-

Walk in the Shadows

Empire

Screaming in Digital

Eyes of a Stranger

I have always enjoyed seeing Queensrÿche live, with even the Manchester show in 2019 being enjoyable, but in terms of setlist and performance this show was one of the best. It was likely not quite as special as that first show with La Torre in Nottingham back in 2013, but it was up there in terms of vibe and how the band seemed really up for it. It was nice to see the band in Bristol, too, and hopefully it will not be another five-plus years before the band return to the UK.