Geoff Tate - Wolverhampton Review

The American progressive metal band Queensrÿche have been one of my favourite bands since I started listening to them in around 2008. They were one of the first progressive metal bands that I got into after getting into some progressive rock bands over the previous couple of years - with the band's 2000 Greatest Hits album being something of game-changing impulse buy having only heard the band's name previously. Even when I was starting to really develop my love of music, compilation albums never truly sated me. I have always been a full album type of person, and I think that my first Queensrÿche album was 1984's The Warning - but I think that it is fair to say that the album which really made me sit up and take notice was 1988's Operation: Mindcrime. I have always loved concept albums, and Operation: Mindcrime hit me right away thanks to its story, huge melodies, as well as Queensrÿche's technical-yet-accessible approach to songwriting. It is fair to say that Operation: Mindcrime has been one of the most important albums in the development of my current musical tastes. I have often called it my favourite album of all time, and I stand by that. It is hard to pick just one of the thousands of albums which I have heard in my life as the pinnacle - but Operation: Mindcrime truly deserves to be called such. One of the reasons why Queensrÿche stood out was the voice of former frontman Geoff Tate. In his prime, Tate was one of the best vocalists in metal - mixing thoughtful lyrics with a huge vocal range. Operation: Mindcrime would not be the album that it is without Tate's story and thespian vocal delivery. Those who have followed Queensrÿche in more recent years, though, will know that Tate has not been in the band since 2012. The messy split which saw Tate fired reinvigorated the band, and I have seen Queensrÿche five times over the years with current frontman Todd La Torre. I was very much team Queensrÿche at the time, despite my love of Tate's voice, but I think that it is also fair to say that the split also reinvigorated Tate - it just took a little longer to have an impact. I saw Queensrÿche with Tate once, a year or so before the split at a festival in London. I enjoyed the band's set at the time, but looking back it was clear that a change was needed. Tate's voice had deteriorated quite significantly at that point, and his creative control over the band had led to a number of bland albums. I also felt that he did himself no favours during all of the drama surrounding the split with a number of strange interviews which clearly saw his ego getting the better of him. I really had no interest in Tate around this point, especially after seeing lots of poor footage of his hastily put-together version of Queensrÿche which then become his solo band. Over the years, though, Tate seemed to change. He seemed to realise that his behaviour was having a negative impact, and the Tate of more recent years seems more humble and, potentially, sure of himself. He has also worked on his voice, and recent footage prompted me to give him another chance. He tours the UK fairly regularly, but his tours often call at some strange places which are not easy to get to from the South West - especially as they often take place mid-week. I have been trying to see Tate for a few years, and had tickets to a Bilston show which kept getting moved due to the pandemic, but I finally managed to make a plan work this year - when Tate announced a show at KK's Steel Mill in Wolverhampton as part of a UK tour to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Operation: Mindcrime with a full performance of the album.

The show finally rolled around last night, and it was my third visit to the venue so far this year. Before Tate took to the stage, though, the growing crowd was treated to sets from two support acts. At first it looked as if the turnout was going to be quite poor, but by the time Tate hit the stage later in the evening a healthy and vocal crowd had gathered. Up first, though, was the local four-piece New Saints. I have seen a number of local bands over the years - some good and some not so good. New Saints sat somewhere in the middle, with a great guitar-slinging frontman and a fluid bass player backed by a rather average lead guitarist and a drummer who seemed a bit rusty. From what the band's singer said throughout the set, it seems as if they have recently reformed. As such, last night's set could have been one of their first for a while - and New Saints certainly had some promise. The frontman had the look and a strong voice, as well as being a stronger guitarist than his bandmate - but thinking back to the set none of the songs really stood out. The riffing was pretty solid, but none of the chorus hooks have stuck with me since the show. I think that it is fair to say that the band did not manage to elicit much of a reaction from the growing crowd either. There seemed to be a couple of people who were familiar with the band due to some gentle heckling, but everyone else seemed rather non-plussed by New Saints' set. Apart from the strengths mentioned, my overall view was rather the same. I somewhat felt that the frontman was better than the rest of the band - and perhaps he could excel by surrounding himself with stronger players. New Saints only played for a short length of time, though, so they did not outstay their welcome.

Up next were the familiar faces of the Swiss hard rock four-piece Daxx & Roxane - a band I seem to come across fairly regularly. The band have become relatively popular over the years with the UK's rock fans, but they have never really done it for me. There are quite a lot of newer hard rock bands coming throughout currently, and there are plenty of other more interesting bands than Daxx & Roxane in my opinion. That being said, though, the band have certainly honed their stagecraft over the years. Whilst I generally do not find their material to be that memorable, they are a powerful live act with a strong stage presence. Cal Wymann (guitar/vocals) is the sort of musician who it is hard to take your eyes off. Despite looking about as rock and roll as a cup of tea, he never stands still - charging around stage and throwing all sorts of rockstar shapes. He is a capable player, too, and peeled off a number of high-octane bluesy solos throughout the band's relatively short set. Outside of Wymann's playing, though, Daxx & Roxane's set all rolled into one. I have always found the band's riffs to be pretty typical of that post-AC/DC meat and potatoes sound - whilst their choruses also lack strong hooks. Despite the band's strong stage presence, I have always struggled to understand why Daxx & Roxane seem to have found a decent-sized fanbase - largely as there are a number of other modern hard rock bands who write stronger material in my opinion. That being said, though, the decent-sized crowd which had gathered by this point seemed to generally enjoy Daxx & Roxane's set - as the four-piece received a fairly strong reaction during the relatively short set.

After half an hour or so the lights went down and Tate's band took to the stage as I Remember Now played over the PA. Despite hoping that I would enjoy the show, I had kept my expectations in check - but as soon as the band launched into Anarchy-X my interest really piqued. Alongside his voice improving again in recent years, Tate has also started surrounding himself by better musicians. Some of his early bands were made up of some pretty sloppy musicians, but the four guys backing him yesterday were all excellent. I did not catch the French guitarist's name, but James Brown (guitar/vocals), Jack Ross (bas guitar/vocals), and Daniel Laverde (drums) all pulled their weight, and did their bit to bring Operation: Mindcrime to life - as Tate took to the stage as Revolution Calling kicked off. Most of the main set was made up of the Operation: Mindcrime album, then, as Tate and the band brought it to life. The two guitarists nailed all of the album's memorable solos, and the rhythm section propelled the varied songs nicely - even if it was strange to see Laverde playing an electric drumkit. The star of the show, though, was of course Tate. I knew that he had improved his singing again in recent years, but he sounded even better than I was expecting him to. Whilst he did not sound as strong as he did throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, he sounded similar to how he sounded throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. His voice was full of character throughout the night, and he hit a surprising amount of higher notes during the show. He lived every word of the album's story, too, particularly during the more melancholic moments such as The Mission and the lengthy Suite Sister Mary. The epic latter track was one of the night's overall highlights - with Tate's daughter Emily handling the female vocal parts and the guitarists nailing the song's murky atmosphere. The hard-driving The Needle Lies was another favourite, with the crowd shouting some of the lyrics back at Tate - and it was the song which kicked the album's performance into the next gear. The last third or so of it is filled with emotional moments, even with all the hooks. I Don't Believe in Love had everyone singing along - but it was the album-closing Eyes of a Stranger which was another overall highlight of the evening. Tate nailed the song vocally - and as the band moved into a reprise of Anarchy-X the crowd made their feelings known with some huge cheers. The band then took a pause to soak in the applause, but there was more to come - and Tate led the band through a powerful rendition of the delicate Silent Lucidity. The song's big solo rang through the venue as the emotional song moved forward, whilst two more songs from 1990's Empire album followed. Of the two, it was the album's title track which hit the hardest - before the main set came to a close with the anthemic Take Hold of the Flame, although without its iconic intro it took me a few bars to realise what song was being played! The band then left the stage, but were called back for one more following some loud cheers. I had seen that Tate had started playing Queen of the Reich again recently, so was hoping that he would play it. He did indeed pull out the old anthem, and he sounded great throughout - especially during the choruses where he hit some impressive high notes for a man in his 60s. It brought a great set to a powerful close, and the band then took their bows to huge cheers. The setlist was (N.B. all of songs below are Queensrÿche songs):

I Remember Now

Anarchy-X

Revolution Calling

Operation: Mindcrime

Speak

Spreading the Disease

The Mission

Suite Sister Mary [w/ Emily Tate]

The Needle Lies

Electric Requiem

Breaking the Silence

I Don't Believe in Love

Waiting for 22

My Empty Room

Eyes of a Stranger/Anarchy-X

Silent Lucidity

Empire

Jet City Woman

Take Hold of the Flame

-

Queen of the Reich

Given that I had essentially written Tate off for quite a number of years, it was great catching up with him again last night in Wolverhampton. I had never seen him or Queensrÿche perform Operation: Mindcrime in full before, so it was a treat to see my all-time favourite album performed live by a strong band fronted by a rejuvenated Tate. He sounded great vocally throughout the night, and seemed to be having a blast on stage - prowling around and living every moment of the album's story. The extra songs played were a bonus, too, and overall it was just great to see one of my favourite singers back to something close to his best - showing that a bit of humility sometimes is all that is needed to excel once again.