The Verdict

Recent purchase. My interest in Queensryche is pretty much the Mindcrime & Empire influences. Those were done well & cemented a certain following in terms of guitar music & quasi-metal conception. They were not wimpy despite the slower numbers. Along the way, the band kinda struggled especially after the departure of certain members of the band. I thought things were different after DeGarmo left. Later departures of Rockenfield & Tate further thwarted the band's musicality. That's right, I'm scrutinizing the music. Whatever politics that got in the way, if the band stays true to its music & philosophy, it will pull them through. In the case of Queensryche, fans are tested by the band's drifting away from what made them great. The Promised Land, by my standards, contain both integral & feeble bits that threatened to disenfranchize the band. True enough, subsequent releases presented the band to be in a re-defining stage rather than propelling what's tried & tested. This is the reason why I stopped buying Queensryche releases.

Coming back to The Verdict, it sounds like a return-to-form material. La Torre had pretty much moved himself out of Tate's shadows & rightfully so because he holds his own in terms of the vocal performance here & he covered the drums as well- not an easy feat. Couldn't help but hear Lundgren's influences in terms of guitars. The Verdict sort of moved the guitar standards up somewhat in terms of intensity. No idea how much creative contributions he had for this one but it made me listen. After a full spin, I must say that this isn't an Operation Mindcrime competitor. The band wouldn't venture into that territory & wisely so, they did not. If the initial two Queensryche releases were firm standards held in high regards by the listeners, what's missing here is the band's ability to weave intricate bits into the overall intense song structure. After the first two tracks, things got a little jaded in terms of creativity. There's this lethargy in trying to inject heavy guitar parts into the slower bitts. Nevertheless, there's renewal in the air for the band & this might be an important statement of intent. The band can be rest assured that they did not fall below any standards but climbing up to newer territories needs time & more importantly, acceptance by the 'Ryche camp.