Operation IV: The Todd La Torre Era (2012-present)

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Michael Wilton encountered Todd La Torre at the National Association of Music Merchants show in January 2012. As both men tell it, La Torre saw Wilton in a dining area and approached him from the back, initially thinking he was Eric Peterson from Testament. Once the two got to talking, Wilton invited La Torre (who was at the time singing for Crimson Glory, but was a lifelong fan of Queensrÿche) to sing on some music he was writing for television commercials and some other side work.

That relationship blossomed in the months that followed into a full band called “Rising West.” The group was comprised of La Torre with Queensrÿche members Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren. The five musicians bonded over a desire to play Queensrÿche’s early material from the EP through Empire and write modern metal and hard rock music that did justice to that back catalog of songs.

Following the Brazil Incident (see the Op. III section for more), Rising West scheduled two shows on June 8-9, 2012, at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle. Billed as Rising West/Queensrÿche on the venue’s marquee, the band played 75 minutes both nights to sold-out crowds, performing classic Queensrÿche material from 1981-1988, along with a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Wrathchild.”

While Wilton, Jackson, Rockenfield and Lundgren had performed some of those older songs as Queensrÿche in recent years, the difference with La Torre fronting them was night and day in comparison to Geoff Tate.

For example, in “Queen of the Reich,” and “Take Hold of the Flame,” La Torre hit the legendary high notes fans love to hear that Tate simply refused or couldn’t do any longer. The band also pulled out cuts that had fallen into obscurity due to Tate’s inability or unwillingness to perform them. Fans were treated to renditions of “Prophecy,” “Warning,” and “Child of Fire” – songs that hadn’t been played live since the mid-1980s.

Internet chatter and subsequent YouTube postings of the performances set the Web aflame with commentary on how incredible the lineup was with the powerhouse La Torre as vocalist. A couple weeks later, after the much maligned Queensrÿche performances in May 2012 at the M3 Festival, where Tate was seen humping a video camera, and Rocklahoma, telling the audience it “sucked,” Tate was dismissed from the band and La Torre was hired as Queensrÿche’s new singer.

Following the announcement, Queensrÿche played sporadic live dates for the remainder of 2012 and began working on a new record with La Torre.

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