Addie Rox of Tampa Bay’s Mayhem Magazine recently conducted an interview with new QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Mayhem Magazine: A lot of your influence comes from Geoff Tate. What kind of influence do you think your particular sound will have? How will it be the same or differ from original QUEENSRŸCHE material?

Todd: A lot of the little crying inflections, or when you enter a phrase… Michael Sweet [STRYPER] does it a lot too. You know, he [Tate] has a cleaner voice than I have. Even from my early teens, I’ve had a little bit of a raspier voice, but I can mimic… I don’t like to say the word “mimic,” but I need to in order to properly do the songs the way they need to be done. So, I mean, I struggle a little bit with staying clean, because I’m used to doing a lot of the higher, more metal, edgier-type music. His is not so aggressive, and in the music I sing with CRIMSON GLORY, it’s heavier and vocals are dirtier and grittier. So as far as how would my sound, or the new stuff sound, I think it will sound edgier, and I have a tendency of wanting to do the [Rob] Halford style metal screaming where I think that they’re [fellow QUEENSRŸCHE members] wanting to tone that down; maybe they think it’s a little dated. But there are times that I want to show the power and the metal side of it. QUEENSRŸCHE is metal, but I think I’ll lend a different texture.

Mayhem Magazine: How do you feel about “replacing” one of your idols, Geoff Tate. Is it bittersweet?

Todd: Well… the term that you are using is very delicate. To say the word “replacing,” some would arguably say he is irreplaceable. I am, in fact, filling those shoes, that role, so it’s probably a fair term, although a lot of people, for political correctness, try to not use this. To be politically correct, or for professional courtesy, I feel people are afraid to use that word because it will garnish criticism, but the fact of the matter is, that is what it is. To be compared, to even be in the same breath as somebody who is probably the biggest influence, vocally, within the genre is surreal, but I feel like I’ve already been down this road with CRIMSON GLORY because Midnight was a very highly revered singer and I’ve been kind of held to the fire on that. I’m not worried about the naysayers who are, like, “Fuck this guy! QUEENSRŸCHE will never be QUEENSRŸCHE without Geoff Tate.” I respect that, I understand that. I’m a fan, too, so I won’t criticize someone for that opinion, but at the same time, and I don’t know this from the members, but it’s fairly evident that Tate is moving in a different direction. The [recent QUEENSRŸCHE] music appears, from an outsider looking in, that it is not what the fans are really wanting, in my opinion. And so, maybe the fans expect the band to not do something, but it’s like, if I sound too much like him, I’m being labeled as a clone, but if I sound nothing like him, then they say, “This guy sounds nothing like what it should sound like!” So I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t. So I just say, I do the best that I can. Yes, my phrasing is very similar to him; it’s going to be. If I was a guitar player that just grew up on Yngwie [Malmsteen] and Paul Gilbert or Michael Angelo, it’s going to be reflected in that playing. If you play like Steve Vai, they are going to be on your sleeve.

Mayhem Magazine: Have you had any formal vocal training?

Todd: I’ve never had any formal training or taken a single lesson — not one. It was actually right before my debut show with CRIMSON GLORY in Marietta, Georgia that I was able to find a very well-respected vocal coach in the area and I really wanted more of an evaluation. I was told from him, “Do you know how many people that come to me and sing like you do? Hardly any, very few. Whatever you have done to teach yourself, don’t stop.” I try to find my own way to sing any QUEENSRŸCHE song and not strain my throat, but make it sound effortless. There’s always room for improvement.

Mayhem Magazine: Do you feel like you are having to win over the QUEENSRŸCHE fans?

Todd: The difference for me is, I don’t have the history, because it’s not my voice on those records. It’s not my voice they fell in love with. It’s hard; it really makes it harder. Luckily, the CRIMSON fans accepted me the way that they did and I think it’s because I’ve proven that I am a better singer live than Midnight was. I don’t like saying it, but it’s true — even the band says it. I don’t have his range; I can’t sing so super high. I can hit some high stuff, but it’s not what makes a great singer; it’s pretty overrated. It’s cool. Not a lot of people can do it great, but it’s still a bit overrated. Emotion is where it’s at. Not that I should care too much what people think to the point that it consumes me, but if I make the band happy and proud, I can’t ask for anything more. I’m human; these are my vocal cords. People expect too much. Even out of Geoff Tate, they expect too much. “Oh he doesn’t have the range.” Dude, the guy’s voice, in my opinion, is still fucking awesome. The problem is when you build your sound around a range that he’s known for, and then you don’t deliver like the record. I mean, come on — it’s a record. Those lines are done a million times and they take the best takes and they put it together. The record is forever, right? Well, live, very few sound like the record and let’s face it, QUEENSRŸCHE is some of the hardest material in the world to sing.

Mayhem Magazine: How different is the singing from your CRIMSON GLORY songs?

Todd: Well, the CRIMSON GLORY songs, Midnight had a scratchier voice. You don’t hear any scratch on any Geoff Tate‘s stuff. You’re going to hear it, to some degree, with my voice. Even on the live stuff, that’s just how I sing. I think the range on CRIMSON is much higher — I know it is — but trying to be able to sing clean is challenging, but I can do it fairly well. Lots of factors are involved, too, like climate, travel, fatigue, rest, minimizing talking, etc. Our voice is our instrument.

You can read the entire interview from Mayhem Magazine.

Source: Blabbermouth.net 

New QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre has revealed that he is currently laying down vocals on demo versions of some of the band’s new material. He says, “[I am] loving the new songs. [They are] refreshing, not dated, and heavier than anything put out in years! Oh yeah!”

La Torre, who says that QUEENSRŸCHE has been his favorite band since he was 15 years old, first met QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton at this year’s NAMM convention in January in Anaheim, California.

In a June radio interview, La Torre stated about QUEENSRŸCHE‘s plans to record new original music, “Obviously, we wanna try and write something that’s heavy, but also has a common thread of what is QUEENSRŸCHE‘s sound — very melodic guitar parts. Vocally, I’m in a very unique position because a lot of people like to throw around, ‘Oh, he’s a clone, he’s an imitator, he’s this, he’s that.’ And I feel like I’m damned if I do and I’m damned if I don’t.

“My style of singing and phrasing is very similar to Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. I mean, a lot of my high metal screams are grittier and dirtier, like Rob Halford. My vibrato is more similar to Bruce Dickinson or Geoff Tate. A lot of the crying and ways of entering a vocal phrase and phonating, the way I say words, are very similar to Geoff Tate.

“I wear my influences on my sleeve, but I also think that I have a heavier vibe than Geoff Tate ever had. With a lot of the heavier, gritty, thrashier metal style… I mean, I love to do some of the death growls like Chuck Billy [TESTAMENT] does. Is that QUEENSRŸCHE sound? No. But if they want it kicked up and give it a heavier edge, I think that I have that, and that’s something that Geoff Tate never did. Not taking anything away from him, but I think I do show a wide range of versatility.

“As an artist, you wanna spread your wings, and you wanna try things that are creative, and you wanna still stay current. So it’s like, ‘OK, how do we achieve, how do we pacify the masses?’ You don’t wanna write a record that sounds like 1986. But you don’t wanna sound so changed that the older fans aren’t finding that common thread in the music that they loved that is from the early-to-mid-’80s or even early ’90s, like ‘Operation: Mindcrime’. I mean, that’s regarded as one of the greatest concept albums of all time, and it’s stood the test of time. Is that a real heavy, heavy metal record? In my opinion, no. I call it ‘metal,’ but it was progressive and it had a lot of wonderful instrumentation and elements, and it’s a masterpiece of a work. So we just wanna do what we do. They’ve told me, ‘Todd, don’t feel like you have to try to sound like our past. We want you to do you.’ And so the things that we have worked on together, there are elements that are indicative [of], or very similar to, the classic QUEENSRŸCHE vocal sound, but I’m still doing things that are me.

“It’s kind of frustrating for me when people say, ‘Oh, he’s come in and just tries to copy [Geoff].’ Well, if I sing [the songs] so close to the original [versions]… Obviously, I want to represent the songs in [their] truest form that I can do. I think, live, I still kind of end up phrasing things a little different and will do things kind of my way, but I try to stay as true as I can. So if I do that, people are like, ‘Oh, he’s a clone, he’s a copycat, and it’s never the same without Geoff Tate,’ which I do respect. On the other hand, if I’m so different, then they’re gonna say, ‘It’s nothing like Geoff Tate. It’s nothing like QUEENSRŸCHE sound. This isn’t QUEENSRŸCHE. It’s not even close to the same style.’ . . .So if the fans wanna hear the hardcore, classic heavy high-screaming stuff that they haven’t heard in many, many, many years, we’re gonna stay true to the classic material that the fans have been wanting to hear for so long and then we’ll be interjecting some new stuff soon.”

Tate, who was fired from QUEENSRŸCHE in June after fronting the group for three decades, recently sought to prevent his former bandmates from touring and operating under the QUEENSRŸCHE name without him. While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an all-new lineup of musicians. “I don’t see any reason that Mr. Tate can’t have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of using the brand,” Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said during the July 13 court hearing. “I think [doing that would be] inherently confusing, although I’m sure the market can get these things sorted out,” she added.

On September 2, Tate announced that he was launching his own version of QUEENSRŸCHE with RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer, former QUIET RIOT, OZZY OSBOURNE and WHITESNAKE bassist Rudy Sarzo and former MEGADETH and KING DIAMOND guitarist Glen Drover. Also on board in the new group are returning QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Kelly Gray — who played with the band from 1998 until 2001 and also produced several of their albums — and keyboardist Randy Gane, who has toured and recorded with QUEENSRŸCHE and Geoff‘s solo group in the past.

Source: Blabbermouth.net 

The official promotional photo of the new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup can be seen below (courtesy of Mike Savoia Photography).

The new QUEENSRŸCHE made its official live debut as the headliner of the last day of this year’s Halfway Jam, which took place July 26-28 in Royalton, Minnesota.

In response to a number of questions regarding his vocal performance at the concert, the new QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre (also of CRIMSON GLORY) posted the following message on his Facebook page:

“I’ve been asked about backing vocal tracks and that many believe they are hearing [original QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff] Tate‘s voice on them. Let me clearly state that there are NO backing vocals with his voice in ANY songs with my performance. Any tracks that have accompanied backing vocals have all been re-recorded with my voice and Eddie‘s [Jackson, bass]. We don’t use any tracks to fake a lead vocal with me, but to simple give a fuller nicer sound to a chorus as backing vocals, NOT to replace my lead vocal role. Yes, they are very similar and would naturally be heard as Geoff‘s, but they are not. All recordings are time-stamped and recorded in the computer and Pro Tools and my point is indisputable.”

He added, “[I] just needed to clarify that, and I also sing the full chorus live to ‘Empire’ since some have asked me about that.”

QUEENSRŸCHE‘s setlist for the Halfway Jam was as follows:

01. Queen Of The Reich
02. Speak
03. Neue Regel
04. Walk In The Shadows
05. En Force
06. I Don’t Believe In Love
07. Child Of Fire
08. The Whisper
09. Warning
10. Spreading The Disease
11. The Needle Lies
12. Prophecy
13. Take Hold Of The Flame
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes Of A Stranger
16. Empire
————–
17. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN cover)
18. Jet City Woman
19. Roads To Madness

An audio-only recording of the “Roads To Madness” performance is available below.

QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Parker Lundgren (guitar) announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with Geoff Tate and recruiting La Torre as his replacement. The new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup previously played two shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.

Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield defeated Tate‘s motion for a preliminary injunction on July 13 that would have kept them from touring and operating under the band name,

Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE‘s former manager, filed a lawsuit against Geoff‘s ex-bandmates on June 22 in King County Superior Court over whether he should be awarded the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being dismissed from the group in June. Their complaint states Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson wrongfully fired the singer and are tarnishing the group’s brand by attempting to move forward without him.

If the case goes to trial, the date is set for November 18, 2013.

In the meantime, Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield, along with Lundgren and La Torre have launched a new web site at QueensrycheOfficial.com.

Lundgren was briefly married to Geoff‘s stepdaughter Miranda; they have since divorced.

“Roads To Madness” performance (audio only):

Photo credit: Mike Savoia Photography

Source: Blabbermouth.net