Queensrÿche frontman Todd La Torre has confirmed that work is well underway on the follow-up to 2022’s Digital Noise Alliance. Speaking with Paul Salfen of AMFM Magazine, La Torre explained (via Blabbermouth): “We’re writing the next album now. And so we’ve got a pile of songs and ideas that we’re sorting through to see what’s what. I have a ton of lyrics to write and vocals to do.”
“And it’s really hard to find the time because we’re gone so much. And it’s hard to force that creativity sometimes. But the stuff that [the other guys in the band are] showing me, it’s classic Queensrÿche, man. It sounds killer. And this will be my fifth album with the band,” he added.
The singer reflected on the importance of continuing to release new material: “So, yeah, we still make new music, and I think that’s what any artist does, or anybody really that enjoys doing what they do. Maybe you play tennis, but you’re not a pro tennis player, or you don’t play in tournaments anymore, but you still go out and hit some balls with your friends. And we still like to create. Some older bands don’t even bother putting out new records. ‘Oh, why? Everybody wants to hear the old stuff.’ Yeah, but there are people that really enjoy the new stuff too. Like I say, the bulk of what we do is gonna be the classics, but I love the new stuff that we do. It just shows that we’re still passionate about making new music. I don’t wanna just completely stop and just play the hits. You’ve gotta write new stuff.”
When Salfen pointed out that the band has released a significant amount of well-received material during La Torre’s tenure, making live setlist choices tricky, the vocalist acknowledged the challenge.
“It’s funny because some people will say, ‘Oh, I wish they played way more’ of my era with the band. And it’s interesting, because we’ll throw some new stuff in. And if you have the casual fan that just knows ‘Jet City Woman’ and ‘Empire’ and ‘I Don’t Believe In Love’, you play even ‘Walk In The Shadows’ and they don’t know it, or ‘Queen Of The Reich’ and they don’t know it. And then you have the hardcore fans that we’ll play a new one, and they follow what we do, and they sing all the words, and they know it, but the vibe of the room changes.”
“It’s not that they don’t like it, but they’re not reactionary in the same way. And as soon as we finish a new song and we play another classic, the room erupts. And sometimes you wonder, like, ‘How much new stuff can we really play?’ Because it kind of depends on — you’re polling the audience or this geographic location, or the demographic. Is this a metal festival? Is this a casino with more of a radio-friendly kind of commercial fanbase of the band? I don’t know. It’s hard to say,” La Torre continued.
Even so, La Torre would like to see more of his era represented in their live shows: “I wish we could play a lot more of it. And we did — we did one tour where I think probably 40% was all of my era with the band. So it isn’t like we haven’t tried it or done it, but if you have to pick a new song that most people don’t know, or you have to play a song that everybody knows, a lot of times you’ll go for the song that everybody knows.”
This fall, Queensrÿche will embark on the Volume And Vengeance Tour with special guests Accept. The trek begins November 7 in Denver, Colorado, at Summit and wraps up December 20 in Temecula, California, at Pechanga Theater Casino.
