Founding member and guitar maestro Michael Wilton joined us on the phone as the band prepares to hit the road in support of the new album. Given that the new album fits so well with the last two albums and even reminds me of early works such as ‘The Warning’ and the first EP, I asked Michael how he feels this album stacks up to them. “I view it as a natural evolution of the band” Michael responds, “I think it is perfect for what we are striving for to continue on as Queensryche”. He added “I think from my perspective its all the touring we have done. I just kind of infiltrated into the writing process. I’m really happy with this album.”
I mentioned to Michael that there is an edge that seems to have been introduced into the Queensryche sound. Perhaps moving away slightly from prog-rock and more of a metal feel. I asked Michael if it was a conscious decision by the band to dig into the metal roots. Michael responded “I think it was really an unconscious decision (laughs)” He continued “It’s kind of that day an age now where you have to hit people in the face now or else they go on to the next thing.”
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‘The Verdict’ has many great guitar solos and those trade-mark guitar harmonies. The harmonized solo on “Light Years” is especially good. I wanted to know what the process was like on this album for developing the songs and figuring out who is playing what. “The writing process for The Verdict was quite different from the other two albums,” said Michael. “It was a matter of everybody being on their A game. Spontaneous creativity. Lots of spontaneity on this album.”
The song “Inside Out” has this wonderful middle eastern dark minor vibe, yet the mood lifts for a really powerful guitar solo. I asked Michael if he could give some insights into this song. Michael answered “Inside Out is very special to me. I’ve been sitting on that guitar riff for probably fifteen years. Because of its Phrygian or middle eastern flavor, it doesn’t always fit into a Queensryche album. This is the first album that it has fit in. So its got its day now and I’m super happy that this riff has made it on to this record.”
Given that drummer, Scott Rockenfield wasn’t available to record the new album and vocalist Todd La Torre was asked to fill in on drums, I wanted to know if the band has any hopes of Scott returning. Michael’s response was “We don’t know. We respect his privacy doing his thing.” Michael added, “The door is always open if he wants to make a comeback; that’s fine.” He continued “Look at it as a team. If someone wants to go out for a while, someone else picks up the pieces and keep the machine going.”