Heat is on

Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. June 2008.

It was a sweltering June day but Queensryche still strolled into town and turned up the heat. As the show kicked off with the opening bars of Anarchy X, from the critically acclaimed Operation Mindcrime, it was soon apparent that Queensryche and vocalist in particular, had lost none of their passion and ability.

These were the traits that had pushed the band to the very top of their genre over a decade ago, before regretfully being largely forgotten by the music buying public. As the set list continued through tracks as diverse as Speak, Spreading The Disease and the Haunting Suite Sister Mary the band seemed to step up several gears before coming to Eyes Of A Stranger.

Queensryche finished off a truly memorable evening with three tracks off the Empire album including the sadly ever-relevant title track and the classic Holding The Flame.

Ian D. Hall