Todd La Torre - "Darkened Majesty" (audio)

Προσωπικό δίσκο θα κυκλοφορήσει το νέο έτος ο Todd La Torre. Τιτλοφορείται "Rejoice In The Suffering" κι αναμένεται στις αρχές Φεβρουαρίου. Ο Todd La Torre έγινε γνωστός (κυρίως στην Florida) ως drummer σε διάφορα hard και heavy σχήματα.

O Matt LaPorte των Jon Oliva's Pain τον άκουσε να τραγουδάει, τον πρότεινε στον κιθαρίστα των Crimson Glory (Jon Drenning) και κάπως έτσι μας συστήθηκε ως τραγουδιστής.

Πρώτος σταθμός οι Crimson Glory (δυστυχώς δεν προχώρησαν σε δίσκο, αν κι υπάρχει το "ημιεπίσημο" single "Garden Of Shadows" προ οκταετίας). Ακολούθησαν οι Queensrÿche, στους οποίους παραμένει μέχρι και τις ημέρες μας...

Δελτίο τύπου: «As global touring came to a sudden and unexpected halt earlier this year, Queensrÿche frontman Todd La Torre has been using his recent pandemic downtime to put the finishing touches on his debut solo album Rejoice In The Suffering.

The idea for a solo album was always in the cards for Todd. With Queensrÿche tour dates postponed indefinitely, the world events offered Todd the opportunity to explore his ideas for Rejoice In The Suffering. Todd teamed up with longtime friend and collaborator Craig Blackwell, alongside Zeuss for mixing and mastering, creating a diverse heavy metal album that draws influence from different styles.

These styles will surprise fans who only know La Torre from his previous work with Queensrÿche or Crimson Glory before that. Rejoice In The Suffering is scheduled for release globally on February 5, 2021 via Rat Pak Records.

"Rejoice In The Suffering was truly a labor of love. It's a pure metal record that certainly showcases a wide range of my vocal abilities. I feel there is something for any true fan of metal on this album. This album is full of groove, dynamics, power, and substance and I can’t wait for people to hear it", explains Todd La Torre.

From the album's opening riffs of "Dogmata" to the vocal acrobatics that drive the album closer "Apology", it is apparent that Todd La Torre has a true love of heavy metal. Playing drums and recording the vocals for the album, songs like "Darkened Majesty" and "Critical Cynic” offer an inside look into the musical mind of La Torre.

Craig Blackwell’s guitar playing provides the perfect musical accents to La Torre’s vocals. Todd even finds vocal wails not heard from him before as showcased on the title track and the punishing "Vanguards of the Dawn Wall". The deluxe version of the album features 3 bonus tracks: "Fractured", "Set It Off" and "One by One".»

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Bio

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➥ THE BEGINNING: Todd was raised in a musical household, exposed to Jazz, R&B, Motown, and classic rock. At age 10 his mother purchased his first classical guitar and Todd began lessons for a brief period of time. Still continuing to play the guitar, he found great interest in percussion, and at age 13 got his first drumset. This would pave the way for a burning desire to continue forging ahead playing drums primarily while still using guitar as more of a songwriting tool.

➥ THE EARLY YEARS: Todd joined his first band “Blackwell” as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene by age fifteen. With various lineup changes and playing in different bands, Todd finally settled himself with the melodic metal band "Infrared". Infrared played full-time throughout the Tampa Bay, Florida club scene, and ended up recording on full length demo. Unfortunately, this band was never signed and eventually disbanded around 1995. Todd continued to write music and did some recordings, and eventually ended joining a local cover band as a drummer, performing in many nightclubs and beach bars throughout the Tampa Bay area. This was a way to keep performing and to keep this drumming skills active.

➥ CRIMSON GLORY: In 2009, Todd was suggested to Crimson Glory guitarist Jon Drenning by their mutual friend, guitarist Matt LaPorte (Circle 2 Circle/Jon Oliva's Pain) to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a Crimson Glory memorial concert to honor the fallen original vocalist, “Midnight”. As a result of these rehearsals, Todd ended up being asked to perform for this concert as a guest vocalist at ProgPower X on September 12, 2009. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, eventually joining as the band’s new permanent vocalist. His first performance as the new singer was on October 30, 2010 at the Pathfinder Metal Fest in Marietta, Georgia. La Torre was the lead singer for Crimson Glory from late 2010 to early 2013. They did two tours throughout Europe and were working in a new concept album. Due to unfortunate stagnancy and various circumstances, La Torre decided to formally resigned from the band February 7th, 2013. 

➥ RISING WEST: While attending the NAMM Show 2012, Todd met Michael Wilton, guitarist of Queensryche. They talked during dinner and exchanged ideas and information regarding working on some music for television, etc. This would ultimately be the catalyst for what would come to be known as the project band “Rising West”. This would feature Todd on vocals, with the remaining Queensryche members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Parker Lundgren, and Scott Rockenfield. Queensryche had few remaining shows booked, thus providing time for this new side project/venture. After nine days of rehearsals, Rising West performed two sold-out shows at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle, Washington June 8th and 9th, 2012. The band performed classic Queensryche material, and this would be the first time Queensryche members would perform a concert with a new front man. A rebirth was manifesting. 

➥ QUEENSRŸCHE: In mid 2012, Todd La Torre officially became the new lead vocalist of Queensryche. The band immediately began touring full-time, and started writing new material for the self titled 2013 album "Queensryche". The rebirth of the band has led to countless world tours, performing at many of rock and metal's most prestigious festivals, and appearing on various television shows including the VH1 Classic's That Metal Show. To date, Queensryche has released three studio albums with Todd La Torre: Queensryche(2013), Condition Hüman(2015), and The Verdict (2019). Currently the band is writing new material for a fourth release under Century Media Records. 

Artist: Todd La Torre
Audio: "Darkened Majesty"
Video created by: Wayne Joyner
Album: "Rejoice In The Suffering"
Type: Full length
Release date: February 5th, 2021
Label: Rat Pak Records
Format: CD, Vinyl, Digital

Track listing:
01. Dogmata
02. Pretenders
03. Hellbound and Down
04. Darkened Majesty
05. Crossroads to Insanity
06. Critical Cynic
07. Rejoice in the Suffering
08. Vexed
09. Vanguards of the Dawn Wall
10. Apology
11. Fractured (Bonus Track - Deluxe Version Only)
12. Set it Off (Bonus Track - Deluxe Version Only)
13. One by One (Bonus Track - Deluxe Version Only)