Queensrÿche, 25th June 2026, Hades, Copenhell Festival, Denmark

Photo: Goran www.urbanmescalero.com

More than four decades into their recording career and almost 15 years after Todd La Torre joined the band, proving that replacing Geoff Tate in Queensrÿche was not an impossible task, the band finally made their debut at the Copenhell festival.
The band has been touring almost constantly since releasing their latest album, Digital Noise Alliance, in 2022. While touring is the main source of income for most musicians these days, that is especially true for a band the size of the American progressive metal veterans.

Since La Torre joined the band, Queensrÿche haven’t released a weak album, but the majority of their setlists are still usually packed with songs from the band’s earlier years. Considering this was a relatively short festival performance, it made sense to focus on material released up to 1990’s Empire.

It was clear that the majority of the crowd wasn’t particularly familiar with the band, as there wasn’t much of a crowd gathered in front of Copenhell’s second-largest stage. What those who did attend received, however, was a lesson in classic progressive metal from one of the bands that helped define the genre. Over the years, they have inspired countless others and created numerous classic albums.

These days, only two original members remain in the band, but alongside “new” singer La Torre, longtime guitarist Mike Stone and drummer Casey Grillo performed their roles admirably. Grillo, however, tends to focus more on sheer power than the groove that characterised the playing of the band’s original drummer, Scott Rockenfield.

The band didn’t quite manage to maintain the same level of energy throughout the show, but that was partly due to the tempo changes and the diversity of the material, even though they didn’t include anything from some of their more experimental albums.

The closing trio of songs ended the performance on a particularly strong note. “Revolution Calling” turned into a fine sing-along, while during the instrumental middle section of “Empire”, La Torre introduced the band as the musicians demonstrated a masterclass in dynamics and interplay. The closing “Eyes of a Stranger” provided perhaps the biggest audience participation moment of the set, and Grillo did an outstanding job recreating the intricate cymbal work that gives the song so much of its distinctive groove.

Queensrÿche were somewhat outside their comfort zone at Copenhell, but playing to unfamiliar audiences is something they have done many times throughout their career. They delivered a professional performance with both skill and dignity, all while appearing genuinely grateful for the opportunity to finally play Copenhell. As for you dear reader – make sure to see the band live on one of their own headlining shows.

SETLIST:

1. Queen of the Reich
2. Operation: Mindcrime
3. Warning
4. NM 156
5. Neue Regel
6. Take Hold of the Flame
7. Screaming in Digital
8. Anarchy-X
9. Revolution Calling
10. Empire
11. Eyes of a Stranger