12 September 1984. St David’s Hall, Cardiff. Dio return to Wales on the Last In Line tour. Having seen them the previous year on their debut UK shows promoting Holy Diver, it was a highly anticipated show. After the car crash of support act Waysted in 1983, it was a revelation when an unknown band from Washington burst onto the stage to open proceedings. That band was Queensrÿche, and over 40 years later, the Origins tour that has rolled through the US on two cycles arrives in Bristol, one of several UK dates on the band’s European tour.
Queensrÿche – Night Demon
Marble Factory, Bristol – 14 February 2025
Words And Photography: Paul Hutchings
It’s a bitterly cold evening, even by Marble Factory standards. It’s so cold that singer Todd La Torre remarks on it during the one part of the show where he takes time to explain the reasons for the tour and to gauge how many are new to seeing the band live.
There are a surprising number of first-timers here tonight, and the age and gender range are also heartening. Alongside the gnarly 55+ boomers who were there back in 1984, there are youngsters singing their hearts out to songs written many years before their birth.
Regardless, it’s a celebration tonight, and despite the biting temperatures that chill to the bone, this is a set that warms the assembled hearts.
Queensrÿche are another band celebrating landmark albums. The criticism that these shows are merely nostalgia trips targeting those who can comfortably afford it may have an element of truth. But for me, this was a true celebration of one of the most impressive debut albums in the history of Heavy Metal.
Despite the critical acclaim that Operation Mindcrime received, The Warning has always been my favourite Queensrÿche album. To hear the record played chronologically and in full was an experience I will unlikely have ever again.
The Warning is preceded by the first EP, the magnificent self-titled release from 1982. The first time that the world had heard Babylon/Myth singer Geoff Tate, who had refused to join the initial incarnation of Queensrÿche called The Mob due to their reliance on cover versions.
The opener, Queen Of The Reich and closer, The Lady Wore Black, remain superb Metal songs, and tonight they are given the full treatment, bookending Nightrider and Blinded, before the band get stuck into the main body of work.
These days, the Queensrÿche line-up is somewhat different to those early days, but with original members guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson still in the fold, it’s certainly the genuine article.
Step forward the incredible Todd La Torre, now 13 years in the band and possibly the only singer who is equipped to deliver these songs today. I have seen La Torre several times over the years, including a show in the other part of this venue (Motion) almost a decade ago, where he was full of cold and still managed to nail everything.
He is a superb singer and possesses a voice which belies his small frame.
Note perfect throughout the evening, at times it was all I could do to keep my jaw from hitting the floor, such was the intensity of his delivery. And even though he has the same style as Tate, La Torre brings his own mark to each of the band’s songs.
He hits Queen Of The Reich with ease, no easy task for the opening song, and by the time Queensrÿche finish this epic set with Eyes Of A Stranger some 90 minutes later, he is still bang on the button.
The Warning is a hell of a body of work. I had reacquainted myself with it in the days before the gig. There is little fat on it, and live Queensrÿche make it sound bigger and better than ever. They roll into the title track, and heads are immediately nodding around the packed venue, whilst the front rows are word-perfect.
It is hard to sing along to parts of it due to the high pitch, but that doesn’t stop those who, like me, were mere kids when this song first hit our ears to give it a good go. Everywhere, heads are thrown back, and the words bellowed with passion.
From here, it’s a 50-minute blast that is only broken by La Torre’s one piece of real conversation with the crowd. He thanks everyone for coming, welcomes the new fans, and maybe a little pointedly reminds us that there is “Only. One. Queensrÿche.”
The guitar work is razor-sharp. Wilton takes the leads, ably supported by rhythm guitarist Mike Stone, who locks in with Jackson, the pair covering the backing vocals. Behind them all, Casey Grillo, already eight years into his tenure with the band adds his own flourishes to the original Scott Rockenfield patterns whilst retaining the original engine.
It is a fine sight. The band are bathed in golds, greens, purples and reds, their gold logo hoisted high about the stage.Enforcer is a Heavy Metal anthem. Take Hold Of The Flame sends shivers down the spine whilst No Sanctuary is epic in every sense.
The Warning, as I said, has little fat on it, and the concluding trio of Before The Storm, Child Of Fire and a stunning Road To Madness burn off any remaining chills. The room is filled with smiles, all happy to witness this seminal album played live once again.
It is encore time, and here Queensrÿche excel. With so many songs to choose from, including the excellent 2022 release Digital Noise Alliance, one would forgive the band for throwing in a few songs from more recent records. 
No, this really is a night for reminiscing. Behind The Walls from Digital Noise Alliance, featured earlier in the tour, but does not appear tonight. No one is worried as Walk In The Shadows and Screaming In Digital from Rage For Order rub shoulders with the best performance of Empire I think I have ever seen.
It’s Eyes Of A Stranger that brings the evening to a huge climax, and once again, it is delivered in equal respectful and bombastic style. 
As we file out into the damp, freezing night air, La Torre’s final words ring in the ears. Five years since their last UK shows, we hope that it will be sooner rather than later for this magnificent band to return. Until then, we can revel in the memories created tonight.
Night Demon
My last encounter with Night Demon was mere months ago when the band played support for Cirith Ungol’s last UK show at The Underworld. That night saw singer/bassist Jarvis Leatherby and guitarist Armand John Anthony do double duty. 
When I saw that Night Demon were on this tour, a broad smile appeared on my face. There is simply something fantastic about the power trio, who play traditional Heavy Metal with a contemporary twist. Four albums provide them with ample tracks to select, and they dip into them all throughout their 45-minute set.
It’s UK’s Demon who get first play; their legendary Night Of The Demon song heralds the band’s arrival on stage. They are on fire, roaring into Outsider, the title track from 2023’s excellent album of the same name, from which they draw four songs.
Anthony and Leatherby are a blur, racing around the stage, disappearing in columns of steam and the hazy lighting. Reds, greens, and blues all light the stage, with occasional clear lighting that throws the band into crystal clarity.
Their drive is insane, and for those who are witnessing this performance for the first time, it’s an in-your-face experience. Screams In The Night and Escape From Beyond complete the opening trio, a pure onslaught of Heavy Metal that has those huddled together emerge from their ice cocoons to bang heads.
There’s no lack of temperature on stage; you can see the steam from Leatherby’s sweat-drenched head rising in the lights. There are a calmer few moments before The Wrath gives way to The Chalice and the arrival of the band’s mascot, the Night Demon, who stalks the stage with his chalice before departing as mysteriously as he arrived. 
There is just time for the song Night Demon, with Leatherby taking the opportunity to thank the audience before they launch into a final frenzy that proves why they are on this tour.
Excellent in every aspect, Night Demon deserve to be much bigger.
