Queensryche and Marty Friedman Entertain Nashville To The Fullest, Live at Brooklyn Bowl, Nashville on April 14th, 2023

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Sometimes you look at a touring bill and you may think… well I’m not sure about these openers, the different styles may not fit the headliner, or the music is completely different and may not attract fans of the headliner. Well, when you first look at the lineup bill for this Queensryche tour you may not associate Trauma and Marty Friedman as two acts that would fit the style of the Melodic Metal Rockers, but the fact that you bring an 80’s Bay Area Thrash Metal band with you, you bring onboard someone like Friedman who lives in Japan and doesn’t regularly tour the states, on the road with you and yes that may pique your interest for certain.

I wasn’t too familiar with Trauma’s history, other than the style they play and also being one of the bands that the late Cliff Burton was in before he went into Metallica. These guys are no frills, Metal in all its essence. Their sound is exactly that, Bay Area old school Thrash Metal, and they let you know that on stage. They brought it Live with their thunderous sound and no-nonsense approach. The tunes I enjoyed the most were “From Here to Hell” and “River Red”, the veteran’s Thrashers wasted no time as they warmed up the crowd quickly and got them ready for a little change of pace. Now to check out their back catalog and new.

QUEENSRYCHE AND MARTY FRIEDMAN ENTERTAIN NASHVILLE TO THE FULLEST, LIVE AT BROOKLYN BOWL, NASHVILLE ON APRIL 14TH, 2023

Marty Friedman is no stranger to playing on big stages as he left his imprint on the years he was with Megadeth. From playing on 5 studio albums including the classic “Rust in Peace”, all the way to 2000 when he left the band. The man is a phenomenal guitar player, and since moving to Japan not only has he made a very successful career overseas, but has continued to wow fans around the globe with his brand of instrumental music. Marty has been on the road a trek that brings him to Nashville for the first time (a rarity) in the USA supporting the mighty Queensryche, and boy did he put on a great show in support of his latest offering “Tokyo Jukebox 3”, together with his young bandmates, they were terrific. Yes, instrumental music is not for everyone, but Friedman just rips live and their drummer Chargeeeeee is intense, this dude has monster energy that reverberates throughout the whole band. Marty at 60 years old sure as hell doesn’t act like it, he was terrific with tons of energy onstage as he dove right into “Stigmata Addiction” later to be followed by the epic guitar solo in “Tornado of Souls”, as only one man can play it. Very enjoyable performance with color and soul. Ever since I saw the live performance of Friedman joining Megadeth on stage for the first time in ages at Budokan a few weeks back, I had to watch this live. Just epic stuff to hear that song live again from Marty.

QUEENSRYCHE AND MARTY FRIEDMAN ENTERTAIN NASHVILLE TO THE FULLEST, LIVE AT BROOKLYN BOWL, NASHVILLE ON APRIL 14TH, 2023

Queensryche gets ready to enter go time promptly as frontman Todd La Torre hits the stage running with opener “Behind The Walls”, and later with old school Queensryche classic “Child of Fire” from The Warning record. For the Operation Mindcrime fanboys like myself is always good to hear “Spreading the Disease” and “Eyes of a Stranger” live again, as Todd does the original songs justice. But it was also ballsy of the band to play a lot of the new material that has since then brought QR back into the limelight and allowed them to continue touring and making music. And for the record since Todd has come on board, they have moved back into a no nonsense heavier direction, evident seen with the support they have received from their fanbase. Some of those newer cuts were “In Extremis”, “Light-Years” and “Sicdeth”. It was an emphasis on this tour to play more old stuff pre Mindrime and Empire as the encore brought on more classics in “Deliverance”, and “Roads to Madness”. Just a great night with a mix of styles and catalogs that was sure to please this packed Nashville crowd. Saw afterward that Korn drummer Ray Luzier was there for the show and I could have sworn I saw Alex Skolnick in the top level of the venue watching the performance. Great night of Metal period. If you were lucky enough to catch this tour, you were no doubt entertained.

QUEENSRYCHE AND MARTY FRIEDMAN ENTERTAIN NASHVILLE TO THE FULLEST, LIVE AT BROOKLYN BOWL, NASHVILLE ON APRIL 14TH, 2023