Queensryche & Night Demon - Effenaar Eindhoven, 9 February 2025

20 October 1984 was one evening in The Netherlands where anyone with a mild interest in Heavy Metal made sure they would be in Jaap Edenhal. Dio was touring Last in Line and on peak of his solo career. Maybe even more important was that Queensryche would open the evening. Queensryche already won the EP of the year in the Aardschok poll before and the Warning was just released so for a first time on Dutch soil we needed to be there. 40 year and a few months later when Queensryche announced a return to their EP and Warning album under the name Origins Tour we needed to be back. Now I was sloppy in getting a ticket and I guess most people who were in Amsterdam that October evening in 84 wanted to see this again,.Sold out followed swift after tickets went on sale. Magchiel had his ticket on time and when he passed by on Friday I started looking for ticketswap. That was not easy, but a lucky alert coming in when I had my phone in hand on Saturday got me to Effenaar after all.

Sunday evening starting slightly early to enable people to train home at decemnt times we left for Eindhoven just before five. Wandering how the show would be (good we expected based upon the setlist) and how the atmosphere would be. The night before Noa Lang of PSV (the Eindhoven football team for non Dutch non football fans) stated their home audience was shite. Well the Effenaar was filled with people from all over The Netherlands who were on a trip down memory lane. So ok noone has the same energy levels of 1984 nowadays, but everyone was loving it and the atmosphere was great shouting along with those songs we missed for so long. 

Opener of the night were Night Demon. They must be among the most touring bands around over the last decade. I first saw them in May 2014 when THHMA put them in cafe de Vinger. That night they played their first EP and skipped the Radar Love cover. I told them afterwards that they were in the city of Radar Love (which is  not Rotterdam Jeremy Clarckson) so a next time including it would be a good plan. They did so in Musicon and at Very Eavy later on and I guess I saw them some five times before with every album tour at least once. This evening they started energetic as ever and supporting Queenryche they fitted pretty well to me getting some 45 minutes tonight. I believe they visited all albums and closed with the double The Chalice (with mascot on stage) and Night Demon. This evening blasting for 45 minutes I thought them even better than when headlining 75-90 minutes last time in Musicon. Hope they won over some new fans.

And than the wait started for the Queen of the Reich. Announcing to play a full EP and album means no surprises on the setlist. In this case noone cared as to me and many others EP and Warning is the best era by Queensryche. Especially the songs we almost never saw live like Blinded, Deliverance, No Sanctuary or Child of Fire were nice to revisit. Interesting how with these eighties albums you can also sing along nonstop knowing all the lyrics. So from Queen of the Reich till Roads to Madness it was a joy. Todd only had one break to talk to us, when the LP needed to be turned over. Further it was the music speaking to us loudly. The band were all fine to me as well. Eddie Jacksoon and Michael Wilton as only original members for a while already. Todd has a better voice than Geoff Tate has nowadays, that's why we get the uptempo songs again. Casey Grillo is an amazing drummer too and while I never felt that Mike Stone fit in Queensryche with his looks, he played well tonight. 

Where the setlist was predictabel the encore holds changes every night I just saw. We got first a new song of their last album DNA. Fine but breaking nostalgia a bit. Luckily we got Walk in the Shadows next and with Empire, Screaming in Digital and their ultimate set closer Eyes of a Stranger everyone left for home with a smile on their face. I was mainly pleased that the band was wise enough to not include the wrong songs in the encore giving us no zillionth time Silent Lucidity or their frst poor song ever Jet City Woman. This evening we were catapulted back to 1984 and that is what we came for. Next tour they are allowed to blend lots of new material in, which is still relevant. Oldskool fans know it won't ever be getting better than this set for any Queensryche still to come.