Watch: QUEENSRŸCHE's TODD LA TORRE Plays Drums With MARTY FRIEDMAN For MEGADETH's "Tornado Of Souls'

April 18, 2023

QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre sat behind the drum kit for Marty Friedman during the ex-MEGADETH guitarist's April 16 concert at Jannus Live in Saint Petersburg, Florida to perform the latter band's classic song "Tornado Of Souls". Check out fan-filmed video below.

Jannus Live was the final concert of QUEENSRŸCHE and Friedman's joint U.S. tour, which kicked off on March 3 at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida.

Earlier today (Tuesday, April 18),La Torre, who has played drums since the age of 13, tweeted out a photo of him playing with Marty and his band, and he included the following message: "What a great time drumming with one of my favorite guitarists and musicians of all time! #MartyFriedman".

Back in 2016, La Torre, who played drums on QUEENSRŸCHE's 2019 album "The Verdict", spoke to Rock Revolt Magazine about his early days as a musician. He said: "I've been really into drums since I was a little kid. And, that came much more naturally to me than anything. I've always liked singing, but I never tried singing for a band because I didn't think I was good enough… I was a drummer first… I was big Billy Joel fan, and I was always drumming or air drumming. Finally, when I was 13, my dad bought me my first drum set. My mom got me my first guitar when I was ten. And so, I have always been interested. And then I joined bands as a drummer. So, it's always been in my blood."

Asked if he had any desire to get behind the kit and do some side projects, Todd said: "I would love to drum again, too on the side. But, to have another band on the side for fun, that'd be cool, too. To be able to do that as a drummer, that'd be amazing. But QUEENSRŸCHE will always be my number one priority. I have a musicality to me beyond singing. And so it would be nice, while I have the health and the opportunity, to do those things. So, you never know what life will bring you."

Todd, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, joined his first band BLACKWELL as the drummer, performing in high school talent shows and entering into the club rock music scene in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2009, Todd was suggested to CRIMSON GLORY guitarist Jon Drenning by a mutual friend to help with some vocal rehearsals in preparation for a CRIMSON GLORY memorial concert. This would pave the way for more collaborations with the band, eventually joining as the band’s new permanent vocalist. La Torre was the lead singer for CRIMSON GLORY from late 2010 until resigned from the band in early 2013. In 2012, Todd became a household name in the metal world when he officially became the new lead vocalist of QUEENSRŸCHE. The band immediately began touring globally and started writing new material for the self-titled 2013 album "Queensrÿche". To date, QUEENSRŸCHE has released four studio albums with La Torre: "Queensrÿche", "Condition Hüman" (2015),"The Verdict" (2019) and "Digital Noise Alliance" (2022).

La Torre's debut solo album, "Rejoice In The Suffering", was released in February 2021 via Rat Pak Records.

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