Todd La Torre is an American rock vocalist possessed of a clear, dynamic, four-octave range. The former frontman for Crimson Glory has served as lead singer for prog-metallers Queensrÿche since 2012. An in-demand sideman, he has performed and recorded with several acts including Michael Sweet, Dark Matter, and Metal Church. La Torre issued his debut solo offering, Rejoice in the Suffering, on Rat Pack in 2021.

La Torre was born in Florida in 1974 to jazz-loving parents who took him to many concerts at an early age. Though interested in playing drums at age seven -- he learned to play on a toy kit -- he began studying classical guitar at ten. At 13, his father bought him his first professional drum kit and a year later he was not only playing in his high school jazz band but also performing in literally hundreds of shows with local rock bands as either a drummer or a guitarist. During his teen years, La Torre learned the basics of four-track recording and demo'ed his own songs singing and playing guitar and drums.

After graduation, La Torre continued to perform with local hard rock and heavy metal bands, though he would play gigs with lounge and wedding cover bands just to hone his chops. While music was his passion, La Torre was practical: He started an upholstery business that he successfully ran for nearly 18 years. Through his twenties and into his thirties, La Torre worked as a drummer and as an occasional guitarist with a wide variety of local musicians. Though confident in his abilities as a backing vocalist, he never considered singing lead; he desired instead to pursue drumming as a professional.

In 2009, La Torre considered forming an Iron Maiden tribute band. His plans changed when Circle II Circle guitarist Matt LaPorte suggested him to Crimson Glory guitarist Jon Drenning to fill their vacant vocalist's chair. After rehearsals and an initial live appearance at ProgPower X that fall, La Torre joined Crimson Glory's as lead singer. He toured with the band, but other than the demo for "Garden of Shadows," never recorded with them. Between 2010 and 2012, La Torre toured with CG and recorded in a guest capacity with Jon Oliva's Pain, Craig Blackwell, Kelly Nunn, and Tommy Vitaly.

La Torre met Queensrÿche guitarist Michael Wilton at a music industry event in 2012. They spent more than an hour conversing and discovering how much they had in common. Wilton suggested that La Torre record vocals for four of his own unreleased demos. La Torre responded with lyrics and a melody for one song in just three days. At the same time, Queensrÿche's singer Geoff Tate was recording a solo album. Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson, and drummer Scott Rockenfield were seeking a side project to fill the time and make money. They decided to play gigs under the name Rising West (named after a lyric from Queensrÿche's album The Warning). In need of a frontman, Wilton suggested La Torre. When asked if he knew any Queensrÿche's songs, La Torre, a longtime fan, responded by singing through their first half-dozen albums. After rehearsing nearly 20 songs, the Queensrÿche musicians were so impressed they hired La Torre as Rising West's singer. The band's set list focused mostly on Queensrÿche material and was performed to sold-out crowds in June, the same month Queensrÿche dismissed Tate from the lineup. La Torre had no idea there was tension, let alone a change. When formally asked to join, he deliberated after discovering that Tate was fired, but accepted a couple of days later. The band announced Tate's departure and La Torre's hiring on the same day.

After rehearsing for nearly a year and in the middle of a prolonged court case between Queensrÿche and Tate over the band's name (Tate lost), they entered the recording studio with La Torre for the first time. He wrote lyrics, several melodies, and even some guitar and drum parts for the band's self-titled effort. It appeared later that year to extremely positive notice despite the court battle. The worldwide tour engendered similar accolades.

In 2014, between recording sessions for a forthcoming Queensrÿche album, La Torre collaborated with former Megadeth guitarist Glen Drover on the single "Discordia." In early 2015, Queensrÿche engaged in a crowd-funding project to finance their next album. Condition Hüman, the band's 14th album, appeared in October from Century Media. It peaked at number five on the Top Rock Albums chart. The band toured the U.S. and Germany opening for the Scorpions in the immediate aftermath of the album's release. Later, they headlined tours of the U.S, Europe, Australia, and Asia, over the next two years.

In 2017, La Torre guested on Dark Matter's debut album Encipher and on the Metal Church track "Fake Healer." In March, Queensrÿche announced that drummer Scott Rockenfield would take a leave of absence after the birth of his son. His touring role was temporarily filled by Kamelot's Casey Grillo. The hiatus was supposed to last a few months, but Rockenfield didn't return. When Queensrÿche returned to the studio, La Torre served as the band's drummer as well as its vocalist. The Verdict was released on March 1, 2019 by Century Media and was followed by a tour with Grillo playing drums. The album peaked at six on the Hard Rock albums chart. In November, Wilton said in an interview that the band wanted Grillo for its next studio outing. That same year, La Torre collaborated with Stryper guitarist Michael Sweet on studio sessions for the latter's forthcoming album Ten.

In 2020, deprived of the ability to tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, La Torre joined guitarist Mike Holtzman's supergroup recording project Bad Penny. The lineup consisted of former Journey lead singer Steve Augeri, ex-Queen (and current Blue Öyster Cult bassist) Danny Miranda, and BOC drummer Jules Radino. They issued their debut single, "Voices in My Head" in August. During that entire period, La Torre was also hard at work on his debut solo outing with longtime friend and collaborator guitarist Craig Blackwell, and producer Chris Zeuss Harris. The finished project, Rejoice in the Suffering was issued by Rat Pack in February of 2021. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi