DATE: Friday, August 8, 1997                TAG: 9708080653

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Music Review 

SOURCE: BY JEFF MAISEY, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   41 lines

QUEENSRYCHE SHARP, BUT TURNOUT LIGHT

Queensryche's triple-platinum selling days seem to be over.

The hard-rocking Seattle quintet sold fewer than 3,000 tickets for its GTE Virginia Beach Amphitheater performance Thursday night. It was the venue's worst turnout of the year so far.

The lawn was closed and there were more vacant seats than occupied under the tin roof. But Hampton Roads missed out on a super multimedia production.

Queensryche opened with the pulsating, eardrum-pleasing ``The Voice Inside.'' A huge ear served as a stage prop - containing in its center a screen that flashed images throughout the show.

Short-haired vocalist Geoff Tate, decked out in a black suit, was as chic as George Michael. The shining silver shirt of guitarist Michael Wilton shimmered on ``Empire'' as the band crushed the crowd with its dynamic and popular material.

``Jet City Woman'' exploded with mesmerizing musicianship.

Touring in support of their new, now label-less album ``Hear in the Now Frontier,'' the group performed the topsy-turvy ``You.'' EMI records ceased to exist on June 24.

Drummer Scott Travis of metal maniacs Judas Priest was in the audience and said of the performance, ``These guys are really good, and I like the singer's suit.'' The rest of the small crowd did, too.

The high-voltage performance of Queensryche was one of the most shattering shows the amphitheater has undergone this year. Too bad there weren't enough bodies to soak up the sonar rays these guys released.

As an opening act, Sea of Souls was a smashing success with its fluid tidal wave of melodic hard rock.

Virginia Beach's native sons have two full-length albums to their credit, and songs like ``Elvis Christ'' were fantastic through the big sound system.

Bassist/vocalist Andrew McNeely's precision performance was powerful like an undertow, as the Sea rose to the occasion.

These guys can handle the big show. ``You Turned Me Around (Barbara)'' was a sonic barrage of blustering notes, and the crowd loved 'em.

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