Queensryche gives new info on "American Soldier"

One of my college professors was their live sound engineer on The Warning tour (and also produced the Live in Tokyo re-recordings at Abbey Road), he said that DeGarmo was clearly the leader of the band even that early in their career.

From Blabbermouth...

Guitarist Mike Stone has announced his departure from QUEENSRŸCHE. He said in a statement, "After much consideration, I will not be joining QUEENSRŸCHE on the 2009 American Soldier Tour. I feel now is the time to focus on other musical endeavors, including my new band SPEED X with Nick Catanese of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I would like to thank all of the QUEENSRŸCHE fans around the world for being nothing less than amazing to me during my time with the band. You have treated me like gold, and I will never forget it. It has been an honor to be a part of the QUEENSRŸCHE family, and I wish Geoff, Michael, Scott and Eddie nothing but the very best."

QUEENSRŸCHE added in a statement, "We will miss [Mike]. He is a wonderful player and has contributed to our lives musically and spiritually. We wish him the best and hope to see him succeed in everything he chooses to participate in."

No word on a replacement guitarist yet.

Yeah, everyone was screaming for DeGarmo's return. So annoying.

Eyesore wrote:

Yeah, everyone was screaming for DeGarmo's return. So annoying.

What is Chris DeGarmo doing these days? Does he have any music projects going on? Anyone?

He's a commercial/corporate airline pilot...

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

He's a commercial/corporate airline pilot...

No, not Bruce Dickenson. Chris DeGarmo, the guy from Queensryche.

EDIT: HOLY SH!T...You weren't kidding!!

DeGarmo currently lives in the Seattle area with his wife and children, and works full time as a charter pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, Hawker (HS125) and Lear Jet type rating from the FAA.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

He's a commercial/corporate airline pilot...

No, not Bruce Dickenson. Chris DeGarmo, the guy from Queensryche.

EDIT: HOLY SH!T...You weren't kidding!!

DeGarmo currently lives in the Seattle area with his wife and children, and works full time as a charter pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, Hawker (HS125) and Lear Jet type rating from the FAA.

Haha.

He's done some musical projects. He did Spys4Darwin right after QR, with the singer from Sponge. Their EP was rare, but you can now buy it from CD Baby. He also worked with Dredg on their last album, a fantastic band. And he did co-write some QR tunes on Tribe.

But again, none of that is anything like old QR, so the notion that he would somehow bring them back to their "true" sound is silly. I'd love to see him in the band, only because he's a great musician/songwriter, but if that made QR change, it would be in an entirely new direction.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

He's a commercial/corporate airline pilot...

No, not Bruce Dickenson. Chris DeGarmo, the guy from Queensryche.

EDIT: HOLY SH!T...You weren't kidding!!

DeGarmo currently lives in the Seattle area with his wife and children, and works full time as a charter pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, Hawker (HS125) and Lear Jet type rating from the FAA.

Never EVER question me... :kickbutt:

According to postings on AnybodyListening.net's message board, The Breakdown Room, Parker Lundgren, a member of Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate's solo band, has officially joined the band as the group's new touring second guitarist.
Lundgren , who is apparently engaged to Tate's daughter Miranda, played several shows with the Queensrÿche frontman last September and joined Tate and Queensrÿche guitarist Michael Wilton for a rare all-acoustic set at KISW's annual Holiday Hangover Ball on December 12th, 2008 at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, Washington.
Parker's addition to Queensrÿche's touring lineup was officially announced by Tate in a podcast that is currently available only to members of the band's fan club. Geoff added that the group is "glad to have him."
Guitarist Mike Stone announced his departure from Queensrÿche on February 3rd. He said in a statement, "After much consideration, I will not be joining Queensrÿche on the 2009 'American Soldier' Tour. I feel now is the time to focus on other musical endeavors, including my new band Speed X with Nick Catanese of Black Label Society. I would like to thank all of the Queensrÿche fans around the world for being nothing less than amazing to me during my time with the band. You have treated me like gold, and I will never forget it. It has been an honor to be a part of the Queensrÿche family, and I wish Geoff, Michael, Scott and Eddie nothing but the very best."
Queensrÿche added in a statement, "We will miss [Mike]. He is a wonderful player and has contributed to our lives musically and spiritually. We wish him the best and hope to see him succeed in everything he chooses to participate in."
Queensrÿche's twelfth studio release, the epic concept album "American Soldier", will be available from Atco/Rhino on March 31st for a suggested list price of $18.98 (CD) and $9.99 (digital). The ambitious album encompasses a dozen songs inspired by numerous interviews with veterans conducted by Geoff Tate, the group's singer and chief songwriter, who was intent on telling their story using their words. After speaking with soldiers who served in various conflicts — from World War II to Iraq — Tate turned their firsthand experiences from the frontlines into an unflinching musical examination of the life of a solider and the consequences of war.
In a first for Queensrÿche, all of the guitar tracks on "American Soldier" were recorded by Michael Wilton.
"American Soldier" track listing
1. Sliver
2. Unafraid
3. Hundred Mile Stare
4. At 30,000 Ft.
5. A Dead Man's Words
6. The Killer
7. Middle Of Hell
8. If I Were King
9. Man Down!
10. Remember Me
11. Home Again
12. The Voice

and here is a song off the new cd:

http://www.mp3.com/artist/queensrffche/summary/

Its called If I Were King

Its ok but i dont think this will be a top priority cd for me.... tate sounds better than he has in long time though..

Alex

I have been hearing a new one on the radio a bit lately, I think it is pretty good. They will never top their self titled EP in my opinion but I have liked pretty much everything they have done over the years.

I am still fan of Queensryche, but I am not going to rush out and buy it, as a matter of fact I still donot have 'Operation Mindcrime II'

skullsmasher wrote:

I have been hearing a new one on the radio a bit lately, I think it is pretty good. They will never top their self titled EP in my opinion but I have liked pretty much everything they have done over the years.

That EP, as good as it was, was really a tribute to the NWOBHM. They started developing their own sound w/the first LP.

This 'American Soldier' project is all new news to me. And, I'm totally amped about it. To me, Queensryche has always been a band who has never lived up to its potential. Q has fallen prey to too many musical trends through the years, when it should have been aiming to impress/please only itself. The band went through an incredible amount of growth during its inception era, on through and including the Empire era....Then things soured, and quickly. Each subsequent release saw the band get lighter and lighter in its approach, as they appeared to mimic each and every move made by the Pop charts. Until, finally, they were forced to ask their famous existential question, is there "Anybody Listening?", which, after One More Time Around was answered only by the chirp of crickets.

If only they put their efforts into developing their craft, and shunned the allure of the mainstream, albums like Promised Land, Hear in the Now, Q2K and Tribe would have never happened. And, in their place would be four, very lenghty, super-solid, progressive concept pieces...I pretty much gave up on this band after the purchase of 'Hear', when I heard them trying to emulate Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Imagine that. Nizza, please.

But, they completely astonished me with the news of, and then the reality of - Operation: Mindcrime 2. The original album is such a fundamental piece of who I am and my complete worldview that it's hard not to mention its name without crossing myself with the sign of the holy trinity. Let me just say that when my childhood buddy and I heard the news that Q was going to tackle this O:M 2 project, and that the direction for the album was going to be far more progressive than anything they'd ever tried before, my buddy and I were both of the same opinion...that they should have directed their attention and efforts to a totally new concept, forever leaving alone and letting rest the O:M concept.

We both concurred that the directional shift was an awesome idea, but we couldn't understand why they hadn't followed this path to begin with, back in the early 90's. If they had, they'd be tighter than Dream Theater by now. So, they F'ed up bigtime, and they're probably regretful themselves over the bad career decisions which have probably cost them a significant portion of their fan base. But, it truly appears that a bunch of folks were pumped for the O:M 2 project because my local Best Buy had stocked rack upon rack with copies of the new release.

I don't think it was until I actually opened the packaging that I discovered that DeGarmo was not a part of the equation. That totally bummed me out, because if there was ever a project for him to come back on board for, this was it...But, despite his absence, I thought the album flat out smoked...Oh, not on the first spin, nor even on the fourth. But, eventually, when the whole thing came into focus, and I was able to seperate the current release from the epic, first album from which it spawned. When I was able to witness it objectively, and not in the shadow of anything else, I thought that this band had completely nailed it. Plus, they had completey recaptured the essential sound of the first album. Which is no small feat, almost twenty years later.

Queensryche had made up for all past disappointments and failures with the release of O:M 2. I thought that they had really nailed it on this one...Well, apart from the miserable three track introduction, and, of course, almost the entire last third of the album. lol. This might make it seem like I only really cared for a portion of O:M 2. But, it was a significant portion. lol. I guess that I really was only impressed with the core of the album. Tracks 4 through 10 are every bit as intense and well-written as the original. The pacing and flow is almost immaculate during this seven song sequence...

This segment, as detached and lifted from the larger piece, builds tension on par with the orginal, and each smaller sub-section just naturally gives rise to the next within it. This portion of the album is progressive in a totally non-contrived manner. What's stunks for Tate and Co. is that they didn't let the piece ebb a little bit after the Tate/Dio climax in The Chase, and then rebuild the tension and intensity one more time for another climax at the end. Because, the way it stands, everything seems anticlamactic after the Tate/Dio peak during The Chase. The last third of the album is rather uninspired sounding, and it loses it's closeness to the storytelling structure set forth on the original Mindcrime piece. This portion of the piece sounds more like Q2K or Tribe than a portion of O:M 2.

If the band stays within the parameters of their O:M 2 sound and musical direction, then this 'American Soldier" piece will be just as good as their last concept album. If they lose direction and drift right back into their Q2K or Tribe sound, then there's no chance of me buying the album, or coming out to see them. I'll tell ya one thing for sure though...I've had enough of both O:M 1 and 2 at this point, and I'm sure that the band feels the same. On the 'American Soldier' tour, I want to hear everything but Mindcrime. I guess that even means hearing some of the 'Hear in the Now Frontier' debacle...Aw, heck, bring on some "spOOl" and "Chasing Blue Sky". Whynot.

Quote :

I think DeGarmo led them down this road, then Tate took the wheel and floored it once DeGarmo left.

I haven't liked the band since Empire. I think they should let Wilton write more since he seems to lean more in the heavier side of things.

candlemass wrote:

skullsmasher wrote:

I have been hearing a new one on the radio a bit lately, I think it is pretty good. They will never top their self titled EP in my opinion but I have liked pretty much everything they have done over the years.

That EP, as good as it was, was really a tribute to the NWOBHM. They started developing their own sound w/the first LP.

I have to agree with Candlemass, it was on 'The Warning' where Queensryche distanced themselves a little bit from Judas Priest fixation and embraced other influences such as Pink Floyd and established their own sound and identity.

Can anyone tell a brother where he can go to get hisself a sample of this American Soldier?

Marc Mason wrote:

Can anyone tell a brother where he can go to get hisself a sample of this American Soldier?

http://www.queensryche.com/

manny wrote:

Marc Mason wrote:

Can anyone tell a brother where he can go to get hisself a sample of this American Soldier?

[url=http://www.queensryche.com/

http://www.queensryche.com/[/quote[/url]]

I can't, for the life of me, find a flarkin track, mate.

Can ya steer a brother right?

[quote="Marc Mason"]

manny wrote:

Marc Mason wrote:

Can anyone tell a brother where he can go to get hisself a sample of this American Soldier?

http://www.queensryche.com/[/quote]

I can't, for the life of me, find a flarkin track, mate.

Can ya steer a brother right?

Marc, if you go to section of their podcast they took about concept and play ( or at least they did) very small small samples of the songs.

Why doesn't DeGarmo wanna be a 'Rycher no more? Things haven't been the same without you, Chris. Please come home for Christmas.

Who's the replacement for Stone? I know that I could sift through all that info over at the Q-R Ranch, but I'm sure that someone here knows the nitty.

And, while we're on replacements, I hear that John Bush has departed Anthrax. Is this mere speculation, or for riz-eal? If so, what's the nitty on his replacement?

John Bush left Anthrax years ago...

Chris DeGarmo would not "fix" Queensryche...

Marc Mason wrote:

Why doesn't DeGarmo wanna be a 'Rycher no more? Things haven't been the same without you, Chris. Please come home for Christmas.

Who's the replacement for Stone? I know that I could sift through all that info over at the Q-R Ranch, but I'm sure that someone here knows the nitty.

And, while we're on replacements, I hear that John Bush has departed Anthrax. Is this mere speculation, or for riz-eal? If so, what's the nitty on his replacement?

According to what I head directly from the mouth of Geoff Tate the other night on Eddie Trunk's radio show, DeGarmo left the band on good terms and has a successful piloting career and is no longer interested in making music professionally. So don't hold your breath for that re-union.

As for Stone's replacement, I forget the name, but he was the guitarist that played in Tate's solo band.

I can't believe all the people who have outright disdain for O:M 2. I was just speaking to a few cats and they had nothing but bad words for the project. Do ya'll feel the same way about that album? Like I said in my above manifesto on the subject, I really feel that if you lift the seven song sequence between tracks 4 through 10 from the larger piece, you really have something substantial there, with great pacing and intensity, reaching a climax in The Chase. The problem is that the project doesn't maintain that same level througout, like the original did, and seamlessly at that.

This is gittin a tad frustrating. Can any of you wise and noble Metal Men pernt me in the general vicinity of a working link for one of the new tracks?!?!?!

I wanna hear the schtuff, ming.