QUEENSRŸCHE envisions war through the eyes of a soldier with the band's twelfth studio release, the epic concept album
"American Soldier". 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.
"American Soldier" will be available from
Atco/
Rhino on March 31 for a suggested list price of $18.98 (CD) and $9.99 (digital).
Tate,
Michael Wilton (guitar),
Ed Jackson (bass) and
Scott Rockenfield (drums) recorded the album in 2008 over the course of nine months. The idea for
"American Soldier",
Tate says, came from hearing stories from fans that are veterans, as well as his own father, who served in both Korea and Vietnam. "My father was a career military man, but until very recently he never spoke about what he went through," he states. "I think that reticence is true of a lot of veterans, which means most people never truly understand what it means to be a soldier at war. Hearing what he and some of our fans have endured made me want to share their stories with the world. This is an album about the soldiers, for the soldiers, as told by the soldiers themselves."
Those stories resonate at the heart of
"American Soldier", imbuing each song with vivid details about both the emotional and physical impacts of war, evoking war zone battles (
"Middle Of Hell"), sacrifice (
"The Killer"), loss (
"If I Were King"), the longing for home (
"Remember Me"), and adjusting to society after returning from war (
"Man Down!").
Tate recorded many of his interviews with the soldiers, and some dialogue from these discussions is mixed into several of tracks, allowing the soldiers' own words to help tell their compelling stories. The band also brought a few of the soldiers into the studio with them to record vocals. The verses of the track
"Unafraid" feature the voices of
Chris Devine, a Vietnam veteran, and
Sean Lenahan, a veteran of Somalia, recalling their war experiences while
Tate provides the anthemic chorus. Also making a guest vocal appearance is
Tate's 10-year-old daughter
Emily on the gripping duet
"Home Again", which examines the emotional toll of war from two perspectives, with
Geoff singing from the soldier's point of view and his daughter singing from the viewpoint of the child left behind.
Making the album,
Tate says, was an enlightening process. "I was surprised to learn how little has changed through the generations," he reveals. "I spoke with a Vietnam vet whose experience wasn't all that different from a soldier who fought in Somalia almost 30 years later. But what surprised me the most was how antiwar most soldiers are. To me, that makes their sacrifices even more moving."
Soon after the release of
"American Soldier",
QUEENSRŸCHE will launch an extensive spring tour of the U.S., with international dates to follow later in 2009. The shows will be presented in three suites, with the band performing sets from
"American Soldier",
"Rage For Order", and
"Empire". The first date of the tour will be April 16 at Snoqualmie Casino in the band's hometown of Seattle.
"American Soldier" track listing
01.
Sliver02.
Unafraid 03.
Hundred Mile Stare 04.
At 30,000 Ft. 05.
A Dead Man's Words 06.
The Killer 07.
Middle Of Hell 08.
If I Were King 09.
Man Down! 10.
Remember Me 11.
Home Again 12.
The Voice A snippet of the song,
"If I Were King" is featured in the new tour commerical for Snoqualmie Casino.
To download the MP3 of the radio spot, click
here. (10 seconds of the song's chorus can be heard at the :21-:31 mark.)
(Thanks:
NJthrasher)
