QUEENSRŸCHE's new touring guitarist
Parker Lundgren is featured in the band's
fifth video podcast talking about his new role in the group. He states in the clip: "Well, coming into... Joining
QUEENSRŸCHE, I know that I definitely have some big shoes to fill, because every guitar player they've ever had has been amazing — incredible guitar players, really great songwriters. I guess the main thing that I'm gonna try to do is to recreate what they've made on their albums — I'm gonna play every song note for note; the lead stuff, the rhythm stuff — and I'm actually working on finding all of their guitar tones. So I'm gonna get the amps and the guitars and just really try to recreate the record. I think that's what the fans would like and I think that's what I would like. I know that when I see a band and I have heard their music, I like to hear a song a particular way and so I don't like it if bands change their music around when they play live. So I'm just gonna try to play it exactly how the recordings are."
Lundgren was previously a member of
QUEENSRŸCHE singer
Geoff Tate's solo band. The guitarist (pictured below), 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 12, 2008 at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, Washington.
Guitarist
Mike Stone announced his departure from
QUEENSRŸCHE on February 3. 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."
"If I Were King", the first single off
QUEENSRŸCHE's upcoming album,
"American Soldier", is available for streaming on
MP3.com.
QUEENSRŸCHE's twelfth studio release, the epic concept album
"American Soldier", will be available from
Atco/
Rhino on March 31 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.
"American Soldier" was written by
Tate and producer
Jason Slater, along with drummer
Scott Rockenfield, and contributors
Kelly Gray and
Damon Johnson.
Slater returns to the
QUEENSRŸCHE creative process in the same capacity that worked for the band with the writing and recording of
"Operation: Mindcrime II", which was released in 2006 and debuted at #14 on The Billboard 200, selling more than 40,000 records in its first week. The album was
QUEENSRŸCHE's highest chart debut since
"Promised Land", in 1994. Both
"Promised Land" and
"Operation: Mindcrime" (1988) have been certified platinum, selling more than one million albums each in America alone, and
"Empire" (1990) has reached triple-platinum status. The band's first three albums–their self-titled EP (1983),
"The Warning" (1984), and
"Rage For Order" (1986) — have all been certified gold, selling more than 500,000 copies each.
In a first for
QUEENSRŸCHE, all of the guitar tracks on
"American Soldier" were recorded by
Michael Wilton.
"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 
