The "Metal" show on Grand Rapids, Michigan's 107.3 WKLQ radio station conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE vocalist Geoff Tate on April 6, 2009. Listen to the nine-minute chat below.

QUEENSRŸCHE's twelfth studio LP, the epic concept album "American Soldier", sold 21,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 25 on The Billboard 200 chart.

QUEENSRŸCHE's previous album, "Operation: Mindcrime II", sold 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in April 2006 to debut at No. 14 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was more than half of the total sales tally registered by 2003's "Tribe", which shifted 20,000 copies in the first week. Meanwhile, the band's 1999 effort, "Q2K", opened with sales of 28,000.

QUEENSRŸCHE's top-selling album by far is 1990's "Empire", which was certified triple-platinum in October 1994 for sales in excess of three million copies in the United States. The original "Operation: Mindcrime" release (1988) attained platinum status in August 1991, while 1994's "Promised Land" reached the same plateau in December 1994.

"American Soldier" was made 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.