Queensrÿche Salutes The Troops With American Soldier

Concept Album Inspired By Veterans’ Stories Examines The Consequences Of War From The Soldiers’ Perspective

Album Available March 31 From Atco/Rhino;
U.S. Tour To Begin April 16 In Seattle

LOS ANGELES – Queensryche 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. 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. 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

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”

FMI, the official Queensryche website: www.queensryche.com