Queensryche releases album based on veterans' stories

Submitted by hsoria on Thu, 03/19/2009 - 9:49am.
Thursday, March 19, 2009

In 1990, the rock band Queensryche scored a top-10 hit with the single, "Silent Lucidity." The song found itself in the regular rotation of rock radio stations and MTV, and became the signature hit for a band that's been generating albums for more than two decades.
Now, the band and lead singer Geoff Tate have turned their talents toward another project: telling the story of the men and women who've put their lives on the line serving in the U.S. military.

The group's latest album, "American Soldier," is set for release March 31 on Atco/Rhino Records. It is comprised of 12 songs inspired by interviews Tate conducted with veterans - from World War II to the war against terror. Tate recorded the interviews, and excerpts from those conversations are mixed into several of the songs.

The son of a Korean War Marine and Vietnam War Air Force veteran, Tate said the idea for "American Soldier" began with his father. "He started talking to me about what happened when he was in Korea. I was lucky that I had my camcorder with me, and so I started recording him talking about his war experience."

Tate played the interview for his family, and his wife suggested he write a song about it. "It made me want to learn more about being an American soldier," Tate said. "I figured the best way to go about that was to talk to the people who did that. I ended up talking to soldiers from World War II all the way up to the present war."

Read more about Geoff Tate and the "American Soldier" album in the May issue of The American Legion Magazine