Ex-QUEENSRŸCHE Singer GEOFF TATE Says He Feels 'Great' Six Months After His Open-Heart Surgery

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate has once again opened up about the aortic valve replacement he underwent this past summer. Speaking to Alamo True Metal, the 63-year-old musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I didn't even know I had a problem 'cause it comes on so suddenly. I just thought for a guy my age, it was probably normal that I was huffing and puffing going up the stairs. Well, come to find out I had a bad heart valve. So I did a bunch of tests with a bunch of doctors, and I ended up going to Germany to get the procedure done. And they did an amazing job. That was back in June, so now it's six months into it. And I feel great. I can't believe how much better I feel. And even though I was not feeling great, I just thought it was my 'normal.' So where I used to huff and puff going up the stairs, now I'm running up the stairs [laughs], which is desirable."

According to NHS, an aortic valve replacement is a type of open-heart surgery used to treat problems with the heart's aortic valve.

The aortic valve controls the flow of blood out from the heart to the rest of the body.

An aortic valve replacement involves removing a faulty or damaged valve and replacing it with a new valve made from synthetic materials or animal tissue.

Earlier this month, Tate told Beneath A Desert Sky that he initially saw a doctor after he "was feeling very fatigued one day while on tour. It was challenging for me to climb stairs. Anyway, I thought it best to get checked out, and after several tests from my doctor, he indicated that this particular type of surgery needed to be done," he said. "I'd say it took around a month [after the surgery] before I started feeling better. Honestly, I could barely walk after it, and I couldn't sing at all. Before this, I'd never been in a hospital in my life."

On July 3, Tate took to his Facebook page to share a photo of him with Dr. Sami Kueri from the department of cardiovascular surgery at the Universitäts-Herzzentrum Freiburg-Bad Krozingen (University Heart Center Freiburg) in Bad Krozingen, Germany, and he included the following message: "All my gratitude to the talented Dr. Sami Kueri for giving me a healthy heart!! Feeling so much better each day!"

In June, Tate said that he would take a few months off the road as he recovered from a medical procedure.

On June 13, Geoff, who fronted QUEENSRŸCHE for 30 years — from the band's inception through 2012 — took to his social media to write: "I am having a medical procedure and my health professionals want me to recover over the Summer. I will be back and rocking South America in January. Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road."

Tate's recent tour celebrated the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's "Empire" and "Rage For Order" albums.

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Fellow original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate was replaced in QUEENSRŸCHE by former CRIMSON GLORY singer Todd La Torre.

Geoff will embark on a tour in 2023 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime".

Photo courtesy of Geoff Tate's Facebook page