GEOFF TATE Has Already Finished Recording Second OPERATION: MINDCRIME Album

SonicAbuse.com recently conducted an interview with former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

SonicAbuse.com: You're doing a conceptual trilogy [with your new band OPERATION: MINDCRIME], I believe, of which "The Key" is the first part. It sounds like it's a matter of recording [the other two parts] rather than writing now?

Tate: It's actually… The second album is recorded, so we're just getting ready to mix that right now, and the third album is mostly recorded; we've still got a couple of tracks left to do. We're still in the development stage with that record. But we'll wrap up… We'll be done with the whole project by October. That's my plan.

SonicAbuse.com: You're no stranger to the world of concept records, but a trilogy seems to be a really grand, ambitious way to start this new chapter in your musical career.

Tate: Yes, it's been really challenging and fun to make the record, definitely. It's a lot of music. But I had a lot of stuff, a lot of things that I'd been collecting and working on over the years. Little bits and pieces that have found their way into these recordings. And I have a lot to say… musically, at least, so it was a good time to do it.

SonicAbuse.com: I love the idea of "the album." I grew up with music like PINK FLOYD and I like the idea of albums taking the listener on a journey. But it seems the industry has changed. Do you have any reservations about how such a large conceptual work might be received by, say, a younger fan base?

Tate: I have no idea. I have no idea how people interpret the music or how they feel about it, until, of course, I get feedback which, typically, is when I tour. That's when I have lots of interesting conversations with people about the music and what they think of it, or how it affects them, or, in this case, in the case of this album and the [QUEENSRŸCHE] "Mindcrime" albums, there's lots of speculation as to what's going on within the framework of the story and that kind of thing, and I find that kind of thing really interesting to talk about. As a writer, you have an idea about what you're trying to say, but the people always take it differently; they'll put their own spin on it. They'll interpret it, typically, based upon their own life experiences, or, in the case of music, with regard to their musical palette, what they've been exposed to. You never really know how your stuff is going to go over with an audience, with a group of people or even an individual. You just have to carry on with your vision and your convictions and your song craft and follow your muse, as they say, and then it takes on a life of its own, really, that you have no control over. I don't know if I want control of it. Music is… it's a personal journey for people. They plug into it and find something about it that is intriguing or interesting to them, or they don't. It's kind of the way it works.

Read the entire interview at SonicAbuse.com.

"The Key" will be released on September 18 via Frontiers Music Srl.

Joining Tate on "The Key" are a hard-hitting cast of familiar faces and new collaborators: bass players David Ellefson (MEGADETH) and John Moyer (DISTURBED, ADRENALINE MOB),drummers Simon Wright (AC/DC),Scott Mercado (CANDLEBOX) and Brian Tichy (BILLY IDOL, OZZY OSBOURNE),guitarists Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE) and Scott Moughton (Geoff Tate's solo band),keyboardist Randy Gane (MYTH) and vocalist Mark Daly (THE VOODOOS).

"The Key" track listing:

01. Choices
02. Burn
03. Re-Inventing The Future
04. Ready To Fly
05. Discussions In A Smoke Filled Room
06. Life or Death?
07. The Stranger
08. Hearing Voice
09. On Queue
10. An Ambush Of Sadness
11. Kicking In The Door
12. The Fall