GEOFF TATE: 'I'll Always Be The Voice Of QUEENSRŸCHE'

Geoff Tate has once again spoken about the possibility of a reunion of QUEENSRŸCHE's classic lineup, saying that he would be "open" to it provided that all the members "came into it with a positive mental attitude."

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. 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.

Asked by All That Shreds if he thinks there will be a time when he will rejoin QUEENSRŸCHE, Tate said: "I would never say never really. I keep my mind open for that. You know, who knows? If everybody in the band wanted to do it and came into it with a positive mental attitude and didn't feel like they're dragged into it, it can be very honest and sincere. I'd like it to be a legitimate sort of getting together where we could all enjoy each other's company. You know, that would be fantastic."

He added: "I'll always be the voice of QUEENSRŸCHE."

Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, told Metal Wani in September 2016 that QUEENSRŸCHE is "sounding better than it did for over ten years" now that he is fronting the band. He added: "The fans have certainly voiced that opinion. That's my opinion, and that's a lot of opinions we hear every night. And the energy of the other members of the band is way healthier, way happier with [Geoff] gone and me in the band. And that's just the facts. There's no stifled creativity, and there's no kind of leader and followers, if you will, in the band. We all talk and try to make decisions the same, and it's very democratic. I'm never gonna tell Michael Wilton that his guitar riff is too heavy, for example, and that had happened in the past. The band is way happier, and I think that it's evident when you watch a live show — not [a clip on] YouTube, but really go to a show and feel what's happening and see what's happening. These guys are happy again and they feel like it's a rebirth of the band and that those dark clouds are well behind them."

QUEENSRŸCHE has released two albums thus far with the ex-CRIMSON GLORY frontman — 2013's "Queensrÿche" and 2015's "Condition Hüman".

Back in July, Tate gave an interview to the "92 Minutes Of Hair With Mel" show on the Las Vegas, Nevada radio station KOMP 92.3 where he revealed that he had "a really nice little reunion" with his former bandmates on June 30 when they all performed the Rock Fest Barcelona festival in Barcelona.

Todd told the "Trunk Nation" radio show in August that his meeting with Tate was "a nice, complimentary exchange. We shook each other's hands, we did a little selfie. He was nice to me, I was nice to him. So, should there ever be another time where we're in the same area, it's nice to know that he could walk up to me or I could walk up to him, or whatever, and it's fine. So that was good."

"A New Reality", the third and final of a concept album trilogy from Tate's OPERATION: MINDCRIME project, will arrive on December 1 via Frontiers Music Srl.