GEOFF TATE On His Open-Heart Surgery: 'I Was Just Amazed At How Much It Took Out Of Me'

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate says that he is "doing great" after recently undergoing an unspecified heart procedure.

The 63-year-old musician discussed his health in an interview with Ritchie Birnie before performing QUEENSRŸCHE's "Promised Land" album in its entirety for the first time ever on August 28 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Geoff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET),"I had open-heart surgery. I've got a nice scar here," he added before laughing and pointing at his chest.

Tate said that he is "doing great" despite the fact that it had only been several weeks since he went under the knife. "It's been a couple of months now since I got out of the hospital," he said. "And I've just been exercising and getting back in the saddle, basically. And I feel really good."

Asked if his singing voice had returned in full since the operation, Tate said: "It took about a month before I could make a sound. [Laughs]

"I'd never been in a hospital before in my life, or I'd never had anything wrong with me, and this was the first experience for me," he explained. "And I was just amazed at how much it took out of me. I've always been a pretty physical, pretty strong person, but, man, when I came out of the hospital, I was weak. I could barely walk."

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 recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of "Operation: Mindcrime" on European and U.S. tours.

Photo courtesy of Geoff Tate's Facebook page