MICHAEL WILTON Says 'The Seed Has Been Sown' For QUEENSRŸCHE's Next Album

QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton has confirmed to Greece's "TV War" that the band has already begin thinking about the follow-up to last year's "The Verdict" album. "Well, the seed has been sown," he said (see video below). "We all know about it. Obviously, we're gonna be very busy touring on 'The Verdict' album, so we're gonna have to find time to start putting songs and ideas together.

"The last album [2015's 'Condition Hüman'], we toured four years on it," he continued. "And I'm getting older, so I'd like to get that time span a little closer. So we'd really like to be recording in the beginning of 2021. So, yeah, I'm pushing the guys: 'Let's go. Let's start getting your phones on record and get any kind of ideas going.' And we'll start building it.

"QUEENSRŸCHE is fortunate that we can still put out albums. We have a great record company that supports us. So, yes, we're gonna be busy guys."

Wilton also spoke about how the music industry is different today compared to how it was when QUEENSRŸCHE first started in the early 1980s.

"You've gotta adapt," he said. "It's just like any business that's going through changes. The industry is all changed, and, obviously, the music business was a change. And you just have to, obviously, rethink your business model. You have the Internet, and how are you gonna use that to benefit what you do?

"We're still considered old school, because we have a record company," he continued. "We put out vinyl. [Laughs] And when we talk about an album, we talk about an album — not a single or anything like that. We're still in that mentality of the '80s and '90s that we wanna write albums.

"There's so many factions of the industry that you have to maintain and be aware of and keep up to date," Michael added. "'Cause people's attention spans are very short these days. They're being bombarded with media advertising, which means they don't have a lot of time for music, or free time for music. So you just have to think smarter, basically. Back in the '80s and the '90s, you had record companies that did that all for you. So now you've kind of gotta do it yourself."

"The Verdict" was released in March 2019 via Century Media Records. The disc was produced, mixed and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, ICED EARTH, HATEBREED) at Uberbeatz in Lynwood, Washington; Planet-Z in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; and Watershed Studio in Seattle, Washington.

"The Verdict" marks QUEENSRŸCHE's third full-length release with vocalist Todd La Torre, following the departure of original singer Geoff Tate in 2012.

The current QUEENSRŸCHE lineup features two original members, bassist Eddie Jackson and Wilton, along with La Torre and guitarist Parker Lundgren.

QUEENSRŸCHE will support the SCORPIONS on the German hard rock legends' Las Vegas residency in July.