New QUEENSRŸCHE Book To Include Contributions From Original Guitarist CHRIS DEGARMO

Legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin has revealed that he is working on QUEENSRŸCHE book celebrating the band's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Empire" albums and related touring activities. In a post on his official web site, Ross wrote: "For the first time in 27 years, [I] sat down with [original QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist] Mr Chris DeGarmo - which was very odd as to me it seemed like I'd seen him a week ago. It was so good to see him."

According to Ross, Chris — who reportedly makes his living as a private jet pilot — took the photographer for a ride in his "beta test model Tesla, and I said 'why do you like this car?' and he put his foot down," Halfin recalled. "It felt like we'd just taken off in a rocket, I was absolutely terrified. He stopped the car at the next traffic light and said 'Are you okay?' - I said 'Please don't do that again' - he said 'Ross - we were only going 22 miles per hour'."

After leaving QUEENSRŸCHE in 1997, Chris embarked on his new career as a pilot. He remained out of the limelight until working with his daughter on an EP in 2015.

Eight years ago, DeGarmo did not care to elaborate on why he exited QUEENSRŸCHE following the band's tour in support of their sixth studio album, "Hear In The Now Frontier", telling Billboard, "No, thanks." However, DeGarmo was quick to add that he loves creating music "every bit as much as I did when I was 18 and I decided that's what I want to do for my life. It's a part of me. It's every bit a part of me as it ever was."

In a November 2022 interview with Rockin' Metal Revival, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton was asked about the possibility of him and his bandmates releasing a band biography. He responded: "We've had offers of people writing a book for us. And it just takes a lot of time — to organize and to get everything done. And we're working all the time; we're on the road, we're doing [press]. But it's something, at some point, maybe we'll release something. Whether it's just concert photos or something like that, or someone does a book for us. Who knows? You've gotta realize those things take a lot of time."

In October 2021, NW Metalworx Music released an unauthorized QUEENSRŸCHE biography called "Building An Empire: The Story Of Queensrÿche". That book was written by James R. Beach, with Brian L. Naron and Brian J. Heaton. Paul Suter, the acclaimed writer from Kerrang! who broke the story on QUEENSRŸCHE in early 1983, penned the book's foreword.

In April 2014, founding QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate and the rest of the band's original lineup 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. Wilton, drummer Scott Rockenfield and bassist Eddie Jackson 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 "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" albums in their entirety live.

Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, has released four albums thus far with QUEENSRŸCHE: 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman", 2019's "The Verdict" and 2022's "Digital Noise Alliance".

"Digital Noise Alliance" came out last October via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2021, contributed guitar solos to the band's latest studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past six years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit.