QUEENSRŸCHE Drummer: Next Album 'Will Probably Be The Best Record We've Done In 15 Years'

The members of the Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE were interviewed on the October 25 edition of "The Men's Room", which airs on the Seattle station KISW 99.9 FM. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. (Note: The QUEENSRŸCHE interview begins around the 18-minute mark.) A couple of excerpts follow.

On the accusations leveled at singer Geoff Tate as part of a legal dispute over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name:

Scott Rockenfield (drums): "We pride ourselves in coming from the truth, and everything that we've spoken has been the truth."

"Michael [Wilton, guitar], Eddie [Jackson, bass] and I have been in the band for a very long time, and we feel that as the three of the majority corporate members of the corporation that we have the right to go out and do QUEENSRŸCHE, which we're doing and we're gonna keep doing, and it's going well for us. We've got tons of shows booked now and all the way through next year. We've got a new record that we're gonna be finishing up here soon. That's our plan."

On how the vibe within the band is different now with the new members:

Eddie Jackson: "The key element is communication. That's huge."

Scott Rockenfield: "What he's saying is our communication is really strong these days, and we haven't had that for awhile. So, in the new arrangement and the new regime we have with Todd and with Parker [Lundgren, guitar] also working on the record for us, all the material is written by us and it's gonna be probably the best QUEENSRŸCHE record we've done in 15 years … I think the best description is that it's just gonna sound like QUEENSRŸCHE should sound. And we haven't had that for a long time either."

On how the QUEENSRŸCHE fans have reacted to the band's new lineup:

Todd: "Overwhelmingly, [the QUEENSRŸCHE fans] are embracing the change. Nobody wanted it … Nobody wanted Geoff to leave, but it happened. This is where we're at now, and overwhelmingly the fans are really being positive about it. They're very supportive. A lot of them say, 'Well, we'll wait and see what the new material sounds like.' Which is fine. We're very anxious for that to happen as well. I mean, the proof is going to be in that. And it's gonna heavier vibes than, from what I've heard, on the last several QUEENSRŸCHE records. It's gonna have softer elements. It's gonna be progressive, which is what QUEENSRŸCHE was really always about. I mean, there's always people that are gonna be haters; people say what they wanna say. But I'm not a part of that. But a majority of the people are very open. I mean, the music is ultimately what it's all about, and that's what's gonna do the talking. So when the new material comes out, there's some stuff that's very commercial, that I think has an appeal to the younger generation — 16-, 18-, 20-something-year-old kids — and then there's stuff that the older, hardcore QUEENSRŸCHE fans can really find those elements that have been missing for a long time."

Michael Wilton: "We just headlined a show in San Antonio, Texas — there was 5,000 people there — and you would not believe the crowd. They're going, 'QUEENSRŸCHE has risen.' [They said] it was the best show that they've seen in 10 years."

Interview (audio; starts at around 18-minute mark):

Video clip from QUEENSRŸCHE's visit to KISW studios: