QUEENSRŸCHE: New Album Cover Unveiled

Seattle progressive rockers QUEENSRŸCHE will release their twelfth studio album, "Dedicated To Chaos", on June 28 in North America via Loud & Proud Records, a Roadrunner Records imprint focusing on established artists. The band is currently planning a tour in support of the new opus, which was recorded in the group's hometown and produced by Kelly Gray.

Check out the CD cover artwork below.

When asked about the overall musical direction of the material on "Dedicated To Chaos", Tate recently told Paul Anthony of U.K.'s Rock Radio, "It's kind of like an 'Empire' record set 25 years in the future. [Laughs] It's a very listenable record, I think. I think people will find it interesting to listen to on headphones, especially. There's a lot going on with it. And there's definitely an emphasis on the rhythm section. Eddie [Jackson, bass] and Scott [Rockenfield, drums] have written a lot of the songs on this particular record, so it really showcases what they do, which is something very special."

He added, "This record is definitely a boundary-pusher in a lot of respects, I think. It's always difficult to describe music; it's better to experience it. So I'll let people hear it and make up their own minds."

In a 2010 interview with Attention Deficit Delirium, QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield revealed that the band's upcoming CD is taking the quintet in some new directions.

"I add a lot of film score elements or sound effects [into my drum work], especially on the new thing we’re working on right now," Rockenfield said. "Geoff and I have really spent a lot of time together redesigning the QUEENSRŸCHE thing, which you're going to love. It's huge rock but with a great dance vibe to it, real modern dance. It's kind of like 'Rage' ['For Order'] through a time tunnel, bringing it into the now. There are a lot of electronic elements to it. It's a big rock thing that is going to have a lot of color to it — it's good and really intense."

Regarding whether the new QUEENSRŸCHE album is a conceptual effort, Tate said, "In a sense, it is. It's a very contemporary record.

He continued, "'Empire' was a record of the time. Rock music was really the music of the times in 1990. Unfortunately, rock music isn't the music of the times anymore — it's very underground.

"What we're doing with this record is we're taking the 'Empire' song structure, in a sense, where it's very strong songs, very melodic, but we kind of restructured the rhythm section, and Scott's done an amazing job on restructuring that — him and Eddie [Jackson, bass] have just really gone to town, and they've made it very contemporary-sounding.

"These days, in comparison to the old days, people used to sit in their houses and listen to music right in the front room on their stereo system. People don't do that anymore. They plug in and they're mobile and they're moving and they're doing stuff and the music, they're listening to it as they're doing stuff. This music has that feel. It's very contemporary in the sense that it's very rhythmatic. The rhythm structure kind of reflects the way modern life is — we're all busy, we're all doing stuff. And Scott being the incredible drummer that he is, the various time signatures, the feel of the record, it's now — it's very, very now."

Photo by Andy Batt