QUEENSRŸCHE's MICHAEL WILTON Fires Back At 'YouTuber Guitar Players' Who 'Think So Highly Of Themselves'

In a new interview with Premier Guitar, QUEENSRŸCHE's Michael Wilton was asked to name his guitar pet peeve. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think it would have to be the YouTuber guitar players that think so highly of themselves and they cut down other players. For me, it's, like, you've gotta pay your dues. You've gotta be out in the trenches. I mean, I've been doing this for 40 years, and for some YouTuber to cut me down, that's… It's… [laughs and shakes head]"

QUEENSRŸCHE recently entered the studio to begin recording its new album for a tentative late 2022 release. Helming the effort once again is Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with the band on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

This past November, QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre told Canada's The Metal Voice about the musical direction of the band's new material: "It doesn't sound like 'The Verdict'. It's its own new kind of thing. We really kind of just focused more on melodic hooks. I don't think we went in thinking, like, 'Oh, we need to sound old school or new or this.'"

In early 2021, Wilton told The Metal Voice about the new QUEENSRŸCHE songs: "Our producer, Zeuss, if this is any indication, he says it sounds like QUEENSRŸCHE … I think we're just going with our gut right now. You don't wanna take too many drastic chances in this day and age. So I think it's more of a continuation of 'The Verdict', maybe, in some sense. We're riding that wave. It's been good to us. [Laughs]"

In October, Wilton confirmed that returning guitarist Mike Stone will likely contribute guitar solos to the band's next studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 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.

QUEENSRŸCHE recently pulled out of SCORPIONS' rescheduled "Sin City Nights" Las Vegas residency in order to support JUDAS PRIEST on the "50 Heavy Metal Years" North American tour dates in March-April 2022. The tour will kick off on March 4 in Peoria, Illinois and conclude on April 13 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.