QUEENSRŸCHE's MICHAEL WILTON Says Band's Longtime Fans Have 'Grown To Really Accept' PARKER LUNDGREN

On June 13, Mick McDonald of National Rock Review conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton at the 26th Annual Sandy Corley Memorial Run in Rothbury, Michigan. You can now watch the chat below.

Asked what role QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Parker Lundgren has played in the band's resurrection following QUEENSRŸCHE's split with singer Geoff Tate in 2012, Wilton said: "It's about the songs and playing the songs as original as possible — not throwing his ego into it and doing his own thing.

"If you're gonna play the QUEENSRŸCHE parts and some of [original QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist] Chris DeGarmo's parts, you'd better play them just like they are on the record. And that's what he's been doing. That's kind of been the mindset. And the outcome has been that even the longtime QUEENSRŸCHE fans have grown to really accept him and really enjoy his playing. And that's important, because Parker, he's in his late 20s, and we're obviously a couple of decades older, and for him to embrace the QUEENSRŸCHE way of life is really cool. And, like I said, he's a badass guitar player, and he's very open minded and he fits really well with the band…

"As with any accomplished guitar player, it's about what's in between the notes that gives you the special intricacies that make up your shtick, your style. It's an art that may have been lost in some of these eras of guitar playing, but we really pay attention to the details."

In a recent interview with The Prog Report, Wilton spoke about the settlement agreement between QUEENSRŸCHE and Geoff Tate: "It's a step in the right direction. I mean, anytime one is in a lawsuit, it's not the funnest time in their life. Obviously, we learned a lot from it. We're just happy that we have made this forward progressive step and we're really happy to start playing and rebuilding the name. The fans are so happy. It's hard for anybody to really understand. It's really a step in a positive direction."

He added: "It was two arduous years plus, and I guess by these days, that's kind of standard for most lawsuits in business. It's unfortunate that the court systems have to go that way, and lawyers are the way they are, but that's the name of the game and you have to play the game… That's why I'm not a lawyer. That's why I play guitar."

Wilton also spoke about the support he and his bandmates have received from the QUEENSRŸCHE fans, telling The Prog Report: "We've been doing this for over 30 years, so by relaunching the name and going back and playing the classics that everybody has been screaming about and wanting to hear, it's been so open arms, 'please, play those songs.' Finally, we've gotten the ability to do that. The dynamic in this band is really supercharged to go out and play and be QUEENSRŸCHE."