TODD LA TORRE-Fronted Version Of QUEENSRŸCHE 'Still In The Writing Phase' For Next Album

National Rock Review conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, which took place January 23-26 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.

Asked about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the follow-up to QUEENSRŸCHE's 2013 self-titled effort, Todd said: "[We're] still working on it.

"We did a month[-long] tour over in Europe, and then we had some shows in New England and different parts of the U.S. So we kind of needed to decompress just a little bit.

"But right now we're still in the writing phase. Some demoed material is there.

"We're not gonna force it; we wanna make sure that it's right."

As previously reported, singer Geoff Tate — who was fired from QUEENSRŸCHE in 2012 after fronting it for three decades — and his former bandmates have once again requested more time to hammer out a settlement in their legal battle over the rights to the group's name.

King County Superior Court Judge Beth Andrus has signed a new stipulation and order continuing trial date, allowing the parties three more weeks to come to an agreement over the use of the QUEENSRŸCHE name and its associated trademarks. If they cannot reach an agreement during that period, the trial is set to begin on March 3, or the earliest date thereafter that is convenient for the Court.

Tate and his former bandmates previously requested two additional weeks in January to work on the details of their settlement agreement.

QUEENSRŸCHE's self-titled album sold around 13,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on June 25 via Century Media Records.

"Frequency Unknown", the latest album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, opened with around 5,500 units to debut at No. 82.

"Queensrÿche" marks the debut release from the lineup comprised of La Torre (vocals; ex-CRIMSON GLORY),Michael Wilton (guitar),Parker Lundgren (guitar),Eddie Jackson (bass) and Scott Rockenfield (drums). The drums for the album were recorded at London Bridge Studios in Seattle, Washington with producer James "Jimbo" Barton — the man who engineered and mixed the band's classic 1988 LP, "Operation: Mindcrime", and its 1990 follow-up, "Empire", and co-produced 1994's "Promised Land". The rest of the music and vocals were laid down at several different facilities on the West Coast. The cover artwork was created by Craig Howell, who has previously worked on designs for "Star Wars", SLIPKNOT and "American Idol", to name a few.

Interview (audio):