Away Team

Rocklahoma has announced the 2012 lineup for the three-day camp & rock festival that features the top current active rock artists and classic bands. America’s biggest Memorial Day Weekend party–May 25-27 at “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds in Pryor, OK–is proud to be presented by Budweiser.

The initial Rocklahoma lineup includes: Rob Zombie, Chickenfoot featuring Joe Satriani, Kenny Aronoff (sitting in for Chad Smith), Michael Anthony & Sammy Hagar, Creed, Megadeth, Slash, Queensrÿche, Chevelle, Theory of a Deadman, Jackyl, Puddle Of Mudd, Hellyeah, P.O.D., Volbeat, 10 Years, Cavo, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Pop Evil, Red, The Darkness, Art of Dying, Trivium, Aranda, Redlight King, James Durbin, Janus, New Medicine, Rival Sons, Anti Mortem, Gypsy Pistoleros, Wildstreet, Firstryke, Black Tora, Sunset Riot, The Glitter Boys, Fist of Rage, Switchblade Scarlett, Krank and more. Bands will perform on the Main Stage, Second Stage and the Retrospect Records Stage.

“Rocklahoma has quickly become the rock n’ roll party of Memorial Day Weekend, and 2012 is going to take the party to a whole new level,” commented Joe Litvag, co-executive producer of the festival for AEG Live. “We’ve got a great balance of talent this year with some amazing classic artists covering the last three decades along with plenty of today’s rock. But the most unique part of this festival is definitely the campground experience…Three days and nights of craziness and chaos that only Rocklahoma can deliver!”

General Admission and VIP packages for Rocklahoma go on sale Friday, February 24 at 10am CST at all Ticketmaster outlets and www.rocklahoma.com. To get access to the Rocklahoma internet pre-sale, which will be held from Wednesday, February 22 at 10am CST through Thursday, February 23 at 10pm CST, go to www.rocklahoma.com and sign up to receive the Rocklahoma newsletter. Fans can save by buying early, as ticket prices will increase in the coming weeks.

Camping tickets may be purchased by calling the Rocklahoma Camping Office at (866) 310-2288 or emailing info@feverfest.com. Campgrounds open on Sunday, May 20 and will remain open though Tuesday, May 29.

The Axis Entertainment Campground Stage returns in 2012 to enhance the Rocklahoma camping experience. Anyone holding festival and camping tickets will be able to check out some of the finest new rock bands performing on this stage, located next to the General Store in the main campgrounds.

Rocklahoma’s VIP packages have expanded due to popular demand. Some of this year’s weekend VIP packages include:
Groupie Package (One Person)
- VIP Reserved Ticket
- Access to VIP Catering Tent
- Private Backstage Lounge Tent Access *
- Weekend Pit Access
- Package Inclusive of all taxes and fees
* This year, the Groupies will have their own Backstage Lounge, which is conveniently located between the Main and Second Stages.

Roadie Package (One Person)
- VIP Reserved Ticket
- Access to VIP Catering Tent
- Private Backstage Lounge Tent Access **
- Private Restroom Access
- Weekend Pit Access
- One Event Poster, T-Shirt and Festival Mug
- One Commemorative Laminate
- VIP Deck Access
- Package Inclusive of all taxes and fees
**Exclusive for Roadies and Rockstars is the Backstage Lounge, which is conveniently located between VIP Catering and the Main Stage.

Rockstar Package (Two Person)
- Roadie Package for Two
- Three Night stay at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa (room & tax only)
- Shuttle Service
- Best Seats in the House
- Package Inclusive of all taxes and fees
**Exclusive for Roadies and Rockstars is the Backstage Lounge, which is conveniently located between VIP Catering and the Main Stage.

For a detailed list of 2012 Rocklahoma VIP ticket options, packages and amenities, please visit www.rocklahoma.com.

The heavy metal time machine will turn back to the 1980s and ʻ90s when Queensryche, Cinderella, Ratt, Kix, Warrant and Night Ranger are among the 19 bands to take over Merriweather Post Pavilion, playing full sets of their glam rock and heavy metal hits.

For the first time, M3 fans wonʼt have to choose between bands with overlapping set times, since each band will play one at a time. Also, the festival will take place on two separate stages, each simulcasting the other, giving fans the option to stay in one seat and watch
all the bands as they appear on both stages, or fans can move from stage to stage without missing a note.

In its fourth year, I.M.P. Presents M3 Rock Festival starts with The Official M3 Kix-Off Party Friday May 11th at 7pm. Acts playing Friday night include Night Ranger, Kix, Enuff ZʼNuff, In the Pink and Let There Be Rock. The fullblown 2012 M3 Rock Festival begins Saturday, May 12th at 11am and will include Queensryche, Cinderella, Ratt, Skid Row, Warrant, Quiet Riot, Dokken, Stryper, Loudness, Lynch Mob, XYZ, Bang Tango, Drumwars, and Street Light Circus.

Each year VIP and Pavilion seats sell out in minutes. VIP and discounted 2-Day Packages will go on sale Friday, Feb. 3 at 10am EST through Ticketfly. If there are any tickets remaining as of February 24th, they will go on sale as Single-Day tickets at 10 am EST. Tickets can also be purchased at the Merriweather and 9:30 Club Box Offices. For more information, visit http://www.ticketfly.com/ or http://www.m3rockfest.com

VIP ticket holders will have:
• Private VIP Entrance gate
• Official M3 2012 Festival T-shirt
• Official M3 2012 Concert Poster
• Access to floor and prime pavilion seating
• Access to M3 VIP Deck located backstage (includes access to VIP concessions and VIP restrooms)
• Access to Artist Meet-&-Greet Lounge.

For more M3 click here.

After touring extensively in 2011 with his band, Queensryche, lead singer Geoff Tate has announced that he will be doing a handful of acoustic solo dates billed as “Geoff Tate and Friends” beginning on Friday, January 27 at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California.

According to Tate, he’ll be “playing acoustic renditions of songs from my solo album as well as some of my favorite Queensryche songs.” And that certainly gives him a lot to choose from…

Not one to remain idle, Tate is anxious to hit the road again next year despite an incredibly busy 2011 that found the band performing over 75 dates along their 30th Anniversary tour primarily in support of their 12th studio album, Dedicated to Chaos (Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud), that was released in the summer.

Towards the end of the tour, Geoff and the band pulled out “all the stops” by performing Rage for Order in its entirety for the first time ever (New York City on Halloween) and Operation: Mindcrime from beginning to end on this year’s ShipRocked Cruise (with In This Moment‘s Maria Brink handling vocal chores as “Sister Mary“) for the first time in three years. Both shows were a pure treat for fans!

It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years and more than 20 million albums sold worldwide later…

For 2012, Queensryche has plenty up its sleeve…

Geoff‘s acoustic performances are just the beginning of what promises to be another exciting year.

GEOFF TATE and Friends acoustic dates:
Jan-26 Thu San Diego, CA Anthology
Jan-27 Fri Agoura Hills Canyon
Jan-29 Sun San Juan Cap Coach House
Jan-31 Tue Grass Valley, CA Center for the Arts
Feb-01 Wed Chico, CA El Rey
Feb-02 Thu Napa, CA Uptown
Feb-04 Sat Snqoualmie, WA Finapalooza

For more information, please view the official Queensryche website at www.queensryche.com.

Queensryche
30th Anniversary Tour
Tuesday 8NOV11
Lincoln Theatre
Raleigh, NC

Queensryche
30th Anniversary Tour
Tuesday 8NOV11
Lincoln Theatre
Raleigh, NC



I think I’ve said on here once or twice that I am a huge Queensryche fan. If not, here ya go. That being said, I have tried to like their newer albums. American Soldier actually was a good album, their best since Promised Land, but the rest just fall a little flat for me.

I have listened to Queensryche since I first heard the EP in 1984. I first saw them in 1988 when the opened for Metallica on the Damaged Justice Tour in San Francisco. Loved the music but thought they were lost on stage in an arena (I was really high that night too, so it could have just been me).

I wouldn’t have the chance to see them again until Building Empires Tour in 1992 where they blew me away by performing Mindcrime in its entirety! They filled the arena and performed like they deserved to be there too.

Many years have gone by and Queensryche has released several albums that the fans (me included) have debated whether they were Ryche worthy or not. But one thing Queensryche has always done well (at least since 92 for me) is perform well live.

They have made sure that they always have a reason for you to come see their show, whether it’s performing suites (large sections of albums) or albums in their entirety, they always give you a reason to see their next tour (besides being a tremendous live band now).

For their 30th Anniversary Tour they have actually reverted back to the old fashioned tour dogma of playing a little something from everything. And I do believe every album was represented (other than their recent covers album) in the set they performed here in Raleigh.

The band in their infinite wisdom didn’t just come out and perform ‘The Lady Wore Black’ and run through their hits chronologically, they mixed it up, Starting the set with the latest ‘Get Started’ and moved on to a brilliant version of ‘Damaged’. The sole representation of Promised Land was a real treat for me and live was great and no small feat to pull off in my opinion!

‘Desert Dance’ off of Tribe was actually a great tune live. And maybe that’s what their latest studio albums need to bring them to life or more favor to their fans, to be performed live. You can always tell the newer tunes (anything after Promised Land in my opinion is the ‘newer’ stuff) when they’re performed because they just seem to be a little less… connected maybe? It is very difficult for me to describe, but my girlfriend was with me at the show (her third Queensryche show thanks to me) and she would even turn to me during the newer stuff and remark that it must be a newer song because it was missing something. It wasn’t as ‘rich’ as the other tunes and this is from someone who only hears them when I play them and live she can even tell the difference between pre-Promised Land and post-Promised Land material.

The highlight of the night for me had to be ‘The Real World’. I have never seen it performed live and never thought I would considering it was a cast off from the soundtrack to Last Action Hero. And I wasn’t sure they could pull it live considering the heavy string arrangement by the late Michael Kamen (RIP Sir) but it sounded fantastic and had half the crowd shaking their head wondering where the song was from and the other half drooling over it.

Queensryche‘s run from NM 156 to Screaming In Digital was a stroke of brilliance and I’ve often wondered why they haven’t done it before. Geoff Tate’s voice hasn’t lost a step over the years, he may not be able to hold the higher notes as long as he used to, but he still puts on a hell of a show and sings his ass off and does himself and the band proud. In the age of all these 80’s bands trying to sing their old stuff after 30 years of vocal abuse and simple age and mangling their legacy doing so (see Joe Elliot of Def Leppard, Stephen Pearcy of Ratt, Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, etc, etc, etc) it is great to see someone able to still sing their material correctly and not just that, but very well done!

The Ryche may not be headlining arenas anymore but based on their live shows they should be. The theaters we’re seeing them in today makes for an intimate setting but the sound that the band generates should be filling arenas around the world. A live Queensryche show is always something to behold and they always come up with a new reason to go see them, and see them you should. The band has been around for 30 years for a reason, and their live show says everything you need to know about them. Michael Wilton is a great guitarist and Parker Lundgren holds his own with Michael and the band. Eddie Jackson has always been a beast at the bass and there may only be one or two people better on the drums that Scott Rockenfield. The man can certainly go step for step with Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart. And as I’ve already stated, the showmanship and vocals of Geoff Tate are nothing short of spectacular 30 years on!

For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.

Thursday, October 27, 2011 – Chameleon Club
Photos by Marcy J. Royce

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As we arrived at the Chameleon Club and searched for parking, I knew what was inside would be nothing short of a sellout. And I was right! Walking into the room I noticed the super crowded area at the back bar. Yes, damn near a sellout. People were packed into the slender but long facility, all charged up to see Queensryche. And I noticed the average age of the fans, 35+. As Queensryche garnished most of it’s fans from the old school metal/rock of the 80′s and early 90′s.

Making my way from the back bar to the front by the stage was going to be difficult. Everyone was sardined in place. After a generous offer from a trusted security guy, we made it to where we needed to be. As I looked over the crowd I saw just how pumped up they were. Took my place in the pit and felt the crowd energy as they became restless, chanting ‘Ryche, ‘Ryche, ‘Ryche. The frenzy was about to take off.

The last time I saw Queensryche was when they were an opener for Judas Priest in June 2005 at The Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Needless to say 6 years was a long time for me to see them again. But oh so well worth the wait. Get Started was a perfect opener. Luckily I was the only photog in the pit, during that song I was everywhere. Geoff was working off the crowd energy and he returned that energy. Once again, the best place to be to feel that electricity is where I was. I get off of that stuff, pumps me up, pushes me hard to capture as much of the energy through my camera as I can.  Next up was Damaged followed by I Don’t Believe In Love (which is one of my favorites). The fan frenzy for that song was iconic. I heard just as much sing along as I did Geoff through the PA system. Tingles ran down my spine. It’s a feeling like no other.

I made my way to my spot that I occupied for the rest of the night, just off stage left. I had a somewhat obstructed view because of the architecture of the Chameleon, but I bobbed and weaved to see what I needed. The great part about this spot is the long stretch of 1 foot high mirrors on the oppposite side of the room. This way I could see how packed the fans were, right up to the railings, on both the second and third levels. Arms were waving and the voltage meter rised with every song. This spot was also much better for me to take in all that is Scott Rockenfield. I love drummers and their craft. I take in everything that I can. Scott was quiet impressive with his kit setup and use of everything. One woman directly in front of me kept taking photos of Scott and Parker, she was so enamored with them both. She would look back at me and giggle. I laughed as I knew I shared that same sentiment for Scott. Parker and Michael were both tearing up the stage. Riffs and solos screaming with metal goodness. I did notice when Parker changed guitars to start using the Gretsch, that poor guy looked so small. But boy did he make that thing sing.

The night went so fast. Lots of good choices for the setlist. And I was heavily anticipating the encore. I just knew Jet City Woman and Empire HAD to be in there. Two staples of the good ole earlier days of ‘Ryche. But I was sadly disappointed. One encore song was played, Eyes Of A Stranger. Not sure why they nixed those other two songs, it was on the setlist to perform. Maybe someone wasn’t feeling well, and I can understand that. But nonetheless, I as an old fan was left wanting them. Guess that means I’ll have to catch them again soon. Which I hope to do!

For all that is Queensryche, go to http://www.queensryche.com/

Special thanks to Jeff Albright for making this happen for myself and Away-Team. It was a pleasure sir!

Queensryche

Mindcrime at the Moore Blu Ray DVD

Eagle Vision/Rhino

9 out of 10


In the new digital age of music, where bands have to live on the road to make money and survive due to low album sales and large labels taking bigger and bigger cuts of the percentages from the bands, there are a few bands that have taken their live shows to new levels.

Queensryche is one of those bands. Knowing that in today’s market it is harder and harder to sell tickets and ‘get asses in seats’ the band has taken several original approaches to their live shows in recent years. A few years ago they toured and performed Operation: Mindcrime, their rock opera if you will, in its entirety. Then in preparation for releasing Operation: Mindcrime II they toured again performing Part I in its entirety but this time with actors, more video, and actual surround sound.

With the release of Mindcrime II they once again hit the road, and one upped themselves by performing both albums in their entirety with actors, et al. And in their hometown of Seattle Washington at the Moore Theater they filmed the event and released it on DVD.

Eagle Vision has taken that DVD and high definition film and has released the Blu Ray version of it four years later. This is Queensrÿche’s first Blu Ray release, and it couldn’t be a better place to start.

Everyone knows the storyline for Mindcrime right? I don’t have to go into the premise about Nikki being a heroin user, who is approached by Dr. X to become an assassin for ‘The Cause’. And through his handler Sister Mary who is a nun that used to be a prostitute, who is also hooked on the horse, and ‘takes care’ of Nikki and his needs; he gets his fixes and his release, and love. After a few missions, Dr. X tells Nikki to kill Mary, and that’s when the story takes a turn. Mary dies and Nikki is arrested for the crime. Only according to Nikki he didn’t do it, or at least doesn’t remember doing it.

The album ends with Nikki in an insane asylum trying to remember what happened, and to piece together how Mary died and who did it. Oh look, I DID go into the premise. My bad. The original Mindcrime album was released in 1988 and was originally performed in its entirety on the second leg of the Empire Tour in the early 90’s. Which was released on VHS tape at the time.

If you think you’ve seen Operation: Mindcrime live, and you haven’t seen the full production with actors, then you haven’t seen Operation: Mindcrime done correctly. The answer to who killed Mary is finally answered, the musical interludes between songs tie the entire production together, and the actors add a nice touch instead of detracting from the music. One drawback I see is that there is an actor for Nikki who comes out on stage and interacts with Mary and others, and then when Geoff Tate is singing as Nikki, he interacts with Mary, etc, and can be a little distracting at times. Either he is Nikki or the actor is Nikki, having both of them be Nikki can be confusing at times if you don’t understand the story that well to begin with.

The sound, the imagery, the camera work, are all top notch and the Blu Ray treatment amps it up, and adds a certain intimacy to you being right there on stage or at the stage for the production.

The only other small complaint is that you have to watch the extras to see a song with Ronnie James Dio performing as Dr X. whom he sang all the parts for on Operation: Mindcrime II. It would have been nice to see him in the full production. So there is more consistency from the first album to the second.

That and the fact that the second Operation: Mindcrime is far inferior to the first one are the reasons that this great DVD got a 9 out of 10.

Again, we have two complete albums performed in their entirety, with actors and production, we have one of the best ‘rock operas’ ever recorded performed live and in thunderous 5.1 surround sound, and most importantly we actually, unequivocally, with no room for interpretation, find out what happened to Mary. This alone is worth the price of the DVD to me, as I was wrong in what I thought happened to her for the last 17 years.

Fans of Queensryche will eat up this DVD, and if you were a fan of Operation: Mindcrime then you’ll absolutely love watching it performed in this manner.









For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.

ShipRocked 2011, the music and life-style cruise, sets sail November 14th – 19th, heading for the tip of Mexico and its popular stretch of gorgeous Caribbean water known for scuba diving, shopping and bars aplenty.

ShipRocked guests are in for a very special treat next month, when QUEENSRŸCHE takes the stage onboard the cruise to perform their epic concept album, Operation: Mindcrime, in its entirety!

This performance of Mindcrime – which will feature Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT on vocals as “Sister Mary” – will be the band’s first of the album since the Rocklahoma festival in the summer of 2008.

“We’ve always enjoyed performing for our fans in intimate settings and the forthcoming ShipRocked cruise will certainly be one of those occasions,” states Queensrÿche lead singer Geoff Tate, who returns with the band for their second ShipRocked cruise. “We’re calling this one, ‘Mutiny on the Mindcrime‘.”

The special performance of Operation: Mindcrime, covering all fifteen songs from the album including such fan favorites as ‘Revolution Calling’, ‘Operation: Mindcrime’, ‘I Don’t Believe In Love’ and the closing track ‘Eyes Of A Stranger’, will be in addition to a greatest hits performance that will take place on another night of the cruise, which sets sail towards the Mayan Riviera on Monday, November 14th.

Maria Brink is ecstatic about joining Queensrÿche for the ten-minute song, ‘Suite Sister Mary‘. “I am so excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity to sing with Queensrÿche on the upcoming ShipRocked cruise! All of us in the band are huge Queensrÿche fans, and Geoff Tate is one of the best lead singers in the business. Getting to sing ‘Suite Sister Mary’ off the original Mindcrime album is a huge honor. This is going to be a cruise to remember!”

Acts confirmed for ShipRocked include: BROKEN TEETH, BUCKCHERRY, HELLYEAH, HINDER, IN THIS MOMENT, LIVING COLOUR, LYNAM, QUEENSRŸCHE, SEVENDUST.

ShipRocked 2010 Recap from ShipRocked on Vimeo.

Get ShipRocked with Vinnie Paul & HELLYEAH! from ShipRocked on Vimeo.

Buckcherry Wants You To Get ShipRocked! from ShipRocked on Vimeo.

For more SHIPROCKED 2011 click here.

Eagle Rock Entertainment is proud to announce the October 18 release of Queensrÿche: Mindcrime At The Moore — the first Queensrÿche Blu-Ray ever.

Filmed in front of the band’s hometown crowd in Seattle over three nights in 2006, the story of Nikki, as originally told on two albums—1988’s Operation: Mindcrime and 2006’s Operation: Mindcrime II —is the story of one of the most enigmatic characters in the history of Progressive Rock. Nikki’s a junkie, a political revolutionary and an assassin. His relationships with Sister Mary and the manipulative Dr. X form the backbone of a complex tale that is told at the Moore Theater with actors, staging and film.

Three hours long, recorded in DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby Digital 5.1, with three bonus extras—a tour documentary, a version of “The Chase” from Los Angeles with Ronnie James Dio as Dr. X, and “Queensrÿche Rock’n’Ride” (a documentary on the band’s charity motorcycle event)—Mindcrime At The Moore is a high-definition knock-out of a disc that fully presents this mammoth stage production the way it was meant to be told. The band—vocalist Geoff Tate, drummer Scott Rockenfield, bassist Eddie Jackson and guitarists Michael Wilton/Mike Stone—are augmented by Pamela Moore as Sister Mary and the aforementioned Dio who only performed as Dr. X that one time and was shown on film for the rest of the tour.

The 32-song concert ends with an additional two-song encore of fan favorites “Jet City Woman” and “Walk In The Shadows.” The two critically acclaimed Mindcrime albums have sold over two million copies in North America alone.

TRACK LISTING
OPERATION: MINDCRIME PART I
I Remember Now
Anarchy-X
Revolution Calling
Operation: Mindcrime
Speak
Spreading The Disease
The Mission
Suite Sister Mary
The Needle Lies
Electric Requiem
Breaking The Silence
I Don’t Believe In Love
Waiting For 22
My Empty Room
Eyes Of A Stranger

OPERATION: MINDCRIME PART II
Freiheit Ouverture
Convict
I’m American
One Foot In Hell
Hostage
The Hands
Speed Of Light
Signs Say Go
Re-Arrange You
The Chase
Murderer?
Circles
If I Could Change It All
An Intentional Confrontation
A Junkie’s Blues
Fear City Slide
All The Promises

ENCORE
Walk In The Shadows
Jet City Woman














To purchase Queensryche: Mindcrime At The Moore click here.

Away-Team: Alright so I’m here with Chris Broderick the guitarist for Megadeth. Hello Chris, thank you for taking the time to do the interview with us today. Appreciate it. So you were in Jag Panzer before Megadeth…

Chris Broderick: Yup!

Away-Team: And you played live with Nevermore for a couple of years?

Chris Broderick: Correct.

Away-Team: Didn’t actually record anything with them just kinda filled in, is that correct?

Chris Broderick: Right! Right, I did do Year of the Voyager the DVD with them.

Away-Team: Ok so Jag Panzer very intricate very tough stuff to do guitar wise very impressive work, Nevermore was no slouch musically there either doing the two of them at the same time, you just a glutton for punishment?

Chris Broderick: No! (laughs) I mean you know it’s just part of the reason why I do what I do. I love to play music and I love to play out. With Jag Panzer all the guys are awesome but they couldn’t always get the amount of time they needed to tour quite often and so I had always wanted to play out as much as possible and the opportunity arose to tour with Nevermore as well so I took that. And then there were cases where I had to pull double duty and play with both bands at the same festivals!

Away-Team: Nice (laughs). Makes for a long day no?

Chris Broderick: Definitely(laughs)!

Away-Team: So how did you end up with Megadeth coming off of Jag Panzer?

Chris Broderick: Well it was really Glen Drover, you know the guy that I replaced, him and his brother Shawn had recommended me to Dave who had also seen some of my YouTube clips online as well and so that’s how I got the call I guess a fairly short casting call for that. Then from there we just talked about what each other expected, what the roles would be, and stuff like that. And I just got to work because there was a tour coming up and I had 22 songs to learn in less than a month! So I didn’t even have time to consider that I was joining such a great iconic band it was just ‘let’s get to work’ you know.

Away-Team: For the readers that don’t know, YouTube Chris and check out some of his work online. You’ve got some amazing videos out there… some great, great guitar work… just blows people away. So you recorded parts of the Endgame, were you actually part of the writing process or was it pretty much complete when you came in?

Chris Broderick: No. No, we all submitted material and at the end of the day it’s just the process of going through and making sure it fits the Megadeth sound. I did get a small writing credit on Endgame and it was awesome to be able to get that on the record. And then of course also a lot of things that we do that don’t necessarily…you know there’s only two things that generally warrant writing credit on a CD – there’s the lyrics and there’s the main rhythmic component the music side of the song and then everything else is just considered I guess ‘embellishment’ over the top. But I think all of us have a lot to do with that embellishment whether it’s the melodies or counter melodies or guitar solos all kinds of things that you can do to add a lot of character to a song.

Away-Team: From Endgame to TH1RT3EN which is coming out reportedly November? Is there actually a street date yet?

Chris Broderick: Not that I know of…what they’ve told me as the tentative date is November 1st, so that’s…

Away-Team: What you’re going with for now?

Chris Broderick: Exactly, you know my guess is as good as yours beyond that.

Away-Team: So did you get more as you call it ‘embellishment‘ on TH1RT3EN? Was it more interactive between you guys because you had a little more history together now a little more comfortable with them?

Chris Broderick: You know this CD came together completely differently than Endgame did. It came together really fast. It’s the fastest CD I’ve ever been a part of to tell you the truth. From concept to finished product it was really just a lot of riffs that were written in the last two years and stuff like that brought togethe. Put it on the table right away and then we started looking at how you develop it, choruses, the bridges, the pre choruses all of that stuff, and the arrangement. And then from there we went onto our roles as individuals writing. For me it’s writing the melodies and counter melodies on the guitar and solos of course.

Away-Team: So Dave being no slouch on the guitar himself, getting the two of you in a room together must get pretty nuts at times? Pushing each other, trying to come up with a better riff a faster riff?

Chris Broderick: I don’t know if there’s ever a competition like that (laughs) but it is one of those things where we will play off of each other a little bit. If I present a riff he’ll be like ‘oh yeah, yeah that’s really cool but maybe you could straighten that part out.’ So it’s very back and forth I think sometimes when we play together that’s the cool part about it.

Away-Team: Absolutely! Dave also stated for the sound for the new album that it’s something completely un-Megadeth, it’s a sound Megadeth has never done before the guitars are completely different sounding. He actually hearkens back to, I think it was… I forget what album he kinda compared it to, but he said sound wise it was something that Megadeth had never done before.

Chris Broderick: I would agree with that as far as the mix and the mastering component absolutely this album sounds huge and just very raw in a way because we did put it together so quickly I think it’s got a raw component to it. But also with Johnny K producing I think it just has a much bigger sound to it so in that concept I agree. But I’ve always likened TH1RT3EN to almost like a cut in time from each CD of the past Megadeth discography so you know it’s got stuff that hearkens back to Peace Sells all the way up to Countdown to Extinction to Endgame so you kind of hear aspects of the whole timeline and that’s why I like it so much.

Away-Team: Speaking of Peace Sells, the band is celebrating the 25th anniversary of that. Which would have put you at 15 years old maybe? You’re the youngest guy in the band now right?

Chris Broderick: What was that ’84 right?

Away-Team: Yeah…

Chris Broderick: So I would have been 14.

Away-Team: 14. So do you count that as one of your inspirations as one of your…?

Chris Broderick: You know what’s funny I always heard the title track from MTV and stuff like that.

Away-Team: When they played videos?

Chris Broderick: Yeah back when they actually played videos (laughs). But I didn’t really start getting into Megadeth until Rust In Peace which is when Marty came in and that’s the whole reason why you know I’ve always kind of come from the guitar shredder root kind of thing. I was huge fan of Jason Becker and Paul Gilbert and all those guitar noodlers and still am to this day so when I followed Marty Friedman into Megadeth I was like ‘oh well what’s this all about’ and that’s when I got into the rest of the CDs.

Away-Team: So how’s Mayhem treating you guys? Dave had posted towards the beginning of the tour that there was a lot of problems, he had never contemplated walking off a tour before and then he posted a couple of days later thanks to whoever, whatever problems there were, were fixed…

Chris Broderick: There were some issues; they were mainly technical issues and stuff like that. I think once we got the right people notified they handled it really well and things were taken care of like that. So it was I think a minor glitch but once the right people were notified it was good.

Away-Team: You guys recently toured in support of the 20th anniversary also of Rust In Peace you guys were playing it in its entirety you’re now on the 25th like I said for Peace Sells. Do you guys have plans of possibly doing the same thing with Peace Sells that you did with Rust?

Chris Broderick: We had talked about it but I think because we’re coming off with TH1RT3EN that it may not happen because we’re definitely going to want to support TH1RT3EN in its…

Away-Team: Do a true cycle for that album?

Chris Broderick: Yes exactly, but you never know we might do something in tandem. I think that’s a really good idea we kinda did that with Rust In Peace and Endgame a little bit.

Away-Team: Did the first leg supported the album second leg you did that plus like a greatest hits afterwards type of thing at least knock out a DVD for the fans of you guys playing it live. So you talked about Rust In Peace was kind of your intro to Megadeth, what do you cite as your main influences?

Chris Broderick: Well it definitely it started with Eddie Van Halen of course! And then from there it quickly went to Yngwie and then onward to Jason Becker, Greg Howe, Paul Gilbert, you know all of those guys… Richie Kotzen, I mean I could go on and on and on. But as far as bands go during that time it was also like Queensryche and King Diamond.

Away-Team: So you’ve always had that kind of progressive lean towards at least what you like, what inspired you…

Chris Broderick: Exactly yes!
Away-Team: And with Jag Panzer and even Nevermore you still had that progressive lean, do you feel you’re getting that, you’re bringing that to Megadeth?

Chris Broderick: I don’t know if I would turn the ship that far that’s for sure. There are things I’ll want to try sometimes where they’re like ‘mmm nah that’s a little too progressive’ you know, but that’s ok. (laughs)

Away-Team: ‘Save that for the solo album in a year or two‘ …

Chris Broderick: I’m fine with that. And you know for me this is all a learning experience as well. And I love trying to be able to acquire new styles and new genres and thrash is definitely one of those!

Away-Team: So what was the worst name of a band you were in?

Chris Broderick: The worst name?

Away-Team: The worst name of a band you were in…

Chris Broderick: Oh, the first band I ever joined with my best friend was a band called Slaymaker and I have no idea what it meant…

Away-Team: Funny usually when I ask that question everybody always says it’s the first band they were in …

Chris Broderick: Well, you know, you’re young.

Away-Team: Because that’s your garage band you throw on some stupid name that you think sounds cool and gets attention and 20 years later you’re like what the hell does that mean?

Chris Broderick: Right (laughs).

Away-Team: So after Mayhem you guys are doing the Big Four in New York, Yankee Stadium a month or two after that in theory TH1RT3EN comes out what’s next for Megadeth tour-wise?

Chris Broderick: Then we’re going to do like a three week maybe a little over a three week tour down in South America which is will be the first tour where we actually support TH1RT3EN. So I’m really looking forward to that! And then we’ll probably take the holiday season off and then come the new year we’re going to look at gearing up for the whole tour cycle on TH1RT3EN.

Away-Team: Ok sounds good well I appreciate it Chris. I appreciate your time Chris and good luck with the show I haven’t seen you perform with Megadeth yet so I’m really looking forward to catching it tonight. And for everybody out there stand by because TH1RT3EN is coming soon pick it up when it does!

Chris Broderick: Thanks man!

Away-Team: Thank you Chris, appreciate it.

There is a long list of people to thank for making this and all of our Mayhem Fest interviews happen, so, forgive me if I forgot anyone, but thanks to Lilly at Roadrunner, Bill at eOne Music, Rikki, Natalie, and Jessica at Adrenaline, and Laura Jean with Mayhem.

For more MEGADETH click here.

QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Geoff Tate issues explanation on why the band had to cancel shows this week.









QUEENSRŸCHE is currently on tour celebrating their 30th Anniversary, all confirmed dates are below.
08/14/11 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore United States
08/16/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant United States
08/17/11 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room United States
08/18/11 Cleveland, OH House of Blues United States
08/19/11 Detroit, MI The Fillmore United States
08/20/11 Chicago, IL Congress Theater United States
08/21/11 Milwaukee, WI The Rave United States
08/25/11 Palmer, AK Alaska State Fair United States
08/27/11 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre United States
08/28/11 Hillsboro, OR Washington County Fairgrounds United States
09/06/11 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory United States
09/07/11 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater United States
09/08/11 Boise, ID Knitting Factory United States
09/09/11 Reno, NV Knitting Factory United States
09/10/11 Chico, CA Senator Theater United States
09/11/11 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades United States
09/14/11 Tucson, AZ Rialto United States
09/15/11 Phoenix, AZ The Foundry United States
09/16/11 Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Hotel & Casino United States
09/17/11 Denver, CO Ogden Theater United States
09/19/11 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom United States
09/20/11 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theater United States
09/22/11 Dallas, TX House of Blues United States
09/23/11 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Hotel & Casino United States
09/24/11 Houston, TX House of Blues United States
09/25/11 Austin, TX Emo’s East United States
09/28/11 Anaheim, CA House of Blues United States
09/29/11 San Diego, CA House of Blues United States
09/30/11 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues United States
10/01/11 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues United States
10/02/11 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom United States
11/04/11 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade United States
11/05/11 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues United States
11/06/11 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy’s United States
11/10/11 Ponte Vedra, FA Ponte Vedra Concert Hall United States
11/11/11 Ft Lauderdale, FL Revolution Live United States
11/12/11 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues United States
11/14/11 – 11/19/11 Cozumel Shiprocked Cruise United States
11/20/11 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckard Hall United States

For more QUEENSRŸCHE click here.

QUEENSRŸCHE has released Get Started the video for their first single off their new album Dedicated To Chaos.









QUEENSRŸCHE are currently touring in support of the 30th Anniversary of the band.

Confirmed QUEENSRŸCHE tour dates:
07/27/11 Lisbon Atlantico Pavilion Portugal
07/29/11 New York, NY Irving Plaza United States
07/30/11 Hartford, CT Webster Theater United States
07/31/11 Poughkeepsie, NY The Chance United States
08/02/11 Allentown, PA The Croc United States
08/03/11 Morristown, NJ Mayo PAC United States
08/04/11 Westbury, NY Capital One Bank Theater United States
08/05/11 Hampton Beach, NH Hampton Beach Casino & Ballroom United States
08/06/11 Boston, MA House of Blues United States
08/07/11 Rochester, NY Nola’s Outdoor Concert United States
08/09/11 Washington DC 930 Club United States
08/10/11 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center United States
08/11/11 Glenside, PA Keswick United States
08/12/11 North Tonawanda, NY Molson Canal Concert Series United States
08/13/11 Pittsburgh, PA Palace Theatre United States
08/14/11 Charlotte, NC The Fillmore United States
08/16/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant United States
08/17/11 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room United States
08/18/11 Cleveland, OH House of Blues United States
08/19/11 Detroit, MI The Fillmore United States
08/20/11 Chicago, IL Congress Theater United States
08/21/11 Milwaukee, WI The Rave United States
08/25/11 Palmer, AK Alaska State Fair United States
08/27/11 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheatre United States
08/28/11 Hillsboro, OR Washington County Fairgrounds United States
09/06/11 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory United States
09/07/11 Missoula, MT Wilma Theater United States
09/08/11 Boise, ID Knitting Factory United States
09/09/11 Reno, NV Knitting Factory United States
09/10/11 Chico, CA Senator Theater United States
09/11/11 Sacramento, CA Ace of Spades United States
09/14/11 Tucson, AZ Rialto United States
09/15/11 Phoenix, AZ The Foundry United States
09/16/11 Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Hotel & Casino United States
09/17/11 Denver, CO Ogden Theater United States
09/19/11 Tulsa, OK Cain’s Ballroom United States
09/20/11 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theater United States
09/22/11 Dallas, TX House of Blues United States
09/23/11 Biloxi, MS Hard Rock Hotel & Casino United States
09/24/11 Houston, TX House of Blues United States
09/25/11 Austin, TX Emo’s East United States
09/28/11 Anaheim, CA House of Blues United States
09/29/11 San Diego, CA House of Blues United States
09/30/11 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues United States
10/01/11 Los Angeles, CA House of Blues United States
10/02/11 San Francisco, CA The Regency Ballroom United States
11/04/11 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade United States
11/05/11 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues United States
11/06/11 Winston-Salem, NC Ziggy’s United States
11/10/11 Ponte Vedra, FA Ponte Vedra Concert Hall United States
11/11/11 Ft Lauderdale, FL Revolution Live United States
11/12/11 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues United States
11/14/11 – 11/19/11 Cozumel Shiprocked Cruise United States
11/20/11 Clearwater, FL Ruth Eckard Hall United States

For more QUEENSRŸCHE click here.

Queensryche are offering a once in a lifetime chance to become ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty.’ two lucky winners will be chosen to be members of the Queensryche tour party for their entire tour supporting Judas Priest through the UK.

That’s right – you can be a fully fledged member of the ‘Ryche entourage for 10 days, from the first show day in Newport, England to last show at Bournemouth, England. You will travel on the bands tour bus through out the UK, including 8 stops in Scotland and England. You will have an ALL ACCESS PASS for each of the 8 Queensryche shows, backstage catering at every show, hotels with the band and crew. You are on the road with the band! You basically get everything the band and crew get, you are ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty’!

Queensryche is offering this once in a lifetime chance to only two fans.

As part of the tour party, each winner will receive the following:
An ALL ACCESS* PASS valid for EVERY SHOW on the forthcoming Queensryche UK tour – Dates 15th July 2011 through July 24th 2011 Inc. This includes all show tickets to all 8 shows. Every performance the band plays between the above dates you will be there with them – shows, soundchecks, backstage – everything!
A printed and bound tour Itinerary with full tour schedule and details – including your name printed in the ‘Tour Party’ section. 7 nights bunk accommodation aboard the Queensryche nightliner bus traveling overnight from city to city.
2 nights hotel accommodation at the same hotel as Queensryche band and crew.
All internal transport as required as part of the tour entourage.
Show day meals, as provided to the Queensryche band and crew.
A special Queensryche tour merchandise selection with various t-shirts and collectables

So there you go – wake up in a different city, enjoy a day sightseeing, come back for Soundcheck, have dinner, watch the show, hang out with the band, grab a slice of aftershow pizza, hang out on the bus, go to sleep and do it all again the next day…and the next!

To participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity, you will need to be a Queensryche Fan Club member and must bid via Silent Auction, Minimum starting bid is $4000.00 USD. You may bid any amount of times but each bid is a binding contract for you to pay that amount should you be chosen as a lucky winner.

The Auction to be ‘Ryche and Roll Royalty’ opens at Wednesday 1st June at 10am PST and ends Wednesday 22nd June at 10pm PST

For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.

Yes I love Queensryche. Yes I have the TriRyche tattooed on my bicep. Yes I have every album. Yes I still go to every show I can. Yes I still promote them as much as I can. But they haven’t put out a good album since 1994′s Promised Land in my opinion. It sucks, I hate that they apparently can’t write a decent song or album without Chris DeGarmo.

Hear In The Now, Q2K, Operation: Mindcrime 2, and even American Soldier (which was ALMOST a good album)… I can’t listen to them… I want to, I try every couple of years to go back to them and see if they improve over time or my taste changes enough to enjoy/love those albums. But alas its not to be.

Again I still go to every show because they sound great, when the newer stuff get played I kind of tune out and just focus on Geoff singing or Scott killing the drums. All though on their last tour they did a suite from 3 albums, Empire, Rage For Order, and American Soldier, the American Soldier stuff was really good live, just not on CD.

I so badly want them to put out a good album, I so badly want to love whatever they do… But I can’t. The music without Chris is just missing…. Emotion, depth, something.

I am all for bands changing, maturing, stretching, etc… I mean I can’t listen to the last 5 AC/DC or Aerosmith albums because they are indistinguishable between the previous 5 they’ve each done. They’re stuck in a writing formula that works for them, and sells records, but it doesn’t make for good music to me.

Listen to Queensryche‘s EP. Then Empire. Then Promised Land. Listen to the vast difference in sound and songwriting between those three albums. Then listen to the last 4 albums. Worlds apart in songwriting. It isn’t about stretching and failing.. it’s about crappy songwriting.

And so now we have Dedicated to Chaos, Queensryche‘s new album and Get Started, the first single off that album. Geoff Tate has said in the press recently that this is a departure for the band, that sound wise it is something they have never done yet. That is is a ‘headphone’ album, best heard/experienced with headphones on. So when I read that I got excited. For he has said that before about Promised Land. In fact for the premier listening party of Promised Land they had everyone sitting in chairs with headphones on listening to the album.

So if Geoff is somehow comparing Dedicated To Chaos to the sonic quality of Promised Land, then color me All In!
Sadly, I received the single Get Started today. And as I listen to it for the 10th time or so (yes with my headphones on), I’m afraid this is no Promised Land, this is more of the same, more of the last 4 albums instead of the first 4.

And sonically, I don’t see the ‘need’ for headphones, where Promised Land was a rich sonic texture that still unveils new layers 16 years later, Get Started is well produced, but not sure it has any layers that reveal themselves upon multiple listens.

Here’s hoping that Get Started is just that… The band getting started, and that the rest of the album is truly a departure from the last 15 years of recorded Queensryche.

You can pre-order the single Get Started here and pre-order Dedicated To Chaos here.
For more QUEENSRYCHE click here.

QUEENSRŸCHE‘s new digital single, for the Dedicated To Chaos album track ‘Get Started‘, will be available at usual digital platforms on June 5th.

Queensrÿche have confirmed more US tour dates in support of their new album, Dedicated To Chaos, which will be released in Europe via WEA/Roadrunner on June 27th and by Roadrunner Records/Loud & Proud on June 28th in North America.

QUEENSRŸCHE live dates:
July
29 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
30 – Hartford, CT – Webster Theater
31 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance
August
2 – Allentown, PA – The Croc
3 – Morristown, NJ – Mayo PAC
4 – Westbury, NY – Capital One Bank Theater
5 – Hampton Beach, NH – Hampton Beach Casino & Ballroom
6 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
7 – Rochester, NY – Nola’s Outdoor Concert
9 – Washington DC – 930 Club
10 – Englewood, NJ – Bergen Performing Arts Center
11 – Glenside, PA – Keswick
12 – North Tonawanda, NY – Molson Canal Concert Series
13 – Pittsburgh, PA – Palace Theatre
14 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
16 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
17 – Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
18 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
19 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
20 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theater
21 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave
25 – Palmer, AK – Alaska State Fair
28 – Hillsboro, OR – Washington County Fairgrounds
September
16 – Albuquerque, NM – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
17 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theater
19 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
21 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theater
22 – Dallas, TX – House of Blues
23 – Biloxi, MS – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
24 – Houston, TX – House of Blues
28 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
29 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
30 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
October
1 – Los Angeles, CA – House of Blues
2 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom









For more QUEENSRŸCHE click here.