Geoff Tate Enlists Daughter for Help with ‘American Soldier’

With 'American Soldier,' Queensrÿche attempt to debunk the myth associated with enlisted men and women in combat. Through interviews and music, the listener learns the heartbreak of war – and pain of family separation. Front man Geoff Tate learned through the recording process that musicians can sometimes share the same scars as soldiers.

"My daughter Emily on Wednesdays attends class in the same building as my studio. I'd just finished writing the song 'Home Again,'" explains Tate. "Emily says to me 'What are you working on?' and I replied 'I just finished another song. Want to hear it?' I'm playing the song for her and she's reading the lyrics. I look up, she's got tears running down her cheeks. She thought I'd written the song about her. I asked if she'd like to sing on it, she said "yes" and threw the headphones on. I had to quickly scramble to get the microphone set-up for her and she threw down. We recorded it and it just had a magic to it... just an innocence that really struck me as being honest. I played it for my wife and the band – they all went crazy over it" says Tate.

Queensrÿche took ample time to record 'American Soldier,' not wanting to rush the final outcome. "We started the project around 2006. It was a process of collecting the interviews and stories and writing outlines based on commonalities that we saw on the interviews and then composing music around that. We just finished the record in January of this year," Tate explains.

"I think one of things we all feel in the band - when we finish a record – we feel very successful, in that we've managed to create something out of nothing," continues Tate. "We've been able to pool all our ideas together in a creative way and do it at a high level of communication."

Queensrÿche will hit the road mid-April in support of 'American Soldier.'