Geoff Tate, the legendary QUEENSRŸCHE frontman and one of the most acclaimed vocalists in the history of hard rock and heavy metal, has signed a worldwide recording contract with InsideOut Music.

"I'm very excited to join forces with InsideOut Music," says Tate of his multi-album deal. "They are very committed to progressive music and care deeply for their artists, working together with them to bring music lovers worldwide some of the most compelling rock music available."

"Obviously, we at the label have been fans of Geoff for a long time," says InsideOut Music founder Thomas Waber. "We are looking forward to working with such a renowned musician. Welcome to the InsideOut Music family!"

Geoff Tate is currently finishing production on his first InsideOut Music release. The album is planned for release this fall, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

When asked about the sound of his new solo album, Tate told AnthologySD.com, "Well, it's very different from my last one, for sure. It's a new bunch of people I've been working with to write and record it, so that changes things. When you're working with different people, it really changes the record. This one is really hard rock. The last one was really all over the place with different styles of music and everything, but this one really keeps with the hard rock style. It does it in kind of a different way — more of my way or what I would envision. I guess it's experimental in some ways, while in others it's very traditional. What I tried to do was take traditional rock instrumentation and apply it in kind of a different song structure. That's what I would best describe it as. [laughs]"

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

"[Sanctuary weren't really a record company. Sanctuary was a money-making machine and they went out of business very quickly," Tate told Oregon Music News earlier this month. "I'm glad to be done with that actually."

QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with Tate and recruiting powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY as his replacement. The new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup has already performed live, having played two successful shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.

Fan-filmed video footage of Tate's June 7 solo performance at Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, California can be seen below.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral