MICHAEL WILTON: QUEENSRŸCHE Has Gone 'Full Circle'

Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited recently conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Classic Rock Revisited: I have done many interviews with QUEENSRŸCHE but they have all been with Geoff Tate. I was inspired to talk to you because I saw QUEENSRŸCHE live at the Moondance Jam in Minnesota last July and [new QUEENSRŸCHE singer] Todd [La Torre] plus band blew us all away.

Michael: "That is what happens at every show. It is unbelievable. Of course, when a change is made like this, you have fans that are so passionate and everything. We knew we were up for the challenge. Every show you're proving to guys with their arms crossed and by the end of the night their jaws are dropped. 'It is not the old QUEENSRŸCHE but I like this new one.' It is a rebirth of QUEENSRŸCHE. It is something that, after four years now we've been doing this, people are getting that when they see the name of the band they see Todd. They see the band. We've reached that point and status in this climb that we're doing again."

Classic Rock Revisited: The new album gave Todd songs to sing that are his. He is not just singing Geoff's songs.

Michael: "It is his identity. His representations of the songs live are to a T. They are to the CD or the record, however you want to look at it. It is not somebody trying to spin his style or anything. Todd knows all the nuances and he knows everything about it. It was obviously an influence. The fans, let's face it, the last few years, the fans have been wanting to hear songs from the earlier records. We did the 'Return To History' tour. We went around the world doing that and it was songs from the EP, 'Warning', 'Rage For Order' and 'Operation: Mindcrime'. We did a couple of songs from 'Empire'. This year, we've done a different set list because people wanted to hear a little more of what Todd can do with the 'Rage', 'Empire' and 'Promised Land' era of QUEENSRŸCHE. We just came back from Europe and we had great success… It is amazing. We've gotten to that point to where he can represent all of your favorites from back in those days and now we are putting out new music which the fans are really excited about. They like the integration of how it works with the classics, and that is really important, because you don't want something completely different to throw them off. When you are at a show and a band plays a song that is 180 degrees different from what they do, you just want to go get a beer. This is captivating. You have the DNA and the proven assets in the band writing together as a band again. It translates in the new QUEENSRŸCHE as that is the way we started it. We've gone full circle, in a sense."

Classic Rock Revisited: What is next?

Michael: "We just came back from Europe and we did a couple of festivals in the States. We are going to Tokyo and we are playing Loud Park. We have a little tour in Australia we are doing next. After that, we fly back here and we decompress for a while. In the fall we have a tour in the States with ARMORED SAINT. The last show is December 16th and that is pretty much the end of the 'Condition Hüman' tour. In January, we want to start putting together all of the demos for another album. We're doing a few shows and then we are doing that Monsters Of Rock cruise. When we get back from that, we want to be in the studio and get writing again. We'd like to see a fall-of-2017 release."

Classic Rock Revisited: You nailed it early on when you said this band has gone through a rebirth. Does the music have to stay a certain way for the next album?

Michael: "No. Basically, everybody has their ideas. The ideas get put in the cloud and everybody has access to that folder. We're in a high-tech digital age and we use that. It is more convenient than everybody having to drive across town and traffic… Everyone has kids. Now it is, like, 'Put them on Dropbox and download them into your file and work on them.' That is how it all gets started and how it all gets organized. We all download them and we all work on them. That is what we've been doing. Obviously, we come up with melodies for vocals and sometimes a lot of lyrics. There is such a load on Todd and there is so much pressure on him. He is under the microscope all of the time. He does a great job. The writing, once it gets started, it just starts going. As far as, like, 'style-wise'… I have no idea. No one has any idea. That is what's cool about QUEENSRŸCHE albums… you don't know what you're going to get next. I guess we leave it up to chaos. Whatever is happening at that moment, we build and we will see what it is."

Read the entire interview at Classic Rock Revisited.