GEOFF TATE: 'I Really Don't Know What The Signature Sound Of QUEENSRŸCHE Is'

Deb Rao of HardrockHaven.net recently conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

HardrockHaven.net: We are all excited the 13th studio album by QUEENSRŸCHE entitled "Frequency Unknown" is released. It features a whole new lineup of QUEENSRŸCHE. What was your goal upon entering into the studio to record the album? Did you want to recapture the signature sound of QUEENSRŸCHE?

Geoff: I really don't know what the signature sound of QUEENSRŸCHE is. People have been asking that today. I don't know what that means. QUEENSRŸCHE, to me, has always been about making different records and trying different things. Trying to redefine ourselves with each record, really. We never really tried to play the same thing or make the same record each time. We tried to stretch out and try new things. I don't know if there is a signature QUEENSRŸCHE sound. The goal was to write songs and music to reflect the times that we live in. We wanted to write music that was timely and fit for the way things feel for me these days. It is art. It is reflective of emotions, feelings and thoughts in the now of what I am doing right now. It is kind of like an audio diary.

HardrockHaven.net: How did you come up with the title "Frequency Unknown"?

Geoff: The title came from a phrase that [came] to us in the studio actually. When you are making music and you are putting a song together, you have all these different parts that are supposed to work together. Sometimes when you are listening back to it, something doesn't click. There is a theory in the engineering world if you dial in these unknown frequencies nobody knows what it is, you find the weak spot of the song. It kind of gels together and all of a sudden it is now great. Like, there it is — it all comes together because I dialed in this frequency. But no one can tell you what this frequency is. It is an unknown thing. That became a little studio phrase that got thrown around while we were working on the project and that became the title of the record.

HardrockHaven.net: It is cool also that your re-recorded four QUEENSRŸCHE classics also on the album. New fans will be introduced to a few of the classics.

Geoff: It was kind of an interesting endeavor in the studio. It was a whole different kind of thing. Typically, when you are in the studio you are creating something new. It was very inspirational to do that. To create these remakes was not inspiration at all. It is kind of an exercise in trying to duplicate something. There is a lot of effort that goes into it. I think they turned out pretty well.

Read the entire interview from HardrockHaven.net.