This past weekend, iTunes posted it’s second Artist Playlist from Queensryche… and what a difference from last time.

“Haunted” (Track 1): I like the vicious and destructive behavior this song offers.  Disturbed would be proud if the devil had this song in his iPod playlist!

“Vertigo” (Track 2): I always seem to get a stimulating sensation from the left and the right of my head every time I hear this song!  I’ve been a fan for years and they continue to impress me with every new release.

“REV 22:20” (Track 3): Very dark melodic haunting piece of music very supportive of the Underworld mood.

“Albino Farm Theme” (Track 4): What can I say, but this piece from my score of the up and coming horror movie Albino Farm is one of my all-time favorites.

“Prayer for the Dying” (Track 5): Seal’s voice is very soothing and this song is very catchy and smooth.

“The Great Gig in the Sky” (Track 6): This song is just great.  I love the female vocals on this one.

“Stuck in the Middle with You“(Track 7): This song is a classic that never gets old.

“Because the Night” (Track 8): Love Patti’s voice and energy.

“Far Behind” (Track 9): Signer Mike Ness is one of the best punk songwriters of all-time, and this song is a great example.

“The Age of Pamparius” (Track 10): This is a cool Norwegian band that is straightforward, raw rock ‘n’ roll.

“Rebel Yell” (Track 11): Quite possibly one of the best songs of the 80s.

To view and/or buy tracks from the playlist, click here!

The band, Fan Club and Rhino Records are happy to announce the band’s new iTunes page!  Still available are all the album releases, but what’s new are the music videos (all 18 of them) each for $1.99.

Taken from the site:  “Progressive metal didn’t even exist when Queensryche formed in the early ’80s, but its first full-length, The Warning, put the heavy/heady hybrid on the map, with Geoff Tate’s theatrical, Peter Gabriel-on-steroids vocal style and twin-guitar riffs that mixed the raw power of classic metal with the epic reach of art rock.  With 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime, the band unveiled its full-blown conceptual masterstroke – a Dark Side of the Moon for the metal age.  Queensryche made its mark on the mainstream with the follow-up, Empire, whose string-soaked ballad “Silent Lucidity” went Top 10, but even after grunge and nu-metal signaled a sea change, the band of prog-metal pioneers kept things current, streamlining its sound without sacrificing an ounce of melodic smarts.

“If I Were King,” the first single from Queensrÿche’s highly anticipated new album AMERICAN SOLDIER, is now available for download from all digital retailers.   “If I Were King” was written based on an interview lead singer Geoff Tate conducted with Sean Lenahan, a veteran of U.S. conflicts in Somalia and Kosovo. Some chilling sound bites from Tate’s interview with Lenahan can be heard at various points in the song. The song is also streaming at myspace.com/queensryche.

“This is a song about loss and healing,” says Tate. “A soldier who lost his friend in a firefight and spent a lot of time afterwards struggling with his feelings, wishing he could have done more to save his friend. The song is saying if I were king, if I could do anything, I’d have you back in my life again, back by my side. I thought that was a very interesting and inspiring viewpoint.”

Queensrÿche has also set up the phone number (206) 260-1215 for fans to call and get updates on the new album and tour directly from Tate himself.  The number also has an option where fans and soldiers can leave a message for the band. Every day starting on March 20, a new 30-second preview clip of one of the songs from AMERICAN SOLDIER can be heard by calling the number, leading up to the March 31 release of the album.

AMERICAN SOLDIER features a dozen songs inspired by numerous interviews with veterans conducted by Tate, who was intent on telling their story using their words. After speaking with soldiers who served in various conflicts–from World War II to Iraq–Tate turned their firsthand experiences from the frontlines into an unflinching musical examination of
war from the soldier’s perspective.

Click here to purchase from iTunes

Click here to purchase from Amazon.com