Geoff Tate says he was the ‘Winner’ In Queensryche Legal Battle

In a recent interview, former Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate told Jay Nanda of the San Antonio Metal Music Examiner that in his opinion he won, even though the case never went to court.

“I’m very happy. I’m extremely financially happy right now. [Laughs] They had to pay me, which is what they should have done all along; that’s exactly what the whole court case was about. So they finally agreed to pay me for my share of the name and the business. So here I am. I’m continuing on doing what I do and they can continue doing what they do, and we’ll all be happier.”

Tate was removed from the original Queensryche two years ago by the other members which led to albums and tours by two totally different bands using the same name. After much litigation and barbs thrown in both directions, the two entities finally came to an agreement in April with the original band, now led by Todd La Torre, to move forward using the Queensryche name while Geoff Tate and his band would be allowed to use it for an already scheduled tour that wraps up on August 30 in  Bolingbrook, IL. Tate was also given exclusive rights to perform the band’s albums Operation: Mindcrime I and II as a performance piece.

“A lot of people are saying now that the other guys ‘won’ the name. Well, they didn’t win it. We never went to court. It was all an agreement on a settlement out of court. It was a financial arrangement. So it wasn’t like a ‘win-lose’ thing. In my opinion, I think I won. [Laughs]”

Operation: Mindcrime, the band, is fronted by Tate with Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake), Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio), Randy Gane (Myth) and Kelly Gray (Queensryche 1998 – 2001, 2012 – present). They will be entering in the studio at the end of this tour to record a new trilogy of albums that Tate has written.

Check out the full interview HERE