QUEENSRŸCHE are working on a new album: the band is “stepping on the gas” and aiming further than ever before!
The American progressive metal legends QUEENSRŸCHE are intensively working on a new studio album, which will follow up 2022's Digital Noise Alliance. Guitarist Michael Wilton confirmed in a recent interview that the band is deeply immersed in the songwriting process and is once again collaborating with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who has worked on several of their recent releases.
According to Wilton, the work is very lively and straightforward. Together with fellow guitarist Mike Stone, he is creating new material side by side in the same room, without unnecessary back-and-forth of demo versions. The band wants to preserve the signature elements of their sound—progressive structures, strong melodies, and heavy metal energy—while also aiming for the new album to sound different and push further than the previous record.
The process is currently moving on the border between writing and recording. QUEENSRŸCHE have around 13 songs in progress and, as is their tradition, are aiming to create more material than needed before selecting the final tracklist. Thanks to their long-standing collaboration with Zeuss, the band has a clear idea of how the album should sound—once a song is properly built, it is, in Wilton's words, "half finished."
A key role is also played by the chemistry of the Wilton–Stone guitar duo. Both musicians complement each other, develop ideas together, and search for the right atmosphere without ego or compromise. Mike Stone, who rejoined the band in 2021, is, according to Wilton, perfectly tuned into what QUEENSRŸCHE fans describe as the characteristic "Rÿche-ian" sound.
Vocalist Todd La Torre has also hinted that he would welcome more space on the new album for clean guitars, more atmospheric passages, and possibly subtle orchestration or unconventional percussion elements. The band emphasizes, however, that they never enter the studio with a fixed concept—everything comes together naturally, in real time and collectively.
The new album is thus expected to benefit from the fact that the current lineup is collaborating from the very beginning, which should result in a more cohesive and mature body of work. If everything goes according to plan, fans can look forward to another strong chapter in the rich history of QUEENSRŸCHE.
QUEENSRŸCHE prove that even after more than forty years on the scene, they still have the desire to take risks, create, and push their sound forward.
Good news for European fans is that the band will return to European stages this year—and the Czech Republic will not be missing:
📍 Rock for People 2026
📅 June 14, 2026