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American Soldier
American Soldier
Studio album by Queensrÿche
Released	March 31, 2009
Recorded	March–December 2008
Studio	El Dorado Studios, Burbank, California; London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington; The Office, North Andover, Massachusetts;
Genre	Hard rock; progressive metal;
Length	60:31
Label	ATCO; Rhino;
Producer	Jason Slater; Kelly Gray; Susan Tate; Kenny Nemes;
Queensrÿche chronology
Singles from American Soldier
	"If I Were King"; Released: 2009;
Audio sample
	"If I Were King" file; help;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]
antiMusic	^[2]
Consequence of Sound	^[3]
Melodic.net	^[4]
Record Collector	^[5]
Sputnikmusic	^[6]

American Soldier is the eleventh studio album by American Progressive metal band Queensrÿche; it is a concept album released on March 31, 2009. The album debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200 chart.^[7] As its title suggests, American Soldier revolves around the lives and experiences of those who serve or have served in the United States armed forces.

Following the departure of Mike Stone, the album was the first to entirely be recorded by Queensrÿche as a quartet. It is also the first original album by the band where founding guitarist Michael Wilton does not receive a single writing credit.

Overview

The lyrical contents to the songs on American Soldier tell the story of war from a firsthand perspective. The album was produced by Jason Slater, who also produced and co-wrote Queensrÿche's 2006 album Operation: Mindcrime II, and was engineered by Kelly Gray, who was Queensrÿche's guitarist and producer from 1998 to 2001. It was recorded in 2008 over the course of nine months.

The album includes a particularly personal duet between Geoff Tate and his daughter Emily. The song, entitled "Home Again," focuses on a father returning home to his family after having been gone an extended period. This theme reflects both the life of Tate as a touring musician and the life of one who serves in the military.^[8]

Tate spent a few years interviewing veterans from all conflicts America has been involved in from World War II to the Iraq War, including his own father^[9] and collecting their stories in order to help him write the album.

Speaking about the inspiration for the album, Tate said:

Queensrÿche has always had incredible support from members of the Armed Services. It seems like after every show, I’d end up speaking with a fan that was or had been involved with the military. The more and more I began to hear their accounts and feelings, the more I really felt a conviction to tell their story. Over the last two years, I’ve conducted dozens of one-on-one interviews with veterans of many different American wars. I listened to their amazing and moving recounts and did my best to examine war through their eyes.

The very first thing... that was a conversation with my dad. My dad has been in the military; he has all this experience from all the places he served... Korea, Vietnam... We talked about his life in the army. You know, Susan, my wife, once told me “Why don’t you write a song about your father?” So, when we were started talking about life in the army... then I started to think about the soldiers 'cause we don’t know much about them. The way they feel about lots of things...^[10]

Track listing

All songs written by Jason Slater and Geoff Tate except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sliver"		3:09
2.	"Unafraid"		4:47
3.	"Hundred Mile Stare"	Kelly Gray, Tate	4:31
4.	"At 30,000 ft"		5:11
5.	"A Dead Man's Words"		6:35
6.	"The Killer"		5:26
7.	"Middle of Hell"	Gray, Damon Johnson, Scott Rockenfield, Tate	5:28
8.	"If I Were King"		5:17
9.	"Man Down!"	Gray, Tate	4:57
10.	"Remember Me"		5:00
11.	"Home Again"	Gray, Johnson, Rockenfield, Tate	4:41
12.	"The Voice"		5:29
Total length:			1:00:31

Personnel

Band members

Geoff Tate - vocals, horns
Michael Wilton - lead guitar, acoustic guitar
Eddie Jackson - bass
Scott Rockenfield - drums

Additional performers

Emily Tate - vocals on track 11
Jason Ames - vocals on tracks 1 & 8
A.J. Fratto - vocals on track 1
Vincent Solano - vocals on track 5
Kelly Gray - rhythm guitar
Damon Johnson - rhythm guitar
Randy Gane - keyboards

Production

Jason Slater - producer
Kelly Gray - producer, engineer, mixing
Susan Tate, Kenny Nemes - executive producers
Hugh Syme - art direction, design and illustrations

Charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[11]	100
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[12]	65
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[13]	39
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[14]	71
US Billboard 200^[15]	25
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)^[16]	2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[17]	6
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)^[18]	9