You can watch fan-filmed video footage of Geoff Tate’s performance aboard this year’s Monsters Of Rock cruise below.
The performance was an experience in the music of Tate’s former band, QUEENSRŸCHE, which included the classic “Queen Of The Reich”, off the group’s first album.
Geoff told Rock Show Critique back in 2012 (via BLABBERMOUTH.NET) about his reluctance to perform “Queen Of The Reich” live, saying: “It’s funny, actually — a lot of people don’t know about that song. A lot of people don’t care about that song. It’s an early song that was written and it shows. It’s funny the reaction you get, because it’s a lot of blank stares. In fact, it’s the same stare you get when you play a new song that nobody’s heard before. People just aren’t that familiar with it. Given there are a few hardcore fans that might know that song, or like that song, and know what it is, but the majority of the people there don’t. So it’s not really a song that I enjoy singing, strictly because, lyrically, it’s pretty adolescent. It was the first song written thirty-some-odd years ago and obviously I cannot relate to it anymore. I think, for performance, it’s always best for the performer to really believe in the material they’re singing or playing. If you don’t believe in it, it’s really difficult to get behind a song, do it well and do it at a level that comes across with any kind of believability. For me, I honestly can’t relate to the whole dungeons-and-dragons lyrical content of that song; it’s really cartoonish and juvenile to me.”
Tate’s current tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE’s “Empire” and “Rage For Order” albums.