On Monday, March 30 at 8PM, The Jigsaw Saloon in Parma, Ohio will be holding a QUEENSRŸCHE listening party for their new album, American Soldier. The first fifty people to purchase the album will receive a free limited edition t-shirt. Prizes will be given away all evening. Click photo for more details.

As reported earlier today, Queensrÿche's new single, 'If I Were King', is available as a new ringtone by texting to 74466.

Terms & Conditions: This is a la carte, transactional service. No recurring subscription charges are involved. Each ringtone costs $2.49. No Credit Card Required - users will be charged on their wireless bill or be deducted from prepaid minutes. Standard carrier fees may apply. Must be at least 13 years old and have bill payer’s permission. Offer available for AT&T;, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile users with compatible phones. Opt out: STOP to 74466. For more information call 866-528-6192.

Queensrÿche have announced a performance/autograph session at Best Buy in Thousand Oaks, CA (390 N. Moorpark Road) on Thursday, April 2nd at 7PM.

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 31st 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.

In other news, Queensrÿche have posted a new video podcast where drummer Scott Rockenfield explains the band’s unothodox method of rehearsing for a tour: “Ya know, rehearsals for us have always been an interesting place where we have to start each time we go out on the road. We had been recently doing that, in the last couple of years, over at Eddie’s house, in his garage…”

Check out the video here.