Alan Dixon from Canada's The Metal Voice spoke with former Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate prior to his performance on the current Avantasia tour in Montreal, Quebec. Tate Spoke about recording and performing with Tobias Sammet's Avantasia, his new Sweet Oblivion project and his current solo tour.

When asked about his new project Sweet Oblivion and it's musical direction: “It's the name of an album I did with a wonderful Italian guitar player named Simone Mularoni. He and I put this album together  and ome of the songs are kid of reminiscent of older Queensrÿche."

When asked about his current tour playing all of the Operation: Mindcrime album: “I started touring the Operation: Mindcrime album in it's entirety as a 30 year celebration of the album. The tour went through 24 countries and I am still doing dates and it ends in June. Then I think I am finished touring with that and I can do something else."

Check out the entire interview below:

Sweet Oblivion is due out on June 14th via Frontiers Music Srl. Listen to the title track below, and pre-order the album here.

Sweet Oblivion sees Tate teaming up with a stellar cast of Italian musicians led by Simone Mularoni, the mastermind of prog metal masters DGM. Musically, this album marks a return to the more melodic metal style for Tate and showcases a fine collection of songs highlighting the great talents of Mularoni and his cast of musicians.

Geoff Tate says, "I was approached by Frontiers to do this record and am pleased I took this chance. It’s an album filled with fun and I believe a lot of the fans who dig the old Queensrÿche sound will enjoy this one!”

Simone Mularoni adds, "I grew up listening to the '70s and '80s rock and metal bands and, of course, Queensrÿche's classic albums are among my favorites ever. Having the opportunity and luck of working together with a musical giant like Geoff Tate has been a real blessing on both the human and the artistic side. I asked a few amazing musicians and friends to help me out and together we delivered a bunch of classic heavy rock songs in which I tried to fuse a more contemporary approach with a classic Queensrÿche vibe… the performances are amazing!”

The opening track and first video “True Colors” sets the pace for the entire release and shows what the listeners can expect from this record. Excellent musicianship and a sound that harkens back to the massive melodies and hooks of classic albums like Empire, Rage For Order, and Operation: Mindcrime.

Sweet Oblivion tracklisting:

"True Colors"
"Sweet Oblivion"
"Behind Your Eyes"
"Hide Away"
"My Last Story"
"A Recess From My Fate"
"Transition"
"Disconnect"
"The Deceiver"
"Seek The Light"

"Sweet Oblivion":

"True Colors" video:

Lineup:

Geoff Tate - Vocals
Simone Mularoni - Guitars and Bass
Emanuele Casali - Keyboards
Paolo Caridi - Drums