Album
American Soldier
American Soldier is Queensrÿche's eleventh studio album, a concept record about the lives and experiences of people who serve, or have served, in the United States armed forces. It came out on 31 March 2009 on Rhino, following Operation: Mindcrime II in 2006 and the covers collection Take Cover in 2007. It debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200.
It also marks a change in the band's make-up. After Mike Stone's departure, this was the first album Queensrÿche recorded entirely as a quartet. It is also their first original album on which founding guitarist Michael Wilton has no writing credit. For listeners who like the band at their most thematic, it is a heavy metal album built around a single subject, and it sits between the band's earlier concept work and Dedicated to Chaos in 2011.
American Soldier: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 1:00:36Tracklist
- 1SliverJason Slater and Geoff Tate3:09
- 2UnafraidJason Slater and Geoff Tate4:48
- 3Hundred Mile StareKelly Gray and Geoff Tate4:31
- 4At 30,000 ft.Jason Slater and Geoff Tate5:11
- 5A Dead Man's WordsJason Slater and Geoff Tate6:36
- 6The KillerJason Slater and Geoff Tate5:26
- 7Middle of HellGray, Johnson, Rockenfield, Tate5:28
- 8If I Were KingJason Slater and Geoff Tate5:17
- 9Man Down!Kelly Gray and Geoff Tate4:58
- 10Remember MeJason Slater and Geoff Tate5:00
- 11Home AgainGray, Johnson, Rockenfield, Tate4:41
- 12The VoiceJason Slater and Geoff Tate5:29
- Produced by
- Kelly Gray, Jason Slater, Susan Tate, Kenny Nemes
- Recorded at
- El Dorado Studios, Burbank, California, London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington, The Office, North Andover, Massachusetts
- Recorded
- March–December 2008
- Mixed by
- Kelly Gray
- Engineered by
- Kelly Gray
- Label
- Rhino
- Length
- 1:00:36
Line-up
- Randy Gane · keyboard · guest
- Kelly Gray · guitar · guest
- Eddie Jackson · bass guitar
- Damon Johnson · guitar · guest
- Scott Rockenfield · drums (drum set)
- Michael Wilton · guitar
- Jason Ames · vocals · guest
- A.J. Fratto · vocals · guest
- Geoff Tate · lead vocals
- Emily Tate · lead vocals · guest
Singles
- “If I Were King” · 2009
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 2009 | 25 |
| US Hard Rock · 2009 | 2 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2009 | 6 |
| US Tastemaker · 2009 | 9 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 2009 | 39 |
| German Albums · 2009 | 65 |
| Swiss Albums · 2009 | 71 |
| Dutch Albums · 2009 | 100 |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
23.3
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
296
ListenBrainz listeners
15k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.6k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 31 March
Every year →
More from Queensrÿche
Full discography →
Queensrÿche
1982
The Warning
1984
Rage for Order
1986
Operation: Mindcrime
1988
Empire
1990
Operation: LIVEcrime
1991
Promised Land
1994
Hear in the Now Frontier
1997
Q2K
1999
Greatest Hits
2000
Live Evolution
2001
Classic Masters
2003
Tribe
2003
The Art of Live
2004
Operation: Mindcrime II
2006
Extended Versions
2007
Mindcrime at the Moore
2007
Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensrÿche
2007
Take Cover
2007
Dedicated to Chaos
2011
Queensrÿche
2013
Condition Hüman
2015
The Verdict
2019
Digital Noise Alliance
2022
The best of 2009
All of 2009 →
21st Century Breakdown
Green Day · 2009
Liebe ist für alle da
Rammstein · 2009
Backspacer
Pearl Jam · 2009
Black Gives Way to Blue
Alice in Chains · 2009
Raditude
Weezer · 2009
Greatest Hits
Foo Fighters · 2009
World Painted Blood
Slayer · 2009
Live at Reading
Nirvana · 2009
Orgullo, pasión, y gloria: Tres noches en La Ciudad de México
Metallica · 2009
Endgame
Megadeth · 2009
The Smashing Pumpkins 2008-12-07: Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA 2009
2008-12-07: Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL, USA
The Smashing Pumpkins · 2009
Iron Maiden Flight 666 2009
Flight 666
Iron Maiden · 2009
More on Rhino
The label →
Greatest Hits 1970–1978
Black Sabbath · 2006
Live at the Gorge 05/06
Pearl Jam · 2007
Operation: Mindcrime II
Queensrÿche · 2006
The Rules of Hell
Black Sabbath · 2008
Take Cover
Queensrÿche · 2007
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
Black Sabbath · 2004
Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
Black Sabbath · 2002
Limited‐Edition Vinyl Box Set
Metallica · 2004
This Is It: The Best of Faith No More
Faith No More · 2003
The Works: A 3 CD Retrospective
Faith No More · 2008
Mindcrime at the Moore
Queensrÿche · 2007
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 2009-03-27 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 27 March 2009 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 31 March 2009 | |
| Wikidata | 31 March 2009 | |
| US release | 27 March 2009 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 2009 | earliest UK or European date |
3 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | XE | Rhino | 081227987268 | other |
| 27 March 2009 | US | Rhino | original | |
| 31 March 2009 | US | Rhino | 081227987268 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |