Geoff Tate has repeated that he was not holding a knife during the confrontation he had with the other members of Queensrÿche backstage at their 2012 concert in Brazil.
“`The former singer spoke on the «Beardo & Weirdo» podcast, hosted by Five Finger Death Punch bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass. Asked whether people have misunderstood parts of his split from the band, he was categorical: «There were no knives».
His words answer claims that have followed the band for years — that he hit guitarist Michael Wilton and threatened drummer Scott Rockenfield with a knife before a show in São Paulo in April 2012. Tate noted that a legal dispute was pending at the time and that in such cases various stories get put on the table to influence the case, and described the split as a business matter: the break-up of a band that also operated as a company.
He had also denied using a knife in an interview with Rolling Stone, where he said the tension began when he learned the band had fired staff who were members of his family. In June 2012 he was fired by Queensrÿche and he and his wife Susan Tate, who managed the group, filed a suit claiming the rights to the name. Wilton, Rockenfield and bassist Eddie Jackson countersued, alleging creative obstruction and violent behaviour.
At the Rocklahoma festival Tate had told the crowd the group was terrible, and in a sworn statement he later argued he was trying to warm up the audience, not insult them.
The court rejected the request for a temporary injunction in July 2012. In April 2014 the two sides reached a settlement: the name stayed with Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson, while Tate kept only the right to perform the entire «Operation: Mindcrime» and «Operation: Mindcrime II» on stage. He was replaced in 2012 by Todd La Torre, with whom Queensrÿche have released four albums.
See also
See also: Geoff Tate – Operation: Mindcrime III and New rock & metal releases – May 2026: the albums worth checking out.
Source: https://blabbermouth.net/news/ex-queensryche-singer-geoff-tate-once-again-denies-he-pulled-a-knife-on-scott-rockenfield-during-2012-backstage-altercation-in-brazil
