Former Queensrÿche vocalist Geoff Tate recently shared his perspective on the increasing presence of mobile devices at concerts, describing the habit of filming entire performances as a “shame.” In a new interview with “This Day In Metal“, the legendary singer discussed the importance of the live experience and how digital distractions can prevent fans from fully connecting with the music.
Geoff Tate emphasized that the unique nature of a live show is something that cannot be replicated through a screen, urging attendees to remain present in the moment rather than focusing on capturing footage for later viewing.
”The live experience is so unique and so different, that it’s a shame to miss it by looking at something you can look at for the rest of the day. Come to a show and immerse yourself in it. But then again, it’s up to the individual. You can’t just dictate to everyone in your audience, ‘Okay, everybody, we’re gonna think these thoughts. We’re gonna listen this way. We’re gonna put the phone down. We’re gonna…’ You can’t do that. People wanna experience what they wanna experience, and people experience what they can experience too. Some people don’t wanna immerse themselves in it. They wanna stay somewhat distant. Peace. I particularly like to immerse myself in it and jump up and down and scream and sweat,” Geoff explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
The singer’s stance on mobile phone usage has been a topic of discussion since a 2013 incident in St. Charles, Illinois, where he took a device from a front-row fan and tossed it behind him. Speaking later to “The Classic Metal Show“, Geoff Tate clarified that the interaction was far less hostile than reports suggested at the time.
“That happens a lot. In the frenzy of a concert, there’s all kind of activity that happens with the front row. It’s a metal show, it’s rough, it’s chaotic, it’s intense. And that particular situation, I grabbed the guy’s phone, took a picture and tossed it back to him, but he missed it ’cause the lights were in his eyes. And he was actually in our meet-and-greet after the show. And we were laughing about it. I said, ‘Oh, man. I’m sorry. Did your phone get damaged?’ And he said, ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.’ Which was really funny. But because we’re in this court case, and there’s a group of people that are interested in trying to create sides, they just ran with this thing and tried to make me look bad, and I don’t think I look bad at all. My God. No big deal. The guy was laughing, we were happy and we had drinks backstage,” he said at the time.
Geoff Tate’s comments arrive as a growing number of major acts implement strict phone-free policies. These measures are intended to preserve the atmosphere of the show and prevent the unauthorized distribution of high-quality footage. The use of technology like Yondr allows fans to maintain possession of their phones in a locked pouch, which can only be opened at designated stations or upon leaving the venue.
During a recent conversation with Fernanda Hein of Chile’s “Sonar FM“, Megadeth guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari was asked for his opinion on restricting cell phone usage at concerts. The topic has gained massive traction after Swedish metal act Ghost required fans to lock their devices in Yondr pouches throughout their recent tour dates.
“I think that idea is really cool. I’ve been to a couple shows that had that, where you would take your phone and you would put it in a kind of a locked bag. And we actually did that as well when we did our album pre-listening session in Nashville, which was like a small kind of a private VIP party for a couple hundred people. So we did that there as well, because we didn’t wanna show those songs, of course, to everybody beforehand,” Teemu explained.
He emphasized how removing screens from the equation ultimately creates a better connection between the crowd and the performers.
“I think that’s a cool idea, during the live shows, and those couple of bigger shows that I’ve been to where that was done, I think people really get to concentrate on the music when it’s not through the phone screen, but it’s actually direct contact. And I think it’s nice for the audience as well. I mean, of course it’s a kind of trade-off — then people don’t get to share the videos and photos from the show. But if the band has their own, like, media crew there filming stuff and it’s still shared, then you still get the video clips and you still get the stuff in the social media. So I think that’s probably gonna get more common, and more people probably will start doing that once it gets easier to do. And I think it’s a great idea,” he added.
The movement toward phone-free concerts continues to gain momentum across the heavy metal landscape. Ghost implemented a strict Yondr pouch policy for their entire 2025 and 2026 runs after successfully testing the concept during two 2023 Los Angeles shows, which were filmed for their cinematic release Rite Here Rite Now.
Back in July, during a Q&A session with fans at Birmingham’s HMV Vault, Ghost frontman Tobias Forge detailed the rationale behind the use of Yondr pouches for securing guests‘ phones and the transformative impact it has had on their live performances.
“It really hit me when we came to certain countries where they have generally been much more enthusiastic, and you come out — there’s, like, 18,000 people there, and there’s, like, 10,000 phones. And they’re not even bouncing anymore,” Forge said at the time.
He stressed the crucial role of crowd engagement for Ghost‘s highly theatrical and precisely arranged shows, emphasizing the vital “exchange” between band and audience. “That that’s how worthless it became because of the phones. Especially a show like ours. I mean, I know that there are a lot of artists who [do] a completely more a free-form show, but we don’t. Our show is pretty sort of nailed and arranged. There’s obviously a certain wiggle room for individualism. But, yeah, in order to do what we do, we need to have a certain regimen.”
“And so what do we feed off of? [The crowd]. And that is crucial. That is crucial for us to be able to do the show,” he continued. “If you came into a dress rehearsal and saw us do the same thing but without a crowd, it’s dramatically worse. But when you have an engaged crowd, it becomes better because you’re two…”
When asked if the phone ban has “paid off” for Ghost, Tobias responded: “Oh, absolutely. [It’s been a] f**king life changer. Life changer for the existence of the band. Absolutely.”
Other major artists are adopting similar measures to keep fans engaged in the moment. British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden requested that attendees put their devices away during their newly launched “Run For Your Lives” world tour, while Tool have famously employed a strict policy requiring fans to stay off their phones until the final song of the set.
Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood wrote at the time:
“So for all our North American shows we are once again requesting that fans keep their phones in their pockets and enjoy the show ‘in the moment’, rather than raise their phone in the air trying to film sections and thus inconveniencing those around them and annoying the band. So if a so-called fan near you thinks they are special and filming what they selfishly want please just ask them, very politely of course, to put their phone somewhere the sun doesn’t shine!”
The discussion regarding concert etiquette coincides with a major milestone in Geoff Tate‘s solo career. On May 3, he released Operation: Mindcrime III, the third chapter in the narrative series that began with the classic 1988 Queensrÿche album Operation: Mindcrime. Notably, the new record was released under Geoff Tate‘s own name rather than the Queensrÿche banner, marking a new creative phase for the vocalist as he continues to tour and engage with his global audience.
The new record continues the dark narrative of Nikki, the recovering addict manipulated into carrying out political assassinations. However, this third chapter flips the script entirely, exploring the lore strictly through the eyes of the sinister antagonist, Dr. X.
Earlier in January, while speaking to “Meltdown” of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Tate explained that this shift will result in a much darker, more assertive record.
“And Dr. X‘s perspective is completely different, ’cause he’s not the victim at all. So it’s very aggressive, and, yeah, I’m looking forward for people to hear it,” Tate told at the time.
“[It will tell the tale from] the perspective of Dr. X, how the story happened from his point of view. Which is kind of interesting, I think, because we’ve only heard it from Nikki‘s point of view, and he’s been sort of this victim throughout the whole story.”
When asked if the new material serves as a throwback to the complex, heavy style of early Queensrÿche, Tate agreed, promising a sound that diehard fans will recognize.
“Yeah, I guess so. It’s got some complex arrangements, which Queensrÿche was pretty into during our writing. It’s just very aggressive sound-wise. And stylistically, I would say, it’s very Queensrÿche.”
He clarified that the expansion into a trilogy wasn’t always the master plan, but rather a natural evolution of his curiosity about human behavior.
“No, it’s kind of an ongoing story. I am fascinated by social science — why human beings do what we do, and groups of people that seem to have patterns over time, following in the footsteps of their generation. That kind of stuff just is fascinating to me. And so that was the basis for the story of Operation: Mindcrime. And so I just kind of explored that — human nature and what happens to a guy who gets convicted of murder and sent to an insane asylum and then graduates to a prison and then finally gets out after 20 years in prison. Does he still have the motivation for revenge against the people that put him there? That’s kind of the focus of Mindcrime II, the revenge aspect of it.”
Operation: Mindcrime III Official Tracklist:
- “The Scene Of The Crime”
- “You Know My F**king Name”
- “The Answer”
- “Vulnerable”
- “I’ll Eat Your Heart Out”
- “Do You Still Believe?”
- “The Devil’s Breath”
- “Ascension”
- “Set You Free”
- “Descension”
- “Power”
- “You Can’t Walk Away Now”
- “A Monster Like Me”
