Queensrÿche bassist Eddie Jackson has provided a significant update on the band’s next studio album, confirming they are deep in the writing process and are targeting a Fall 2026 release for the follow-up to 2022’s Digital Noise Alliance.
In a new interview with J.J. Caithcart of Different Stages Radio, Jackson explained that the writing process for the new LP began in January 2025. The band’s heavy touring schedule, including their current North American run with Accept, has forced them to write in bursts.
“We’re still in the writing process. We actually started it last January… before we embarked on a month tour over in Europe,” Jackson said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “We won’t be able to get together as a band in one location. We will be on tour, but it’s not like a studio. But we still kind of bring our little recording devices with us to come up with more ideas.”
Jackson laid out the band’s ideal timeline, which would see them recording early next year.
“We’re hoping to get in the studio sometime, maybe beginning of spring next year, and hopefully we’ll have a late fall release. And that would be nice,” he stated.
He also confirmed that Queensrÿche will once again re-team with producer Chris “Zeuss” Harris, who has helmed their last three records: 2015’s Condition Hüman, 2019’s The Verdict, and Digital Noise Alliance.
“Yeah, he’s just awesome,” Jackson said of Zeuss. “He’s great to work with and bounce ideas with. He’s a great guy, and he’s actually a good musician too… if it’s still working, why not continue working with him?”
Jackson noted that while some 2026 European festival dates are already scheduled for early summer, the band’s primary focus after their current tour will be the new album. “Once the year is over, we’re really gonna try to focus on the new album — get the songs ready to record, record them, get ’em mixed, released and follow it up with a tour.”
While Jackson detailed the schedule, frontman Todd La Torre recently spoke to Brazil’s Monsters Of Rock about the sound of the new material, emphasizing that the band’s writing process is organic. “We don’t go in writing a record with a preconceived idea,” La Torre said. “We kind of all get together in a room and just see what happens in real time.”
However, La Torre did share his personal hopes for the new record. “Personally, I’d love to hear more clean guitar on the next record, maybe some more spacious stuff, some more clean guitar,” he said. “Orchestration is always fun to work with. It’s very huge and cinematic sounding… Maybe some different percussion things would be interesting to play around with again.”
