GEOFF TATE Doesn’t Know If SCOTT ROCKENFIELD Will Ever Play Drums Again: ‘He Has A Lot Of Medical Problems Now’

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Geoff Tate says that he doesn't know if a reunion of QUEENSRŸCHE's classic lineup will ever happen. In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton (guitar), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Eddie Jackson (bass) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live. Speaking to Metal Rules in a recent interview, Tate was asked if there is any chance of a QUEENSRŸCHE reunion. He responded: "I don't know if that'll ever happen, honestly. I don't see it as likely happening. Again, never say never because things could really change. But I don't know if Scott will ever play drums again. He has a lot of medical problems and things like that now. So yeah, I don't know. And Chris [DeGarmo, original QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist] will never play again." For the past 36 months, Rockenfield has been taking time off from QUEENSRŸCHE's touring activities to spend time with his young son, who was born in early 2017. Filling in for him has been former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo. Last July, Tate told 88.1FM WESU's weekly syndicated radio show "Noize In The Attic" that he was "pretty sure" Scott "didn't leave" QUEENSRŸCHE of his own accord. "I can tell you that there's lawsuits involved; I know that," he said. "He's in kind of a really dark place, and I hope he gets some help, 'cause he's really unraveled, you know? In my opinion. It's too bad — he's an incredibly talented drummer, and unfortunately, he never was happy with that. It wasn't good enough for him." DeGarmo left QUEENSRŸCHE in late 1997 following the band's tour in support of their sixth studio album, "Hear In The Now Frontier". Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, told Metal Wani that QUEENSRŸCHE is "sounding better than it did for over 10 years" now that he is fronting the band. He added: "The fans have certainly voiced that opinion. That's my opinion, and that's a lot of opinions we hear every night. And the energy of the other members of the band is way healthier, way happier with [Geoff] gone and me in the band. And that's just the facts. There's no stifled creativity, and there's no kind of leader and followers, if you will, in the band. We all talk and try to make decisions the same, and it's very democratic. I'm never gonna tell Michael Wilton that his guitar riff is too heavy, for example, and that had happened in the past. The band is way happier, and I think that it's evident when you watch a live show — not [a clip on] YouTube, but really go to a show and feel what's happening and see what's happening. These guys are happy again and they feel like it's a rebirth of the band and that those dark clouds are well behind them." QUEENSRŸCHE has released three albums thus far with the ex-CRIMSON GLORY frontman — 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict".