Queensryche: Guitarist Mike Stone is in for the Rest of 2021
When guitarist Parker Lundgren left Queensryche earlier this year, adding to an already turbulent and drama-filled 2021 for the group, Mike Stone, who played with the band from 2003 to 2008 and performed on the album Tribe, took his place at a live performance. Now the band has confirmed that Stone’s presence in their live lineup will continue, at least for the time being.
On a post on the band’s Instagram account featuring a photo of Stone, a fan in the comments section asked if Stone is officially back in the band, to which whoever handles the band’s socials replied:
“Filling in for the rest of this year and then we’ll see…”
That’s a fair answer, and an expected one in a circumstance like this: Stone’s entry back into the fold was unexpected, so I’d imagine both parties want to see how things work out before taking their relationship any further.
As of June, Queensryche were in the studio with producer Zeuss working on their next album. It seems unlikely that estranged drummer Scott Rockenfield is involved. Rockenfield, who took paternity leave from the band in 2017 then all but entirely disappeared from the public eye, reemerged earlier this year with a new website, Queensryche2021.com, that had vocalist Todd La Torre and Lundgren cropped out of a band photo (the band’s official channels made no mention of the site). La Torre and Rockenfield passive-aggressively sparred publicly before the band played their first show since the pandemic, which included La Torre but no Lundgren, and Casey Grillo on drums (he’s been filling in live since Rockenfield’s hiatus began).
