Queensryche's American Soldier

Hey, look at that: news about metal I actually care about. In an odd bit of coincidence, I was thinking about Queensryche this morning, wondering when they were going to convert the momentum from Operation: Mindcrime 2 into another slice of new material, and here they announce a new disc is on the way:

Due in April 2009 via Rhino, QUEENSRŸCHE's twelfth studio album, "American Soldier", is a concept effort which finds the band once again tackling some heavy subject matter, this time focusing on telling the story of war from a firsthand perspective.

Heavy indeed. I suspect that avoiding the step from "heavy" to "heavy-handed" will take a fresh perspective on conflict that doesn't add another echo to the American public's already thunderous cries of war weariness, but I'm excited to hear what they've put together; it seems like Queensryche does their best when they're forced to come up with a new angle. Besides, who doesn't like a good comeback?

However, I do have to ask: when Michael Wilton says he "recorded" all of the guitars on this album, does that mean he wrote them, too? Is the change to a functional one-guitar unit a shift made to get the band in motion after five years of creative silence (Wikipedia mentions that Mike Stone has an active side project), or the establishment of a new type of creative control? Either way, it's something to listen for when American Soldier makes its appearance.