Meanwhile, Queensryche will close out 2007 with a European tour that launches in mid-November and wraps up in mid-December. Details about the Euro outing are posted at the group's website; the US itinerary is included below.

All of the upcoming roadwork follows the Nov. 4 release of "Take Cover," a set that features Queensryche's interpretations of 11 songs by some of the members' musical idols, according to Rhino Records. Tracks include Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine," an acoustic take on Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," a live version of U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky," as well as Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights," "Heaven On Their Minds" from "Jesus Christ Superstar," and operatic piece "Odissea," originally made famous by the Italian duo Carlo Marrale & Cheope.

"During sound checks, [guitarists Mike] Stone and Michael [Wilton] like to play 'name that riff,' and sometimes the whole band joins in," Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate said in a press release. "That's really the way this album came together, too. We got together and started playing some songs to each other, and then we picked our favorites."

Tate went on to say that the group avoided mimicking the original versions.

"We'll never top the originals; they're classics for a reason," he said. "We were more focused on finding different approaches that took the songs in unexpected directions."