Queensryche - Geoff Tate Slams Knife Attack Story

The rocker's bandmates stunned fans and Tate himself when they announced they had replaced the singer in the group earlier this month (Jun12).

The news followed internet reports of violent altercations before and after shows - and one story suggested Tate had pulled a knife on drummer Scott Rockenfield before a concert in Sao Paolo.

Tate tells RollingStone.com, "We had a meeting in the dressing room. I asked them (bandmates) straight up about the rumours I'd heard about them replacing me. I was definitely concerned about this... They said that they weren't planning on replacing me, but they had just fired our manager, our office assistant and one of our guitar techs, who all happened to be my family members... It seemed like a personal vendetta against me.

"The meeting was short and we went to do the show. I'm getting ready by my station, ready to go on stage, and Scott looks at me and he smirks and says, 'We just fired your whole family, and you're next.' I just lost it. I tried to punch him. I don't think I landed a punch before somebody grabbed me and hauled me to the side.

"That was it. I cooled down and we did the show, and everything went fine... (There was) no knife involved. You can't really get knives into foreign countries."

Still bitter about his departure from the band, Tate has taken aim at his former friends for the way they moved on from him and his family members: "They made up a legal document and sent it to our business manager. It said, 'These people are fired.'

"They had worked for us for 10 years. It was a completely cold, inhuman thing to do. You don't do that with people. At least you sit them down and say, 'Hey, thanks for all the hard work. We're disgruntled and we want to find something else.'"