Queen's Roger Taylor announces new solo album 'Violence Insane in a Beautiful World'

Queen drummer Roger Taylor has announced a new solo album titled "Violence Insane in a Beautiful World," set for release September 18 through Columbia Records.

The album marks Taylor's seventh solo effort and his first since 2021's "Outsider." Pre-orders are now active, with the record available in multiple formats including blue vinyl, black vinyl, picture disc, and CD editions. The picture disc will be exclusive to his official store, while Amazon will offer an alternative cover CD version.

Taylor described the album's underlying theme in discussing the title. "There is a theme, you know, it's in the title really, what a beautiful world we live in, don't f*** it up," he said. "There seems to be all this insanity at the moment. The violence in the world seems to be as bad as it ever was, at any point, and certainly in my lifetime. It's just horrific, a lot of insane violence. And we do seem to be f***** up the world, plastics in the sea, you know, and all these awful wars everywhere and hatred born of different religions."

Despite addressing global challenges, Taylor emphasized the positive aspects of existence. "It's a beautiful world, you know. And kindness is very important, I think, it seems to be forgotten quite a lot. So, that is basically the sort of the underlying theme," he said.

While not structured as a concept album, the record carries a thematic thread throughout. The album includes the tracks "What Really Matters," "Don't Photograph Food," "I See You Now," "Chump," "Spit In His Eye," "Jealous Guy," "Come On Summer (It's Party Time)" featuring The Ndlovu Youth Choir, and "A Great Big Beautiful World (reprise)" also featuring The Ndlovu Youth Choir.

Taylor will support the album release with a series of live performances in the United Kingdom in September. The first single from the record, "Come On Summer (It's Time To Party)" featuring The Ndlovu Youth Choir, has been released as a preview of the new material.

Taylor's solo career began in 1977, running parallel to his work with Queen. His previous album, "Outsider," was received positively by both critics and fans upon its 2021 release.