Queen’s Roger Taylor Releases Solo Album Violence Insane in a Beautiful World

Queen legendary drummer, songwriter, and musician Roger Taylor has officially released his seventh solo album, titled Violence Insane In A Beautiful World. The new record marks Taylor’s first solo full-length since his 2021 release, Outsider, and continues a solo catalog dating back to 1977.

The Themes Behind the Record

While not a traditional concept album, the release carries a distinct central message. Taylor explained the meaning behind the title and the songs in a statement, noting the juxtaposition between global conflict and the planet’s actual state.

“There is a theme, you know, it’s in the title really, what a beautiful world we live in, don’t fuck it up,” Taylor shared. “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 fucking up the world, plastics in the sea, you know, and all these awful wars everywhere and hatred born of different religions.”

Despite the stark subject matter, Taylor emphasizes that the album remains hopeful at its core. “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 underlying theme,” he said.

Collaborations and Tracklist

The album was first previewed with the single “Come On Summer (It’s Party Time),” which features South Africa’s The Ndlovu Youth Choir from Limpopo. The choir gained widespread attention following their Zulu-language translation of the Queen classic “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

Alongside original tracks written, produced, sung, and performed entirely by Taylor, the project also includes a cover of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy.” Speaking on the track “I See You Now,” Taylor revealed its personal inspiration: “It’s a love song, it’s really about my wife. We’ve been together for quite some time, and I think when you really get to know someone, at first you really don’t see everything about them, but when you really get to know someone, it’s ‘oh, I see you now, that’s it.’”

The full 10-song tracklist for Violence Insane In A Beautiful World features: