"We had the desire to create something extraordinary. And we did." Queen announce remixed, remastered and expanded Queen II Collector’s Edition

Queen circa Queen II — (Image credit: Mick Rock)

Queen have announced details of a remixed, remastered and expanded 'collectors edition' version of their second album, Queen II.

Commonly regarded as the band's heaviest album, Queen II was recorded at Soho’s Trident Studios with Roy Thomas Baker, and originally released on March 8, 1974. The album peaked at number 5 in the UK, and at number 49 on the Billboard 200.

"Queen II was the single biggest leap we ever made," says Brian May. "That's when we really started making music the way we wanted to, rather than the way we were being pushed into recording it."

"With Queen II, I couldn’t believe how much work we put into it," adds Roger Taylor. "I think we felt we were evolving our own sound. We were pioneering this sort of multitracking thing. It gave you a tremendous pallet, massive choral effects with just three of us singing."

The 2026 edition of the album will be released as a lavish 5 CD plus 2LP box set, featuring intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the recording studio, previously unheard outtakes and demos, live tracks and BBC radio sessions.

Of particular interest to die-hard fans is the 'Sessions' CD, presenting a completely different and 100% previously unreleased version of every song from the album in the form of outtakes from the original Trident sessions, complete with false starts, guide vocals, the odd mistake, and some fabulous studio banter between the four band members.

The box set also comes with a 112-page book featuring previously unseen photographs, handwritten lyrics, diary entries, and special memorabilia, as well as memories of writing and recording the album from the band members.

The album will also be available as a two CD Deluxe Edition, Vinyl LP, Vinyl Picture Disc LP, CD and cassette formats, all featuring a brand new 2026 mix.

"This new stereo mix is quite adventurous," says Brian May, "and, rendering the impossible complexity of these tracks, the new clarity is astounding. Because of the work of our sound team, this ancient work from when we were still just learning how to reach for the stars, opens up a new world to many who care about these arcane dreams as much as we do."

Queen II box set — (Image credit: Queen)

"When Queen II came out a lot of people thought we’d forsaken rock music," May reflects. "They said, 'Why don’t you play things like Liar and Keep Yourself Alive?' All we could say was, give it another listen, it’s there, but it’s all layered, it’s a new approach. Nowadays people say, ‘Why don’t you play like Queen II?’ I like the album a lot. It’s not perfect, it has the imperfections and excesses of youth, but I think that was our biggest single step ever."

"We're going from a band that is hardly allowed in the studio, except for a few kind of hours in dead time, to a band that actually has studio time. We can indulge ourselves. We can experiment, and we do make a giant leap with painting pictures on the canvas of the tapes on Queen II."

"I don’t think the album sounds like anyone else," says Roger Taylor. "We gained a mental identity, a group identity and we were just doing what we did."

To pre-order the album and see the full track-list, go here.

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.

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