SAMPLE IDENTIFICATION

Artist: Queensrÿche
Album: Operation: Mindcrime
Release Year: 1988
Country: United States
Label: EMI
Studio Album No.: 3
Genre(s): Progressive Metal / Power Metal
Tracklist:
1. I Remember Now- 01:18
2. Anarchy-X – 01:27
3. Revolution Calling – 04:40
4. Operation: Mindcrime- 04:45
5. Speak – 03:43
6. Spreading the Disease – 04:07
7. The Mission – 05:48
8. Suite Sister Mary – 10:40
9. The Needle Lies – 03:09
10. Electric Requiem – 01:23
11. Breaking the Silence – 04:34
12. I Don’t Believe in Love – 04:23
13. Waiting for 22- 01:06
14. My Empty Room – 01:32
15. Eyes of a Stranger – 06:39
Total: 59:14

BACKGROUND

At a period of time when heavy metal was stagnating and a major resurgence was necessary, when glam and hair metal was at its peak, right between thrash metal’s decline and death metal’s increasing momentum, before there was even fucking Dream Theater, Queensrÿche reigned supreme in the “progressive metal” department. Barely. The bar was low in 1988. Storybook concept albums from heavy metal bands weren’t common yet, and edgy Big Bad Government allegories outside of a punk or thrash context was a fresh enough perspective to resonate with pop-metal sensibilities. Needless to say, Operation: Mindcrime is a fan favorite and is still regarded positively over 30 years later. It was Queensrÿche’s breakthrough album and lead to even higher success with their next two records Empire and Promised Land.

METALLURGICAL EVALUATION

Oof. I’ve always felt a little dumb when listening to Queensrÿche. Geoff Tate’s voice is operatically high-pitched and melodramatic, which works better if your power metal band either a) has a sense of humor, or b) has a kernel of self-awareness, and I never believe for a second that Queensrÿche has either. Music like this BEGS to be taken less seriously, and if the whole package contains mad scientists, prostitute-turned-nuns, heroin abuse, secret organizations, corrupt government agendas, hired assassins, a love story, and it’s presented in the way Operation: Mindcrime is presented, I’m sorry, it’s going to be hard to stop feeling a little dumb when listening to it.

This is why I find the widespread acclaim perplexing, and why I need to try putting on my metalhead hat while listening to this if I have any chance of enjoying it. Critics praised Tate’s voice, the complex story, and the unusual song structures. I already bitched about Tate’s voice, but I guess that’s a personal hang-up and I’m alone in finding his singing cheesy. The story is complex, I’ll give them that, but it’s rife with action movie clichés and lack of nuance. I’ll excuse a lot of this, since this is an entirely a musical production anyway and Queensrÿche can hardly be faulted for lack of nuance on their grandiose progressive metal album. Again, though, when Tate sings lines like “Don’t ever trust the needle (it lies!)/Don’t ever trust the needle when it cries!” or “Mary, Mary, just a whore for the underground/They made you pay in guilt for your salvation” with the voice that he chooses to sing with, I feel super dumb by proxy. Like, I’m imagining the 55-year-old guy that still gets really super into this album and the story and is genuinely thinking about how badass it is while he’s listening to it. Like, he’s sitting in his armchair and raising his glass at the crescendos or something. And to think, this could have all been avoided if I had even an inkling that Tate didn’t take himself too seriously every step along the way.

And here’s the kicker: the story was entirely Tate’s idea. He reportedly had to work hard to convince the entire rest of the disinterested band on a one-on-one basis to roll with it. He was finally able to get one guy on his side, and then soon everyone else gave in. That tells me all I need to know about the dynamics of the band’s interpersonal politics. It’s no wonder they ended up kicking Tate the fuck out in the early ’10s.

Figure 1. The Leather Brigade is on a mission for more chest hair oil and beret detergent.

CONCLUSIONS

I’m somewhat familiar with about five Queensrÿche albums and Operation: Mindcrime is probably their best, which I don’t think is a very good defense for the band. I’m going to end on a positive note, because I’ve focused too much on taking the piss out of this album without highlighting the good parts. The pacing and sequencing of the album is well done, and my interest stays for the hour without too much effort. The songs are actual songs! Like, with obvious verses and choruses and melodies and bridges and solos and beginnings and endings. For all I know, Operation: Mindcrime is a collection of stand-alone singles that Tate wrote a narrative around. The good and bad bits have mostly equal weight, so after digesting this album as much as I can stomach I’m hard-pressed to join in on the overwhelming acclaim. This album is very flawed. You need to have heard this album for the first time as a teenager or younger to go all-in with it. If you are a fully grown adult that HASN’T heard Operation: Mindcrime yet and you DO have the emotional intelligence of a teenager, then you’re going to be in for the thrill of your life! There’s guns and drugs and fucking!