Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime II
Rhino
Conceptual Hard Rock / Metal
17 songs (59'08)
Release year: 2006
Queensryche, Rhino
Reviewed by Marty
Major event
Depending on how you look at it, following up one of your most revered and successful albums with a sequel could be a good thing or a very bad idea. Operation Mindcrime may not have been Queensryche's best selling album (Empire topped it), but it was an album that saw the band produce a landmark concept album that rivals even some of the best in history. Based on a story about a junkie who gets involved with an underground movement and through mind control, becomes an assassin to kill key political and religious leaders. The whole album is a look back at the events that lead to the arrest and detainment of the main character (Nikki). The music was both heavier than much of what they had done before but it also was oozing with passion and desperation as lead vocalist Geoff Tate brought Nikki to life. When the idea of doing a sequel was first mentioned in the press last year, it was a dream come true for the die hard fans as many have been screaming for a sequel ever since Operation Mindcrime's initial release. Many had always felt that there were holes or unanswered questions after the first Mindcrime album and recently, Geoff Tate stated that he felt the same way when looking back at the story that he wrote for the album. Sceptics questioned how they could do it without Chris DeGarmo who was the principle songwriter for the band and for the original Mindcrime album. Others saw it as either a cash grab or a last ditch attempt to resurrect the band's popularity as sales of the last few albums haven't been all that great. Members of the band were very tight-lipped about this album during the writing and recording process and it was very clear that the pressure was on to do the best album that they could in order to uphold the legacy of the first Mindcrime album. Well, some 18 years later after the original Operation Mindcrime was released, we finally get the sequel, Operation Mindcrime II.

The album begins with an ominous orchestrated intro that leads into a short piece where you hear a prison guard releasing Nikki from jail after serving 18 years in a federal penitentiary. The first real song, I'm American is a very fast and aggressive song that has a great catchy chorus and has the vibe and feel of the original album. They haven't written a song like this in many years and it reminds me of The Needle Lies with some classic Queensryche harmony guitar leads. For those of you who saw them live last year, this track was part of their set. Lyrically and for the storyline, Nikki gets released from jail and is bent on revenge against Dr. X, the mastermind behind all mind control killings and who Nikki also holds responsible for the death of Mary, a prostitute who had her life turned around by the church, only to be abused and later killed some 18 years ago. The next series of tracks, One Foot In Hell, Hostage and The Hands sees Nikki beginning to reflect on his times with Mary and fuelling his revenge for the evil Dr. X and apparently willing to pay any price for it. One Foot In Hell uses some abstract chording structures but has a solid melodic chorus and Hostage, with it's mix of clean and heavy guitar and atmopsheric harmonic interludes, really captures the essence of the classic Mindcrime feel. The Hands sounds more like a track from the Empire album with it's melodic structure and backing voices but the chiming clean guitars add great atmosphere. In this case, the "hands" are the memories of Mary and her subconsciously trying to prevent him from doing anything that he would regret. Speed Of Light has a nice melody and backing vocals but with a guitar chord structure that sounds very much like Led Zeppelin's Kashmir.

Things take a little bit of a turn with Signs Say Go, an aggressive and more modern sounding track that uses a very distorted guitar mix and is the point in the story where Nikki goes over the edge and makes the life-altering decision to seek revenge on Dr. X. Re-arrange You gets a little more operatic and orchestrated and provides more buildup for the final confrontation. With The Chase, Nikki comes face to face with Dr. X who is played by none other than Ronnie James Dio. The vocal trade-off between him and Geoff Tate are great and it all leads into the track A Murderer? where Nikki tries to justify to himself and to his conscience what he did to Dr. X. This leads into Circles where Nikki wanders the streets feeling guilty about what he's done. Complete with eerie chordal guitar sounds, Nikki begins to become suicidal.

Up to this point, except for several tracks, most of the songs were in fact "songs" and not just pieces of the story that were put to music. From this point in the album onward, the album becomes more operatic and melodramatic with Nikki battling his memories of Mary (once again played by Pamela Moore) who invades his thoughts. If I Could Change It All and An Intentional Confrontation sees the re-appearance of Mary with the latter being a verbal sparring between Nikki and Mary who tells him that he may as well kill himself unless he changes the course of his life and where he's headed. A Junkie's Blues sees Nikki wandering the streets and complete with eerie droning guitar sounds becomes a soliloquy for the main character. Fear City Slide sees Nikki with a gun in his hand ready to do himself in but in a constant battle with his subconscious memories of Mary. The final track, All The Promises brings the realization that the fond memories that he and Mary had together are the only things that bring him true happiness and not trying to sleep his life away or mask it with drugs. And so the story ends.......

Some of this album I liked right away with other aspects taking more time to grasp. The original Mindcrime album was the same way for me. It takes time to get into the album and to properly "discover" it. The album packaging (at least the front and back covers) practically duplicates all the graphics from the original album with lots of the Mindcrime skulls seen all through the booklet from walls to tattoos on Nikki's arm. Lots of pictures and images that relate to the story are found throughout the booklet as well as an ominous photo of Mary with a U.S. flag draped around her head and body in the form of a nun's uniform on the insert. Without the complete package and all the imagery and lyrics, it's hard to get the total experience of this album as for the most part, the first half is very individual song oriented whereas the last half becomes more crucial to the storyline and is less song oriented. I like the album very much but I feel that it needs a few more solid tracks for the last half of the album and they certainly could've picked a better finishing track. It goes out on a whimper instead of a bang like Eyes Of A Stranger did for the original Mindcrime. Is Chris DeGarmo missed? It's really hard to tell. Considering that he contributed a few tracks to the Tribe album and it was still not very well received (I personally like the album), it may not have made that much difference at all. When the first Mindcrime album came out, the whole band was in a certain mindset due to litigation proceedings against former management that prevented them from recording and releasing anything. The anger and frustration with the "system" came out in the form of Operation Mindcrime. Even with Chris DeGarmo contributing, it would be hard to get into that mindset again. All in all, aside from a muddied guitar sound for most of the album and a lack of solid songs for the last half, this is a pretty solid effort and one that will likely be considered to be their best since either Empire or Promised Land. There are plans to take the whole Mindcrime package out on tour and play both parts in their entirety and I'm sure plans are also underway for a DVD to come out of all this. If trying to jump-start their popularity was even a small part of the motivation for doing this sequel, it may just work as there's quite a buzz around now about Queensryche and this new album.

Killing Songs :
I'm American, Hostage, The Hands, Re-Arrange You and The Chase
Marty quoted 80 / 100
Ken quoted 85 / 100
Other albums by Queensryche that we have reviewed:
Queensryche - The Verdict reviewed by Joel and quoted 93 / 100
Queensryche - Condition Human reviewed by Joel and quoted 92 / 100
Queensryche - Queensryche Live from Waukesha, Wisconsin USA reviewed by Joel and quoted
Queensryche - Queensrÿche (2013 LP) reviewed by Andy and quoted 89 / 100
Queensryche - Dedicated To Chaos reviewed by Erik and quoted 31 / 100
To see all 13 reviews click here
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