Metal Reviews

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This has, if anything, gotten worse upon repeated listens. Some good songs like The Hands and the Chase, but a dissapointment.

Most people seem to be dissapointed by this.

It's better than anything they've released since Empire, but that's not saying much. I tried and tried to get into this album, but it's not gonna happen.

Ok i'm just gonna pretend this album never existed.

Yes. This sucks.

Great album! It gets better when you read along with the lyrics and start following the story. I still dislike "Speed Of Light," and I think it sort of fizzles at the end, though it's not a bad song, it's just not a good closer. "Re-Arrange You" is awesome!

I love this album.

I'm getting this just for the hell of it.I want to see for myself if this is worth it or not.

I'll just wait for that DVD that will most likely come out.

Of course, and a double live CD. It will ingeniously be titled Operation LIVEcrime I (Again) & II

Double the Crime, Double the LIVE.

Yikes, I'm batting .000 today.

ZING! :roll:

Im not writing it off just yet, but upon finishing my third time through on the way to work this morning, im really not that into it.

1. The story doesnt flow like the first album
2. Pamela Moores vocals are no where as good as they used to be
3. they needed to have at least one longer track like Suite Sister Mary
4. there were no real 'Killer' songs, Im American can suffice as the single, but there really arent any others that stand out
5. Ronnie James Dios (Dr. X) part was almost pointless
6. allot of the lyrics bug me and seem badly written
7. there arent that many nice melody lines during the course of the album
8. where are all the cool interludes linking each song?
9. there should have been more interpolation of music from the original (I could only pick one section near the end, cant remember the song right now)
10. If anything this album sounds more like Hear in the Now Frontier and the idea behind O:M were thrown in a blender.
Id have to disagree that its 'Heavy', its as heavy as Tribe, no more. Its not nearly as good as Promised Land, the better songs (Right Side of My Mind, Sp00l, Sign of the Times, Breakdown, Some People Fly, Hit the Black, Liquid Sky, Sacred Ground) from Hear in the Now Frontier and Q2K are better than everything on O:M2.
In fact, if I werent told that this was O:M2 and listened to it, I wouldnt even know it was supposed to be O:M2, I dont think its been linked to the original very well (perhaps that on purpose and in which case its good) and thankfully the original can still survive on its own merits and not become sub par (like the Matrix did, once the sequels were released). I was hoping that this would get better with repeated listens, and hopefully over the next few months itll ripen.

Sure it does, it's just that the subject matter is different and more introspective. This album is about Nikki getting out of prison after 18 years and being lost, basically. He's angry and wants revenge, he kills Dr. X at the end of "A Murderer?" and after that he feels he has nothing to live for, contemplates suicide, whether he kills himself or not is up for debate.

The big difference here, though, is that the story, like I said, is just about a man basically coming to grips with his life, what he lost. There's no mystery to it, there's conspiracy, there's no big, interwoven storyline. The mystique is gone. Is that a bad thing? No, I don't think so. I think it depends on what you wanted out of it. You knew what the story was going to be on this one, so you can't expect a storyline like the first. I think for what it is the storyline is very good, and very well written and thought out.


I agree. I think she's still good, but I find her to sound older and not as clear and strong. Still good, though.


I think they could have combined "The Chase," "A Murderer?," "Circle" and "An Internation Conspiracy" and that would served this purpose.


No? I think "Signs Say Go," "Re-Arrange You," and "A Murderer?" are definitely killer songs.


How? That was when Nikki came face to face with him. Seems like it makes sense to me.


See above.


There are tons! "Re-Arrange You" has one of the best hooks the band has ever recorded! :shock:


I would have like to have heard this, too, but again, I think it comes back to the story line being more of Nikki reflecting back on himself. That's the story, basically. They definitely could have put in some nice interludes like on the original, but I don't feel it was necessary. Definitely would have been nice, though. "Convict" isn't enough.


"The Hands" is the same chords as "Breaking The Silence" and is played in a similar way to "Revolution Calling." And the end of "A Junkie's Blues" is like the end of "Anarchy X." More would have been nice, of course.


It does sound like the newer stuff with only hints to the older stuff. The beginning of "One Foot In Hell" reminds me of the beginning of "Hit The Black." I definitely think it's better than Tribe and Q2K, and sure, that's not saying much, but I actually find it to be much better. It took me a good while to really enjoy the album completely. "Speed Of Light" sucks, the only cool part is the part at the very end where they used the vocal lines from "An International Conspiracy."


Go see them perform both albums back to back, maybe it'll open you up to the album a little more?

I havent read the lyrics along with the album so from a stand point of just listening to it, it doesnt seem to flow as well, perhaps its more Tates vocal delivery and the mix, I just cant really understand him at times.
I agree that Signs Say Go is a top song, but the other 2 didnt really do anything for me thus far.
Im not saying that the Dr.X part was pointless, but having Ronnie in there didnt really add much, in fact the first time I listened to it, i almost missed him completely, perhaps under utilised would have been better phrasing, I thought thered be some killer vocal 'dualling' going on.
With the lyics, I agree they serve there purpose, but this is all music, allot of the lines just sound like spoken words, but sung. I know that doesnt make allot of sense but music lyrics are meant to be more 'musical'.
I cant say I agree with the Melodies, yeah some are nice but to my ears they are boring. Nikkis meant to be on the edge, Tates delivery wasnt nearly as passionate as it should have been.
The whole reason Nikki is reflecting is because of his actions. How about flash backs of things going on in prison, or when hes refelcting about Mary, how cool would it to have heard the car window go down and the 'Kill her, shes a risk, and kill the preist as well' line again, reflecting on the life that he now has because of Dr. X.
And finally Id love to see them live but theyll never come to Australia unless somehow they sell 500000 copies of O:M2 here
Im planning on travelling back to England and to the States for a few weeks at the end of the year, maybe Ill get lucky. Or else, ill have to wait for the live DVD :(

Seems like this thread is a more convincing review than the review itself.

Verdict : it sucks, download only if you must.

I think this album is a real grower. I did not care for it much at all until about the 4th or 5th spin, then I started to like it quite a bit. Sure, it's no where near as good as the original or even Empire for that matter but much better and heavier than anything they have released since IMO. Re-arrange You, A Murderer, Hostage, and The Hands are really good songs. I agree with Marty's quote, low 80's is about where I would rate it as well. It surpassed my expectations, but then again they were not that high to begin with.

Listened to it a couple times and it's alright. The original is one of my favorite albums so this is kinda disappointing but it's not terrible.

The story is pretty bad this time around, with crappy lyrics. For the first half, Nikki wanders around thinking of the story of the first album. He kills Dr. X. Then he wanders around contemplating the morality of that action and suicide for the next half. Thats what I call a pretty bad story.

I don't care what anyone says, great album, and even if it weren't, it's still OPERATION MINDCRIME II and should be bought at all costs! Even if you don't like the music. But I do like the music. And Dio works great along with Geoff.