Artist: Queensrÿche
Label: Rhino Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 2.5/5
Queensryche are putting out a sequel to the first part. The concept story is supposedly finally going to unravel. Nikki gets out of prison and sits holed up in his room, drowning in guilt over the murder of the nun Sister Mary. How will Nikki atone for all his sins? Will Dr.X destroy him, will the astral vision of Sister Mary save him, or is it all just another bad dream? Well, let’s not give away everything just yet…
Truth is, the story isn’t really what interests us most. What we want to know is what Queensryche have to offer musically. The “intro” itself is an immediate recap of the opening of the first part, Operation: Mindcrime, which is welcome, since the listener can start making sense of the two halves as one whole right away. What happens next is actually the expected move. Queensryche have dusted off their old vinyls and dragged out the triad harmonies from the not-so-distant glory days of their “empire”. They’ve worked those into their modern-leaning, grimy, grooved-out (seriously heavy!) riff sound, where the drums long ago lost that familiar “splashy” depth that adorned the old Queensryche sound, and on the new record they too are wearing “garage-band” clothes.
Queensryche haven’t been a metal band in the classic sense of the word for a long time now, and you just have to make peace with that. The bad luck for them is that they’re being listened to by a metal crowd, which has been very critical of Queensryche on every post-“Promised Land” album. Still, the second part of “Operation: Mindcrime” has exceeded expectations. It could have been a proper musical horror show again, but instead we got an acceptable “crossover” album. Queensryche have traded the angry defiance and arrogance of the first part for the despair and fatalism that the second part now carries. You can walk away from what you’ve heard feeling calmer — there’s no full satisfaction, but at least calmer.. The “two” is light years away from the “one”, but it’s also light years away from its sad-sounding predecessors “Q2K” (1999) and “Tribe” (2003). All that’s left is a bit of friendly advice. The album deserves a chance because it’s thoroughly solid and carries a real rock charge, you just can’t compare it to any other Queensryche album while listening!
Lineup
Geoff Tate – vocals
Michael Wilton – guitar
Mike Stone – guitar
Eddie Jackson – bass
Scott Rockenfield – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Ronnie James Dio “Dr. X” – vocals
Pamela Moore “Sister Mary” – vocals
Production
Queensryche & Jason Slater
Tracklist
1. Freiheit Ouverture
2. Convict
3. I’m American
4. One Foot In Hell
5. Hostage
6. Hands
7. Speed Of Light
8. Signs Say Go
9. Rearrange You
10. The Chase
11. Murderer
12. Circles
13. If I Could Change It All
14. An Intentional Confrontation
15. Junkie’s Blues
16. Fear City Slide
17. All The Promises
Album length: 59:02
