Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche-тің концептуалдық альбомы

the album

Operation: Mindcrime is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Queensrÿche. Originally released on May 3, 1988, the album was reissued on May 6, 2003, with two bonus tracks, and again in 2006 as a deluxe box set. Operation: Mindcrime is a concept album and a rock opera. Its story follows Nikki, a drug addict who becomes disillusioned with the corrupt society of his time and reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". Operation: Mindcrime was Queensrÿche's breakthrough album, reaching number 50 on the Billboard 200 while its singles "Eyes of a Stranger" and "I Don't Believe in Love" served as the band's first charting hits in the United States. The album was certified by the RIAA as gold in early 1989, and was certified as platinum two years later. A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006.

Operation: Mindcrime took almost two years to produce, with pre production beginning as early as the spring of 1987. The album was recorded digitally on a Sony 24 track digital tape machine, and was also mixed and mastered in the digital format. The band shot a one off promotional video in 1988 for the song "Speak" using performance footage. It did not include a dramatization of any of the story's concepts. During the tour promoting the 1990 album Empire, Operation: Mindcrime was performed in its entirety. The stage show featured video, animation and guest singer Pamela Moore as Sister Mary. A recording was released as Operation: Livecrime. The story was initially explored in a series of video clips for MTV in the 1989 VHS video, Video: Mindcrime. In 2006, Operation: Mindcrime was re released as a deluxe box set, containing the 2003 remaster, a live CD with the album played in its entirety at the Hammersmith Odeon on November 15, 1990, and a bonus DVD containing the 1989 Video: Mindcrime and bonus clips.

The idea for the album came to Geoff Tate after moving to Montreal, Canada, and listening to the loose talk of members of the militant Quebec separatist movement who had grown friendly with him, some of whom were in organizations which engaged in bombing and terrorism. He also incorporated some of his memories of friends who had become derelicts due to heavy drug use. While working on the basic storyline behind the album, Tate had to convince the rest of his bandmates on a one on one basis. Chris DeGarmo soon shared his enthusiasm for the project and the rest of the band eventually became interested.

A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006, with Ronnie James Dio taking over the role of Dr. X. The subsequent tour consisted of the band performing both Operation: Mindcrime and its sequel in their entirety, back to back, with actors, props, an elaborate stage set, and a video screen. The live act from that tour also portrayed Mary's death clearly for the first time. It was later released on the 2007 DVD Mindcrime at the Moore, which included a recording of Dio's only live performance of "The Chase".