Operation: Mindcrime

This article is about the album. For the band featuring former Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate, see Operation: Mindcrime (band).
Operation: Mindcrime
Studio album by Queensrÿche
Released May 3, 1988
Recorded Kajem/Victory Studios, Gladwyne, PA
Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada
1987–1988
Genre Heavy metal, progressive metal
Length 59:14[1]
Label EMI America
Producer Peter Collins
Queensrÿche chronology
Rage for Order
(1986)		 Operation: Mindcrime
(1988)		 Empire
(1990)
Singles from Operation: Mindcrime
  1. "Eyes of a Stranger" / "Queen of the Reich"
    Released: April 1988
  2. "Revolution Calling"
    Released: 1988
  3. "I Don't Believe in Love" / "The Needle Lies"
    Released: 1989
Music sample
"I Don't Believe in Love"
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Martin Popoff(9/10)[3]
Metal Forces(9.5/10)[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[5]

Operation: Mindcrime is the third studio album by the American progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche, released on May 3, 1988. The album was re-released on 6 May 2003 with two bonus tracks, and in 2006 as a deluxe box set.

A concept album and a rock opera, its story follows Nikki, a recovering 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.[6] In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[7]

The album was certified by the RIAA as 'gold' a year after its release, and it was certified as 'platinum' in 1991.[8] A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006.

Overview

In the United States, the album was certified Gold a year after its release, and certified Platinum in 1991.[8]

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.

The song "I Don't Believe in Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 in the category "Best Metal Performance".[9]

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.

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".

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 15 November 1990, and a bonus DVD containing the 1989 Video: Mindcrime and bonus clips.

Story

The album begins with the protagonist, Nikki, in a hospital. He lies in a near catatonic state, unable to remember anything but snippets from his past. Suddenly, Nikki's memories come flooding back in a torrent. He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society due to the economic inequality, corruption, and hypocrisy around him, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution. At the head of this organization is a mysterious political and religious demagogue known only as Dr. X, who manipulates Nikki through a combination of his heroin addiction and brainwashing techniques to become an assassin.

Whenever Dr. X uses the word "mindcrime", Nikki becomes his docile puppet, a state which Dr. X uses to command Nikki to undertake any murder that the Doctor wishes. Through one of Dr. X's probable associates, a corrupt priest named Father William, Nikki is offered the services of a prostitute-turned-nun named Sister Mary. Through his friendship and growing affection toward Sister Mary, Nikki begins to question the nature of what he is doing, seeing that Dr. X has his own nefarious agenda. Dr. X takes notice and, seeing a potential threat in Mary to his cult of personality, orders Nikki to kill both her and the priest. Nikki goes to Mary's church and kills the priest, but, after confronting Mary, he fails to comply with the command to murder her. He and Mary decide to leave the organization together, and Nikki goes to Dr. X to tell him that they are out. Dr. X, however, reminds Nikki that he is an addict, and that he is the one who can provide him with his daily fix. Nikki leaves, conflicted and uncertain, and he returns to Mary only to find her dead.

Nikki cannot cope with the loss, as well as the possibility that he himself may have killed her without knowing it (it was later revealed on the Mindcrime at the Moore DVD that Mary killed herself after Dr. X threatened to kill Nikki[10]), and he begins to succumb to insanity. He runs through the streets calling her name. The police arrive and attempt to subdue him. A gun is found on Nikki, and they take him into custody under suspicion of Mary's murder and the murders he committed for Dr. X. Suffering from an almost complete loss of memory, Nikki is put into a mental hospital, where he sees a news report on the recent spree of political homicides. This jogs his memory and returns us to the beginning where he remembers what has happened and begins to tell his story.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Remember Now"  Chris DeGarmo, Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton1:17
2."Anarchy—X"  DeGarmo1:27
3."Revolution Calling"  Tate, Wilton4:42
4."Operation: Mindcrime"  DeGarmo, Tate, Wilton4:43
5."Speak"  Tate, Wilton3:42
6."Spreading the Disease"  Tate, Wilton4:07
7."The Mission"  DeGarmo5:45
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Suite Sister Mary"  DeGarmo, Tate10:41
9."The Needle Lies"  Tate, Wilton3:08
10."Electric Requiem"  Scott Rockenfield, Tate1:22
11."Breaking the Silence"  DeGarmo, Tate4:34
12."I Don't Believe in Love"  DeGarmo, Tate4:23
13."Waiting for 22"  DeGarmo1:05
14."My Empty Room"  Tate, Wilton1:25
15."Eyes of a Stranger"  DeGarmo, Tate6:39

Personnel

Band members

Cast

Production

Charts

Album
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Swiss Albums Chart[11] 21
Swedish Albums Chart[12] 25
Dutch Albums Chart[13] 29
German Albums Chart[14] 40
Billboard 200 (USA)[15] 50
UK Albums Chart[16] 58
Oricon Japanese Albums Charts[17] 64
RPM100 Albums (Canada)[18] 75
Singles
Year Title Chart Peak
position
1989 "Eyes of a Stranger" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 35
UK Singles Chart[20] 59
"I Don't Believe in Love" Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 41

Certifications

Country Organization Year Sales
USA RIAA 1991 Platinum (+ 1,000,000)[8]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Kerrang! UK Album of the Year[5] 1988 2
Sounds UK Album of the Year[5] 1988 26
Kerrang! UK The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time[7] 1989 34
Kerrang! UK The Kerrang! 100 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[5] 1998 70
Terrorizer UK The 100 Most Important Albums of the 80s[5] 2000 No order
Classic Rock UK The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time[5] 2001 42
Rolling Stone Germany The 500 Best Albums of All Time[5] 2004 398

References

  1. ↑ CD with EAN 077774864022, time given without pregap.
  2. ↑ Huey, Steve. "Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  3. ↑ Popoff, Martin (1 November 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. ISBN 978-1894959315.
  4. ↑ Doe, Bernard (1988). "Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime". Metal Forces (28). Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  6. ↑ "Reply Declaration of Geoff Tate in Further Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction" (PDF). court declaration. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  7. 1 2 Wilding, Phil (21 January 1989). "Queensrÿche 'Operation: Mindcrime'". Kerrang!. 222. London, UK: Spotlight Publications Ltd.
  8. 1 2 3 RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Queensryche. Retrieved on 2013-02-15.
  9. ↑ MacDonald, Patrick (January 12, 1990). "Soundgarden Nomination: The Growth of Local Rock". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
  10. ↑ Mindcrime at the Moore
  11. ↑ "Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime". Hitparade.ch (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  12. ↑ "Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (Album)". Swedishcharts.com. Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  13. ↑ "Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime (Album)". GfK Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  14. ↑ "Album – Queensrÿche, Operation: Mindcrime". Charts.de (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  15. ↑ "Operation: MIndcrime Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  16. ↑ "Operation: MIndcrime Chart Stats". Chart Stats.com. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  17. ↑ クイーンズライク - クイーンズライクのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
  18. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 48, No. 8, June 11, 1988". Library and Archives Canada. 11 June 1988. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  19. 1 2 "Operation: MIndcrime Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  20. ↑ "The Official Charts Company - Eyes Of A Stranger by Queensryche Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
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