Operation: Mindcrime II

Performer: Queensrÿche
Engineer: Jason Slater
Producer: Jason Slater; Jason Slater
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: Miranda Tate, Geoff Tate, Pamela Moore, Ronnie James Dio (vocals). Audio Mixer: Jason Slater. Recording information: Synergy Studios, Redmond; The Annex, Menlo Park; The Compound, Seattle, WA. Jet City pomp-metallers Queensryche left their denim-jacketed fanbase hanging for close to two decades following the release of 1988's OPERATION: MINDCRIME, a sociopolitical concept album, and the subsequent chart success of its 1990 follow-up, EMPIRE. Frontman Geoff Tate (credited here as "Leader") returns to finish the tale as if the 1990s never happened, offering up a brace of unadulterated '80s metal that, miraculously, sounds in step with where the band left off and at the same time, given early-2000s nostalgia trends, seems ahead of the curve. Caught between the epic arena-prog of Rush and the grungy grit of Alice in Chains, Tate infuses OPERATION: MINDCRIME II with a passion and craftsmanship that virtually all his former peers have abandoned, leading the charge to bring his own music back to public adoration. To wit, "An Intentional Confrontation" borrows heavily from Roy Thomas Baker's work with Queen, "Murderer?" storms with the fire of a hair-metal Nine Inch Nails, and "I'm American" reaffirms Queensryche's blustery roots. All in all, OPERATION: MINDCRIME II is an excellent, if unexpected, return to form.

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.47) - "[T]his most intelligent and inventive of '80s metal albums seems more apposite than ever..."

Formed in the early 1980s, Queensryche started their career sounding much like a junior version of Iron Maiden or Judas Priest. However, by the mid-'80s, the Seattle-based metal band had begun to form its own musical identity, culminating in 1988's OPERATION: MINDCRIME, a sprawling cinematic concept album that received widespread acclaim and led to international success. The group's follow-up, EMPIRE, featured catchy melodies and more straightforward songwriting, showcasing the vocals of frontman Geoff Tate and leading to an even wider audience, thanks in no little part to the unlikely top 10 hit lullaby "Silent Lucidity." In the late 1990s, Queensryche experienced a bit of a slump, largely due the departure of founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo, but in 2003, DeGarmo returned to record TRIBE.

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