Operation Fucking Mindcrime

Listening to Blaze last night reminded me of this under-appreciated gem of heavy metal. The albums are nothing alike, but I got them around the same time and have nearly memorized both.

Despite their use of the umlaut, Queensryche is an American heavy-metal band hailing from the Seattle area (fuck grunge right?). Fronted by one of the most powerful voices in heavy metal, Geoff Tate, and backed by solid NWOBHM influenced musicans, they are easily one of my favorite bands. If I had to sum up their sound, I'd put them somewhere on the spectrum between Maiden/Judas Priest and the more progressive Pink Floyd (more towards the former though).

This album far surpasses anything else they have ever released. Why "Silent Lucidity" is arguably their most "famous" song blows my mind. "Operation Mindcrime" is an epic concept album basically about a man who joins some sort of conspiracy violently end the corruption that has taken hold of society. You have to listen to each song in order, because each track builds off the last and there is dialogue in between that advances the plot.

They've released a sequel to this album (obvioulsy not as good as the classic though), so if you want to "see what happens next" I guess you could check that out. But seriously, give this shit a listen, it is incredible. You can listen to this album hundreds of times and pick up new things every time. It truly is a classic.

Can you hear the Revolution Calling?