QUEENSRŸCHE — Operation: Mindcrime (review)

QUEENSRŸCHE — Operation: Mindcrime album cover Album · 1988 · Progressive Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Warthur
After the rather transitional and forgettable Rage For Order, Queensryche went the full-on concept album route with Operation: Mindcrime, which is much-acclaimed in progressive metal circles but in its earlier CD versions fell rather flat with me. I can find that on the 2003 remaster (and with speakers/headphones with better bass) I can better appreciate some aspects of the music, particularly Eddie Jackson's bass playing, which manages to be progressive and complex without being flashy or stealing the scene.

Like Pink Floyd's The Wall, the band weave in sound effects and snippets of dialogue at points to create the impression of a narrative, but it's best not to try and concentrate on it too much and concentrate on the music. This rather more straight-ahead fare than the band's self-titled EP or The Warning, but there's some undeniably catchy stuff on here.

That said, I still think an issue with this album is that it's one of the first metal concept albums to have taken advantage of the longer running times available on CDs, which made it possible to produce longer albums without going to the expense of making a double album. In this instance, I feel like some of the album ends up being a bit slack. Had this been a 40-minute album, perhaps it could have sustained my interest better, but as it is the ideas presented seem rather thin on the ground (and the political angle to the story is really quite laughable, on the level of a bad Steven Seagal movie). I think I get the appeal of this one more than I used to (and have revised my rating up accordingly), but I don't think it quite deserves the classic status often attributed to it.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
jose carlos wrote:
more than 2 years ago
?????????SURE???????
Warthur wrote:
more than 2 years ago
We should form a support group. :)
The Angry Scotsman wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Glad to see I'm not the only who's not really a fan of this album! I don't dislike it at all but I never felt "it" can't say I ever got any real enjoyment from thus album, which is on everyone's 5 star list and a classic! Good not to feel alone lol
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Definitely my favorite by Queensrÿche too. The appeal to me is the extremely well written songs and of course Geoff´s vocal performance. Never heard better IMO.
J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
WOW! I think this album is a 5-star masterpiece, but it's always interesting to read the opposite point of view. Nice short and concise review as always :-)

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The First Breath Is The Beginning Of Death Sludge Metal
IDIOT CHILD
Buy this album from MMA partners
Morbid Curiosities Sludge Metal
LUURCH
Buy this album from MMA partners
Asbestos Tiles Hardcore Punk
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Lysergic Ritual Sludge Metal
SUNDOWNER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Terra Preta Sludge Metal
TITANOBOA
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 1 day ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 1 day ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 2 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed