Operation: Mindcrime

{{Redirect-distinguish|Mindcrime|thoughtcrime}}

{{About|the album|the band featuring former Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate|Operation: Mindcrime (band)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2017}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Operation: Mindcrime

| type = studio

| artist = Queensrÿche

| cover = Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime cover.jpg

| border = yes

| alt =

| released = May 3, 1988

| recorded = 1987–1988

| studio = Kajem/Victory Studios, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania
Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada

| genre = {{flatlist|

}}

| length = 59:14CD with EAN 077774864022, time given without pregap

| label = EMI Manhattan

| producer = Peter Collins

| prev_title = Rage for Order

| prev_year = 1986

| next_title = Empire

| next_year = 1990

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Operation: Mindcrime

| type = studio

| single1 = Breaking the Silence

| single1date = 1988{{cite AV media notes | others=Queensrÿche | date=1988 | title=Breaking the Silence | type=track listing | publisher=EMI | id=SPRO-04048}}

| single2 = Revolution Calling

| single2date = October 1988Martin C. Strong. The Great Metal Discography. Second ed. Canongate, 2001, p. 27 {{ISBN|978-1841951850}}{{cite AV media notes | others=Queensrÿche | date=1989 | title=Eyes of a Stranger | type=track listing | publisher=EMI | id=CDMT 65}} | single3 = Eyes of a Stranger

| single3date = April 1989{{cite AV media notes | others=Queensrÿche | date=1989 | title=Eyes of a Stranger | type=track listing | publisher=EMI | id=CDMT 65}}

| single4 = I Don't Believe in Love

| single4date = July 1989{{cite AV media notes | others=Queensrÿche | date=1989 | title=I Don't Believe in Love | type=track listing | publisher=EMI | id=4JM-50214}}

}}

{{Audio sample

| type = studio

| file = Queensryche - I Don't Believe In Love.ogg

| description = "I Don't Believe in Love"

}}

}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.metal-archives.com/reviews/Queensr%C3%BFche/Operation%3A_Mindcrime/1692/|title=Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime - Reviews - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives}}{{Cite web|url=https://bravewords.com/news/queensryche-we-will-rock-opera-you|title = QUEENSRYCHE - We Will Rock Opera You}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-12-12-9104210845-story.html|title=Metal Gets Mental|website=Chicago Tribune }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://anybodylistening.net/geofftate2.pdf |title=Reply Declaration of Geoff Tate in Further Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction |publisher=court declaration |date=June 12, 2012 |access-date=December 8, 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".{{cite magazine | last = Wilding | first = Phil | magazine = Kerrang! | title = Queensrÿche 'Operation: Mindcrime' | issue = 222 | publisher = Spotlight Publications Ltd. | date = January 21, 1989 | location = London, UK }}

Operation: Mindcrime was Queensrÿche's breakthrough album, reaching number 50 on the Billboard 200 while its last two singles "Eyes of a Stranger" and "I Don't Believe in Love" served as the band's first charting hits in the United States.{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/queensryche/chart-history/tlp/ |title=Queensrÿche Chart History: Billboard 200 |work=Billboard.com |publisher=Billboard |access-date=May 8, 2018 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/queensryche/chart-history/rtt/ |title=Queensrÿche Chart History: Mainstream Rock |work=Billboard.com |publisher=Billboard |access-date=May 8, 2018 }} The album was certified by the RIAA as gold in early 1989, and was certified as platinum two years later.{{cite web |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=queensryche#search_section |title=RIAA Searchable Database: search for Queensryche |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=January 13, 2017 }} A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006.

Overview

Operation: Mindcrime took almost two years to produce, with pre-production beginning as early as the spring of 1987.{{cite news|url=https://anybodylistening.net/4-24-87.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812072011/https://anybodylistening.net/4-24-87.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-08-12|title=Queensrÿche - April 24, 1987 - Philadelphia, Pa|website=anybodylistening.net|access-date=October 22, 2023}} The album was recorded digitally on a Sony 24-track digital tape machine, and was also mixed and mastered in the digital format.{{cite magazine |title=Chris Degarmo explains "Operation:Mindcrime" in his own words |magazine=Metal Hammer |date=June 6, 1988 |volume=3 |issue=11 |url=http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~bigoleg/queensryche/om/features/om_inhis.html |access-date=May 8, 2018 }}

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.

Inspiration

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.{{cite web|title=Queensryche interview - how we made Operation: Mindcrime|date=March 31, 2020|author=Dave Ling|publisher=Louder|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/queensryche-interview-how-we-made-operation-mindcrime}}{{cite book|title=Classic Rock Revisited Vol. 1:Rock Icons & Metal Gods|author=Jeb Wright|date=December 10, 2011|publisher=Rock N Roll Books|isbn=9780983471615|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJBXDwAAQBAJ&q=Quebec}}

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 ("I Remember Now"). 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 ("Anarchy—X", "Revolution Calling"). 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 ("Operation: Mindcrime").

As his position within Dr. X's organization grows, so does Nikki's ego and adherence to his master's vision of the future ("Speak"). Through one of Dr. X's associates, a corrupt priest named Father William, Nikki is offered the services of a teenage prostitute-turned-nun named Sister Mary ("Spreading the Disease"). 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 ("The Mission"). 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 ("Suite Sister Mary"). He loves Mary and decides to leave the organization with her, so Nikki goes to Dr. X to tell him that they are out. Dr. X, however, reminds Nikki that the alternative is to go back to his bleak life as a self-loathing but helpless addict ("The Needle Lies"). Nikki leaves, conflicted and uncertain, and he returns to Mary only to find her dead ("Electric Requiem").

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){{cite AV media| people = Queensrÿche | date = July 3, 2007 | title = Mindcrime at the Moore | medium = DVD | location = Moore Theatre, Seattle, Washington | publisher = Rhino Entertainment | asin = B000PITXRS}} and he begins to succumb to insanity. He runs through the streets calling her name ("Breaking the Silence"). 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 ("I Don't Believe in Love"). Suffering from an almost complete loss of memory, Nikki is put into a mental hospital, where he retraces in his mind his last moments with Mary ("Waiting for 22", "My Empty Room"). Back in the present in the hospital room at the beginning of the story Nikki has regained his memory, but now stares at his image in a mirror, unable to recognize who he is and what he has become ("Eyes of a Stranger").

Reception

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web | url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/operation-mindcrime-mw0000652301 | title = Operation: Mindcrime - Queensrÿche | access-date = October 22, 2011 | last = Huey | first = Steve | work = AllMusic | publisher = Rovi Corporation}}

| rev2 =Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal

| rev2Score = 9/10{{cite book | last1 = Popoff | first1 = Martin | author-link1 = Martin Popoff | title = The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties | publisher = Collector's Guide Publishing | date = November 1, 2005 | location = Burlington, Ontario, Canada | isbn = 978-1-894959-31-5 | page=275}}

| rev3 = Kerrang!

| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=Queensrÿche 'Operation: Mindcrime' |magazine=Kerrang! |date=May 21, 1988 |last=Oliver |first=Derek |issue=188 |url=http://www.users.totalise.co.uk/~bigoleg/queensryche/om/reviews/k188.html| access-date=May 8, 2018}}

| rev4 = Metal Forces

| rev4score = 9.5/10{{cite magazine | title = Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime | magazine = Metal Forces | year = 1988 | first = Bernard | last = Doe | issue = 28 | url = http://www.metalforcesmagazine.com/site/album-review-queensryche-operation-mindcrime/ | access-date = February 17, 2013}}

| rev5 = Rock Hard (GER)

| rev5score = 9.5/10{{cite magazine |title=Review Album: Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime |magazine=Rock Hard |year=1988 |last=Stratmann |first=Holger |issue=27 |url=https://www.rockhard.de/megazine/reviewarchiv/review-anzeigen.html?tx_rxsearch_pi1%5Breview%5D=6150 |access-date=May 10, 2018 | language =de}}

}}

The album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. Contemporary critics praised the band's musicianship, Geoff Tate's voice, the complex and well-developed storyline and Peter Collins' production. Rock Hard reviewer remarked how Queensrÿche's music featured "clever breaks, unusual song structures and ingenious arrangements", which was "an unmistakable sign that the band (did) not aim to the taste of the masses, but primarily (wanted) to publish intelligent, artistically demanding albums." Derek Oliver of Kerrang! found some flaws only in the apparently incomplete storyline and wondered if the "highly socio-political" topic could "be enough to clinch the continued support of their existing fan base and turn on a whole lot more". Bernard Doe of Metal Forces stated that Operation: Mindcrime "deserves to stand alongside the likes of The Who's Quadrophenia and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for its conceptual brilliance" and lauded Queensrÿche for "injecting new blood into old ideas and stamping their own authority over them."

In 2011, LA Weekly ranked the album at No. 14 on their Top 20 Hair Metal Albums Of All Time calling it "Queensyche's magnum opus" and "a masterpiece".{{Cite news|author=LA Weekly|date=December 9, 2011|title=TOP 20 HAIR METAL ALBUMS OF ALL TIME: THE COMPLETE LIST|work=LA Weekly|url=https://www.laweekly.com/top-20-hair-metal-albums-of-all-time-the-complete-list/|access-date=November 5, 2020}}

Modern reviews are equally positive. AllMusic's Steve Huey was sometimes taken aback by the lyrics and political observations "too serious and intellectual for their own good", but wrote that it is "a testament to Queensrÿche's creativity and talent that they can pull off a project of this magnitude." Canadian journalist Martin Popoff appreciated how "the involved, heavy-handed storytelling" was paired "with the band's most urgent, up-front metal display since the Queensrÿche EP", which he considered "quite an accomplishment for a concept record wrapped up in drugs and religion."

The song "I Don't Believe in Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 in the category "Best Metal Performance".{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900112/1050383/soundgarden-nomination-the-growth-of-local-rock|title=Soundgarden Nomination: The Growth of Local Rock|last=MacDonald|first=Patrick|date=January 12, 1990|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=December 17, 2009}}

In the United States, the album was certified Gold on April 14, 1989, and certified Platinum two years later.

In 2016, Classic Rock named it among the "10 essential progressive metal albums".{{cite web|access-date=June 24, 2020|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/10-essential-progressive-metal-albums|title=10 Essential Progressive Metal Albums|first=Rich |last=Wilson|author-link=Rich Wilson (journalist)|publication-date=October 23, 2016|publisher=Loudersound.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819090811/https://www.loudersound.com/features/10-essential-progressive-metal-albums|archive-date=August 19, 2019}} In January 2017, Loudwire ranked Operation: Mindcrime as the best heavy metal album of 1988.{{cite web|access-date=June 24, 2020|title=The Best Metal Album of Each Year Since 1970|url=https://loudwire.com/best-metal-album-each-year-since-1970/|website=Loudwire|last=Divita|first=Joe|publication-date=January 25, 2017|url-status=live|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331065450/https://loudwire.com/best-metal-album-each-year-since-1970/}} In June 2017, Rolling Stone placed it 67th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.'{{Cite web|url=http://www.theprp.com/2017/06/21/news/rolling-stone-share-choices-100-greatest-metal-albums-time/|title = Rolling Stone Share Their Choices for 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time'|date = June 21, 2017}}

Operation: Mindcrime has been cited as an influence by Avenged Sevenfold{{cite web|access-date=June 24, 2020|url=https://avengedsevenfold.com/news/scans-read-m-shadows-interview-with-rockzone-magazine/|website=Avengedsevenfold.com|title=SCANS + READ: M Shadows Interview With RockZone Magazine.|publication-date=October 19, 2010}} and Ben Weinman of the Dillinger Escape Plan.{{cite web|access-date=June 24, 2020|title=The Dillinger Escape Plan|language=de|publication-date=February 22, 2010|first=Lenz |last=Beyer |website=Metal.de|date=February 22, 2010|url=https://www.metal.de/interviews/the-dillinger-escape-plan-37284/}}

Sequel

{{Main|Operation: Mindcrime II}}

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".

Track listing

All credits adapted from the original releases.{{cite AV media notes |title=Operation: Mindcrime |author=Queensrÿche |year=1988 |type=LP Sleeve |publisher=EMI Manhattan Recortds 064 7 48640 1 |location=New York City}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = I Remember Now

| writer1 = Chris DeGarmo

| length1 = {{Duration|m=1|s=17}}

| title2 = Anarchy—X

| note2 = instrumental

| writer2 = DeGarmo

| length2 = {{Duration|m=1|s=27}}

| title3 = Revolution Calling

| writer3 = Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton

| length3 = {{Duration|m=4|s=42}}

| title4 = Operation: Mindcrime

| writer4 = DeGarmo, Tate, Wilton

| length4 = {{Duration|m=4|s=43}}

| title5 = Speak

| writer5 = Tate, Wilton

| length5 = {{Duration|m=3|s=42}}

| title6 = Spreading the Disease

| writer6 = Tate, Wilton

| length6 = {{Duration|m=4|s=07}}

| title7 = The Mission

| writer7 = DeGarmo

| length7 = {{Duration|m=5|s=45}}

| title8 = Suite Sister Mary

| note8 = first track of side 2 on LP and some cassette pressings

| writer8 = DeGarmo, Tate

| length8 = {{Duration|m=10|s=41}}

| total_length= {{Duration|m=36|s=25}}{{#tag:ref|{{Duration|m=25|s=44}} on LP and some cassette versions|group="nb"}}

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side two

| title9 = The Needle Lies

| writer9 = Tate, Wilton

| length9 = {{Duration|m=3|s=08}}

| title10 = Electric Requiem

| writer10 = Scott Rockenfield, Tate

| length10 = {{Duration|m=1|s=22}}

| title11 = Breaking the Silence

| writer11 = DeGarmo, Tate

| length11 = {{Duration|m=4|s=34}}

| title12 = I Don't Believe in Love

| writer12 = DeGarmo, Tate

| length12 = {{Duration|m=4|s=23}}

| title13 = Waiting for 22

| note13 = instrumental

| writer13 = DeGarmo

| length13 = {{Duration|m=1|s=05}}

| title14 = My Empty Room

| writer14 = Tate, Wilton

| length14 = {{Duration|m=1|s=25}}

| title15 = Eyes of a Stranger

| writer15 = DeGarmo, Tate

| length15 = {{Duration|m=6|s=39}}

| total_length = {{Duration|m=22|s=39}}{{#tag:ref|{{Duration|m=33|s=20}} on LP and some cassette versions|group="nb"}}

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2003 CD reissue bonus tracks

| title16 = The Mission

| writer16 = DeGarmo

| note16 = live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK on November 15, 1990

| length16 = {{Duration|m=6|s=11}}

| title17 = My Empty Room

| writer17 = Tate, Wilton

| note17 = live at the Astoria Theatre, London, UK on October 20, 1994

| length17 = {{Duration|m=2|s=43}}

}}

Personnel

Queensrÿche

Cast

  • Pamela Moore – as Sister Mary
  • Anthony Valentine – as Dr. X
  • Debbie Wheeler – as the Nurse
  • Mike Snyder – as the Anchorman
  • Scott Mateer – as Father William
  • The Moronic Monks of Morin Heights – choir

Production

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (1988)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{album chart|Canada|75|artist=Queensryche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|chartid=8670|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
{{album chart|Netherlands|29|artist=Queensrÿche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
scope="row"| Finland (The Official Finnish Charts){{cite book|last=Pennanen|first=Timo|title=Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972|edition=1st|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava|location=Helsinki|year=2006|isbn=978-951-1-21053-5| language= fi}}

| align="center"| 13

{{album chart|Germany4|40|artist=Queensryche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|id=718|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
scope="row"|Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite book|title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005|publisher=Oricon Entertainment|location=Roppongi, Tokyo|year=2006|isbn=4-87131-077-9|language=ja}}

| align="center"| 64

{{album chart|Sweden|25|artist=Queensrÿche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
{{album chart|Switzerland|21|artist=Queensrÿche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}
{{album chart|UK|58|artist=Queensryche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2021}}
{{album chart|Billboard200|50|artist=Queensryche|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2022}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

! scope="col"| Chart (2021)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{album chart|Wallonia|111|artist=Queensrÿche|album=Operation: Mindcrime|rowheader=true|access-date=August 22, 2021}}

Certifications

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|artist=Queensryche|title=Operation: Mindcrime|award=Platinum|relyear=1988|certyear=1991}}

{{certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

Accolades

class="wikitable"
Publication

! Country

! Accolade

! Year

! Rank

Kerrang!

| UK

| The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time

| 1989

|align="center"|34

Decibel

| US

| Hall of Fame{{cite magazine |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2011/08/24/queensrche-operation-mindcrime/ |title=Queensrÿche – "Operation: Mindcrime" |last=Chase |first=Jesse |magazine=Decibel |date=August 24, 2011 |access-date=May 13, 2018 }}

| 2011

|align="center"|80

Notes

{{Reflist|group="nb"}}

References

{{Reflist}}