QUEENSRYCHE
OPERATION: MINDCRIME
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May 3, 1988, may just be the biggest, red-letter, landmark date in all of progressive metal, as it marks the release of QUEENSRYCHE’s 3rd studio album OPERATION: MINDCRIME, one of the finest concept albums in all of metal.
It’s very much a “Pink Floyd meets heavy metal” style and vibe, and is quite a departure from their two previous albums (The Warning & Rage For Order), with a very “in your face” mix, some power metal overtones, and perhaps the most aggressive bass sound on a metal album EVER, which is weirdly ironic considering that QUEENSRYCHE was the weirdest opening band choice to open for the biggest thrash metal band on the planet (at the time) who had just released an album that, conversely, had the most absent bass sound on a metal album EVER. (Sometimes life is just way too weird…)
Released May 3, 1988
Recorded 1987–1988
Label EMI Manhattan
Producer Peter Collins
Queensrÿche
Geoff Tate – lead vocals, keyboard
Michael Wilton – guitars
Chris DeGarmo – guitars, guitar synthesizer, backing vocals
Eddie Jackson – bass, backing vocals
Scott Rockenfield – keyboard (track 10), drums, percussion
Tracks
Side 1
1 I Remember Now
2 Anarchy—X
3 Revolution Calling
4 Operation: Mindcrime
5 Speak
6 Spreading the Disease
7 The Mission
8 Suite Sister Mary
Side 2
9 The Needle Lies
10 Electric Requiem
11 Breaking the Silence
12 I Don't Believe in Love
13 Waiting for 22
14 My Empty Room
15 Eyes of a Stranger
Remember that $25 was a small price to pay in 1988 to become “a happy man” even though “only YOU can make YOU happy” (because “you rent‘em, you don’t buy‘em”).
Prepare to find out the answer to “which would be worse?”, discover where to go for any “gift ideas”, learn the identify of Matt’s doppelganger and hear about Russell’s “Mr. Miyagi moment”, including the resulting “truck trim” prior to making his transition from guitar player to bass player.
Remember that “any band who mentions two thrash references on one album can’t be all that bad”, go get yourself a summer “skinjob” and JOIN US as we dive into one of the most world-renowned rock operas in all of metal with OPERATION: MINDCRIME.
I REMEMBER NOW:
The scene: a hospital room and a murdering junkie suffering from amnesia lying in bed, held in police custody with the local news blaring out headlines in the background, trying to recall everything he’s been through while the nurse comes in to give him another shot to ease his suffering. Given the sharp sound of her shoes against the tile floor, it seems debatable as to whether or not she’s an actual nurse or an operative working for Dr. X and The Revolution.
“I remember now, I remember how it started,
I can’t remember yesterday, I just remember doing,
What they told me…”
ANARCHY-X:
Flashback sequence, back to the beginning of it all. A large rally of thousands flock to hear a new voice championing the fight against oppression to forever defeat tyranny and corruption in the name of freedom. One man, gripped by frustration and a desperate desire for social change, stands alone…
REVOLUTION CALLING:
We’re introduced to Nikki and Dr. X, the madman with “the fix” for everything that’s wrong. Nikki is questioning everything that has become dirty, sordid, and wrong at the hands of the power mad elite that manipulate the “elected” politicians who maintain the masquerade of running the show.
(“Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook!?”).
Certainly, an indictment against the corrupt world at large and the “leadership” responsible for systematically destroying peace, freedom, and liberty through corruption, greed, lies, and murder. It was valid then, and it’s valid now.
“I used to think that only America’s way, way was right,
But now the holy dollar rules everybody’s lives,
Gotta make a million – doesn’t matter who dies!”
OPERATION: MINDCRIME:
The phone rings, and Nikki hangs up, terrified.
The phone rings again…
Dr. X has now drugged, brainwashed, and manipulated Nikki into becoming the perfect Manchurian candidate for The Revolution (MK Ultra much?), a hitman whose objective is to carry out the murderous orders of The Revolution.
“Now I know you won’t refuse, because we’ve got so much to do,
And you’ve got nothing more to lose, so take this number and welcome,
To Operation Mindcrime…”
SPEAK:
“Hey! Hey! Listen to ME!”
And so, it begins. Nikki is well on his way and aware of his mission, working for The Revolution.
“The word is all of us…”
The rich elite have always and will always control everything. The rich even create false revolutions to twist the minds of the masses.
“The system we learn says we’re equal under law,
But the streets are reality, the weak and poor will fall,
Let’s tip the power balance and tear down their crown,
Educate the masses, we’ll burn the White House down, speak to me…”
SPREADING THE DISEASE:
We now learn about the next one to be indoctrinated into The Revolution, a young streetwalker who would later become known as Sister Mary, after enduring the perversions of Father William who seemed to save her from her life as a harlot for hire.
“Fighting fire with empty words,
While the banks get fat and the poor stay poor,
And the rich get rich, and the cops get paid,
To look away as the one percent rules America…”
THE MISSION:
Nikki quietly reflects on the orders from The Revolution. Less than a week into his new life, Nikki begins to question his role and whether or not he should continue on working for The Revolution, all while reflecting on his love for Sister Mary, the only thing in his life elevates him up out of the constant darkness that haunts him.
“(They’ll say)
My mission saved the world, and I stood proud,
My mission changed the world, it turned my life around…”
SUITE SISTER MARY:
Dr. X pulls up with Nikki’s next dark assignment: take out the 2 known risks to The Revolution: Sister Mary and Father William. The eerie choir signals the darkness and evil thoughts which Dr. X has now planted within Nikki’s mind to prepare him for his next mission.
As Nikki goes to visit Mary, clearly, he’s tortured with the knowledge that she will innocently accept him and grant him entry, making his task all the easier to execute. Clearly Nikki is going to Mary to give her his confession after taking out the priest, asking for some kind of closure before doing what he knows he must do. Before he can end her life as he’s been ordered to do and as she instructed him to do upon his arrival, Nikki and Mary embrace each other in one final, passionate, act of physical love.
“Mary, my lady of pain, always alone,
Blind, you search for the truth,
I see myself in you, parallel lives,
Winding at light-speed through time,
You’re mine.”
THE NEEDLE LIES:
“You can’t walk away now…”
Enduring addiction, brainwashing, withdrawal, and murder, Nikki fights to get away from The Revolution and the relentless drugging and brainwashing that rules him.
Addiction is like that: it sucks you in and takes you over. “Don’t ever trust…” the needle because it will ultimately lead you to your end.
ELECTRIC REQUIEM:
Nikki goes back to see his beloved Mary, only to find her lifeless body. Overcome with great despair, Nikki prays for death while lamenting what has become of the only love he’s ever known.
“I want what you feel,
Believe me, turn the current on.”
BREAKING THE SILENCE:
Screaming in the darkness, Nikki realizes the unholy tragedy that has unfolded and aimlessly wanders through the streets, trying to find a reason to go on living. If only she could come back…
“Nothing we shared means a thing, without you close to me,
I can’t live without you…”
I DON’T BELIEVE IN LOVE:
Arrested and now in police custody, Nikki undergoes questioning, not just from the authorities, but his own conscience and spirit as well. Nikki struggles to cope as he moves on into the future, a future without Mary’s love to guide him forward.
“I never have, I never will…
I’ll just pretend she never was real…
I need to forget her face, I see it still…
It’s never worth the pain that you feel…”
WAITING FOR 22:
22…V? Virtue? Vengeance? Vindication? Vanquishment? 22 hours? 22 days? 22 years?
MY EMPTY ROOM:
Recalling everything that happened and questioning what his life has become as he sits in his cell, Nikki realizes that even if he were free, nothing would matter because Mary, the only one he ever really loved, is gone, and somehow, he’s responsible.
“Now who will come, to wash away my sins,
Clean my room, fix my meals, be my friend?”
EYES OF A STRANGER:
Nikki has now come full circle, remembering everything he’s been through and everything that he’s done, slowly coming to the realization that The Revolution was one big lie.
Haunted by the face of his love, and the emptiness of his life without her, he remembers the night her life ended. Haunted by everything he’s done; he awaits the comfort of death to take him away from the living hell that has become his every waking moment.
“People always turn away,
From the eyes of a stranger,
Afraid to know what lies behind the stare…”
Show Notes:
(00:01): “I had another dream…” / #RodStewart #Roxanne #SteveMartin #Dicknose #Cocknose / “Wasn’t there a movie with #DanAkroyd?” / #bigdicknose (“Was that what it was?”) / “Now you’re just reaching…”/ #controlF / “Maybe he gives good nasal…”/ #penisnose #dicknoseish / “Is it more noble to be a grower or a shower?” / #transformers / “What if girls’ tits were like that?” / “She’s gonna have back trouble…”/ #Cumbersome / ***WARNING: #listenerdiscretionisadvised *** / #MrBlack #blessing / ***WELCOME BACK TO THE METAL NERDERY PODCAST!!!*** / #anathesia #canyons / “Why am I always sucking things?” / “Don’t skip…”/ #beatupbuick / #Napster #spoof #Metalacoloypse #ItsHuge #Dethklok / “I’m surprised you don’t own all the DVD’s just for that…”/ #watchparty / #thisepisodesbeeroftheepisode #ASMR #NewRealmBrewingCompany #Kickflipper #IPA /
Beer of the Episode
New Realm Brewing Company #Kickflipper IPA
“It’s gotta dolphin…”/ “What’s up with the knees on that dolphin?” / #sevenpointzeroABV / #theverdict “Not bad…a little green…”/ “I hope he’s alright and I hope he also heard the #DeathMatch …” / #DariusImpressionASMR / “Is it manifest or manifestated?” / #PatreonShoutout / “He’s the #OGP #OriginalPatreon …”/ #samething / #makemeyours (“I mean, a while back…”) / “Dude you rent ‘em you don’t buy ‘em…”/ #financee / #thedatinggame / “They just stay until they find a new dick that’s interesting…”/ “What if the woman’s husband is kind of a douche?” / #bangaway / “If she needs a cock to cry on…”/ “I don’t wanna be a #homewrecker …”/ “Is it?” / #onlyyoucanmakeyouhappy / “I guess that’s what happens…”/ “Is it athlete or athalete?” / “Those girls know how to fuck…”
(17:17): “What’s the #Tarentino movie with the vampires?” / #FromDuskTilDawn / #RussellsReflectionsASMR #TheGentleman (“A show based on the movie…”) / “Who would you get to play you?” / #pigvomit (“He’d play me…”) / #JasonStathamASMR / #JackBlackASMR / “Did you take your drugs today?” / “He’s one of my favorite human beings…he will always make me laugh.”/ #pickleball #dipshot #notarealsport / #fitasafiddle / “It’s called #doublestandards dude and women do that ALL the time!”
(23:23): #TheDocket METAL NERDERY PODCAST PRESENTS: QUEENSRYCHE – OPERATION: MINDCRIME / ***Check out our #Knotfest episode which includes a brief #ProgMetal section…*** / #conceptalbum / “What kind of metal is it?” / “That was such a weird match up…” / #Metallica #AJFA tour / “Wouldn’t that be like having #PigDestroyer opening up for #DreamTheater?” / “This was really before the #DreamTheater …”/ “What was the #PinkFloyd song they did?” / Released May 3rd, 1988 / #handmedowncar / “Back then you took whatever #handmedown you got…”/ #autoreversetapedeck / “I know you got a LOT of pussy because of that truck…”/ #RussellsReflectionsASMR #TruckEdition #MattsDoppelganger #GeeoffTaint / “It only had like 30,000 miles on it…”/ #MrMiyagiMoment / #trucktrim / “I used to be kinda jealous a little bit…”/ “I knew it wasn’t your guitar playing…this was before you transitioned…”/ “God, they don’t let you do anything…”/ #bassplayerhateASMR
(32:37): The synopsis and plot line of #OperationMindcrime / #UltraMK or #MKUltra / I REMEMBER NOW (“Is this the United States calling, are we reaching?”) / “Is that #morphine?” / “Sweet dreams…you bastard.”/ ANARCHY-X (“The mix is very in-your-face…”) / REVOLUTION CALLING (“It’s calling right now…to you…”) / #yeahyeah / #youreadick / OPERATION: MINDCRIME #screamfromtheballs (“That bass is aggressive as fuck…”) / #skinjob / “Bill’s got a skinjob…”/ SPEAK #speakfromtheballs #powermetal #DeathAngel / “See, how do you like that?” / #Queensryche with #Anthrax and #DeathAngel references / SPREADING THE DISEASE / “25 bucks a fuck and John’s a happy man, she wipes the filth away and it’s back on the streets again…”/ “With inflation, that’s about $8,000 today?” / “Everybody could do #Reagan …”/ #speakfromthetits
(43:53): THE MISSION (“Sounds like #JamesBond shit right there…”) / “It does have a #Floydian kinda vibe to it…”/ “It would almost sound like #Maiden …”/ NOTE: See also #OperationMindcrimeII with #RJD / “I’ll fix it in post…”/ SUITE SISTER MARY #epicprogmetal #creepyvibes #atmospheric #eerieASMR #KingDiamondASMR / “Why does he sound #NotAmerican?” / “Who’s the woman?” / #PamelaMoore / “I love this part…”/ NOTE: I wonder what is being sung in #Latin in the background?
(51:34): “Apparently there is a name of a vodka and/or bourbon called #FightingCock …”/ #OneFootLong / THE NEEDLE LIES (“You can’t walk away now…”) / “that shit must be really good…”/ “Which is more addicting: meth or heroin?” / #allegedly / “I’ve got more boner fantasies with pain pills than pussy…”/ “This is almost as good as the #hogstory …”/ #cocaineandviagra / #giftideas / “I just like the word…” / ELECTRIC REQUIEM / “Here’s my only beef…”/ “It’s also fun to be able to skip it…”/ “It’s a cool thing that the band you like did…”/ BREAKING THE SILENCE / “He’s doing a higher harmony over that harmony…” / #guitarsound (“As a #bassplayer who used to identify as a #guitarplayer…”/ “It’s not delivery, it’s #DeGarmo …”/ #aunch / #snortfromtheballs / I DON’T BELIEVE IN LOVE / “Is this on #Footloose?” / “Geeoff Taint is his own #barbershopquartet …”
(1:05:36): “Can we do #KISS #AliveII?” / WAITING FOR 22 (“Definitely has #Floyd vibes for sure…”) / MY EMPTY ROOM #markthetime (“that sounds like an empty room, doesn’t it?”) / #ShutTheFuckUp #STFU / EYES OF A STRANGER (“It’s very 80’s…THIS was on #Footloose…”) / “Why am I here? And for how long?” / #REVOLUTION (“I remember now…”) / #usethoseheadphones / “Yeah maybe not, I don’t know…”/ “Which would be worse…”/ #KISSwouldbeworse / “Is it fair to say…?”/ #toopretty / #majestical / #futureepisodeidea / “People that hate metal like #Metallica …”/ “Oh that’s coming…”/ ***COME ON DOWN TO THE #METALNERDERYPODCAST UNDERGROUND BUNKERPOON GIFT SHOPPE AT metalnerdery.com/merch TO PICK UP YOUR #METALNERDERYMERCH !!!*** / #outroreel