[quote]QUEENSRYCHE TO RELEASE A 'MINDCRIME' SEQUEL
When Queensryche released its critically acclaimed concept album, "Operation: Mindcrime," in 1988, no one could have predicted the band would create a sequel to the record nearly 20 years later.
Then again, few could've predicted that the band would remain relatively intact and release 10 albums during that stretch.
"Operation: Mindcrime" told the story of an unfortunate soul named Nikki and his eventual incarceration for murder. At the time of the album's release, mainstream bands sang about partying. A rock group putting together such a detailed concept album was something more along the lines of the Rush and Pink Floyd albums in the 1970s.
For Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate, the decision to revisit the story occurred after he was asked to translate the album into a script for a film company.
"I didn't really know how to do that," Tate explained in a phone interview from his home in Seattle. "I bought a screenwriting program and kind of followed the directions and just started writing. In doing so, I recognized there were a lot of vague areas in the story of the first record, so I started filling in those holes and as I did, I kind of made side notes, and those side notes turned into more notes. Before I knew it, I had pages of ideas.
"Looking at those I started thinking, 'wow, there's a whole back story here that I could tell.'"
The new album, tentatively titled "Operation: Mindcrime II," won't be released until fall and continues the story in real time, picking up 18 years after Nikki's arrest.
"It's the same characters, only 18 years later," Tate said. "The first record ended with the lead character, Nikki, being sentenced to prison and put there until this one takes place. Really it's a study in revenge and what ... the concept of revenge does to you as a person. We kind of take it in a lot of different ways. We explored all the emotions that are connected with revenge and what they do to you as a person."
While Tate lives in Seattle, he's no stranger to Montana. His wife Susan (Wahrer) was born in Great Falls and still has family living in the Electric City. Tate visits Montana four or five times a year to visit family and take in the sights.
"I love Montana," Tate said. "It's an amazingly beautiful state. We're actually getting some land out there."
While some musicians get stagnant as the years go by, Tate is as dedicated to his craft as ever.
"I love music. I love writing music and putting it together," he explained. "It's like putting together a giant crossword puzzle. You have certain things that fit in certain parts in it, and you've got to figure out how to put those pieces in the right place. Once you put a piece in, it leads you to another piece. It's kind of an intricate process. It's a craft that you kind of develop over time."
The band has remained pretty much intact since the days of "Operation: Mindcrime." Guitarist Chris DeGarmo is the only member not on the current lineup. The band's ability to stay together points to their tenacity, Tate said.
"Really (it's a) stubborn, dig-your-heels-in, don't-quit attitude," he said. "It's a really good life. Why trade it in for something else? We all get along. It's challenging work."
Queensryche is widely known for powerful lyrics, having produced emotionally driven songs like "Silent Lucidity" and "Bridge," something Tate attributes to his ability to transform his feelings to song.
"People always ask me, what do you listen to?" Tate said with a laugh. "I listen to the stuff in my head. It's there and so what I have to do is, I have to get it out of my head. That's where the songwriting comes from. I just really write about stuff that I've had experience with. Hopefully somebody will get something out if it."
His songwriting has become more personal over the years as he has become a father four times over.
"As a parent, you learn a lot about yourself," he said. "It makes you reflect back on how it was when you were a kid and a lot of things become more clear the older you get. So you have a perspective on it that you write about."
Even in culturally rich Seattle, he manages to avoid following the latest trends, choosing to live without television or radio.
"I find that living this way gives me a lot more ability to choose what I want to do," he said. "I'm just not being bombarded all the time with commercialism. Our culture in America is all about selling. The kind of music that we like is the kind of music that's presented to us. Really what we're seeing is choices (musically) that have been made for us. That's what we're picking from."
Tate treasures the freedom of choice more than luxury of not having to make a decision.
"I choose not to participate (in pop culture)," he explained. "I do participate in some levels in some ways, but I choose when that is."
Well, there's an interesting release to look out for next year. They have some Operation: Mindcrime II songs taken from bootlegs at ftp://ftp.queensryche.com/pub/operation-mindcrime-2_im-american-(bootleg).mp3, ftp://ftp.queensryche.com/pub/operation-mindcrime-2_hostage-(bootleg).mp3 and ftp://ftp.queensryche.com/pub/operation-mindcrime-1_electrice-requiem-(bootleg).mp3 if you're interested.
Apparently, the musical side of the album will be very different, and a lot more varied than the original, which was a bit one-dimensional at times.
EDIT: Virtually as soon as I posted that, Operation: Mindcrime completely disappeared from my hard drive. Just as I added the tracks from Empire, too. :(
REALLY? Ooh, seriously, thanks for posting this. I only recently got into Queensryche, but this is definitely cool. Wonder if they planned this from the beginning.
Now I just wait for The Perfect Element Part II...
omfg I am exctied!!
EVERYBODY AIM ME NOW I AM DRUNK