Queensryche - Operation:Mindcrime II

transplant
transplant Posts: 1,088
edited April 2006 in Other Music
I bought it yesterday, stared at the thing for 15 minutes, got my nerve up and put it in.

It is great. I mean really good. It is such a huge relief. I don't think they will pick up new fans with this, though I can argue it isn't a bad starting point, but I think they will regain those that thought they lost it....like myself.

I would like to add a thank you to both Tate and Dio for still delivering. Their voices are still great and can blow the roof off those 1/3 their age.

I guess with their tour they will play both Mindcrimes back to back? I am fired up. Show isn't until September though.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Hey transplant, I've always thought about getting into these guys, but never knew where to start. What do you recommend?

    A critic I personally know reviewd the album and said it was great also. Should I start with this baby, or maybe the earlier stuff?

    Cheers.
    "If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done"

    If you can't get high on purely music and the sounds that you hear, you're missing out on something.
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    Holy cow burnin, my eyes just lit up!

    The original Mindcrime and I kid you not has not left my top 3 greatest CD's of all time since 1988. I wouldn't hesitate to tell you to get this first since I have some backround on your musical tastes and your willingness to dive into a CD like this. It is a monster musically and lyrically.

    I would say their most accessible is Empire. Yeah, it has Silent Lucidity on it, but it was still a great great CD.

    Their most experimental and my second favorite is Rage For Order. It is out of this world however it is a little unique.

    Ok I can go on for days, here is my order of my favorites. I can't really rank this new one yet other than to say it is great. This was my favorite band for a LONG time.

    Operation:Mindcrime I
    Rage For Order
    Promised Land
    Empire
    The Warning
    Queensryche EP

    The others, Hear in the Now Frontier, Q2K, and Tribe don't bother.
  • Atomic Punk
    Atomic Punk Posts: 2,941
    I totally forgot it came out already. I wanna get it after work today now. Operation Mindcrime is one of my favorite albums of all time.... I am hoping that II comes a little close. I too was worried that it would ruin the legacy of the original, but hearing a good review is very easing to my mind...
  • DocChicago
    DocChicago Posts: 653
    transplant, thanks for the review. i'm still a bit nervous about hearing this for the first time, since the first Mindcrime is sacred to me. but i will pick it up later this week and hope for the best. your words allow me to be a bit more optimistic.
    It is time to admit that we used to rock like hurricanes. It is time to run for the hills and go round and round. It is time for us to shout at the devil. We've got the right to choose it, there ain't no way we'll lose it, and we're not gonna take it anymore.
    - C. Klosterman
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    Operation Mindcrime is one of my favorite albums of all time.... I am hoping that II comes a little close.
    It won't really come close. I think of it more in the Empire vain where most Queensryche fans consider that a pretty solid CD considering what it followed. What I take out of it is that II is very respectable. I would be a little surprised if those that love the original don't come out of listening to II with a smile on their face followed by a Thank God.

    I wouldn't mind reading yours and DocChicago's thoughts on it once you get the chance to hear it.
  • UKDave
    UKDave Posts: 5,557
    Not out in the UK til end of April........ can't wait!!
    Astoria Crew
    Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
    Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
    Katowice, Wembley 07
    SBE, Manchester, O2 09
    Hyde Park 10
    Manchester 1&2 12
    This is just g'bye for now...
  • rbrianj
    rbrianj Posts: 3
    This cd is KILLER. I can't stop listening to it. I had it in my car's cd player for over a month. The more you listen the more you like it. There's so much going on musically, and lyrically that you have to listen to it quite a bit to really judge how you feel about it. I have to say that the guys stepped up to the challenge on this one. When I first heard they were going to do this I was like "NO" please don't, but damn if they didn't deliever.

    My Favorite Songs are Murderer?, Fear City Slide, Hostage, Re-arrange You, The Chase, The Hands, If I Could Change It All

    Anybody else think that Nicki blows up the city at the end or do you think he just shoots himself? I guess this will be the question that everyone will ask, kinda like who killed mary in the first one.
  • Atomic Punk
    Atomic Punk Posts: 2,941
    you can hear it for free at q1043.com
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    rbrianj wrote:
    Anybody else think that Nicki blows up the city at the end or do you think he just shoots himself?
    I think he will shoot himself.

    I am on day 3 and I still feel the same way. This CD is great. I'm American gets it started right. MUCH quicker on disc than it was live last year. Re-Arranger, The Hands, yeah, I am beyond fired up. An amazing accomplishment.
  • gusturtle
    gusturtle Posts: 443
    i saw them on their mindcrime I tour (which was when they were opening for (gasp) def leppard on their hysteria tour). i never heard of queensryche before that night. hopefully (for Q's sake), people would still be interested in a mindcrime sequel coming nearly 20 years after the original.
    i kind of left Queensryche alone after their 'Empire' album...
  • UKDave
    UKDave Posts: 5,557
    Aaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!! 23 days and counting!!
    Astoria Crew
    Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
    Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
    Katowice, Wembley 07
    SBE, Manchester, O2 09
    Hyde Park 10
    Manchester 1&2 12
    This is just g'bye for now...
  • rbrianj
    rbrianj Posts: 3
    frogwater wrote:
    i saw them on their mindcrime I tour (which was when they were opening for (gasp) def leppard on their hysteria tour). i never heard of queensryche before that night. hopefully (for Q's sake), people would still be interested in a mindcrime sequel coming nearly 20 years after the original.
    i kind of left Queensryche alone after their 'Empire' album...

    You should listen to Promised Land. It's probably one of my favorites, but it came out in 1994, when PJ, Soundgarden, AIC, Nirvana were all over the radio. So most people didn't really get the chance to appreciate it. Ryche was just another 80's band at that point.
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    rbrianj wrote:
    You should listen to Promised Land. It's probably one of my favorites, but it came out in 1994, when PJ, Soundgarden, AIC, Nirvana were all over the radio. So most people didn't really get the chance to appreciate it. Ryche was just another 80's band at that point.
    agreed. I think Tate peaked vocally with Promised Land. He sounded incredible.
  • UKDave
    UKDave Posts: 5,557
    Promised Land is a great album, as is Empire & Rage For Order, original Mindcrime was mind blowing though!!

    When they toured Empire in the UK they played the whole Mindcrime album through, awesome...
    Astoria Crew
    Troubled souls unite, we got ourselves tonight...
    Astoria, Dublin, Reading 06
    Katowice, Wembley 07
    SBE, Manchester, O2 09
    Hyde Park 10
    Manchester 1&2 12
    This is just g'bye for now...
  • DocChicago
    DocChicago Posts: 653
    I listened to it for the first time today. My initial impression is that this simply doesn't stand up to the original Mindcrime, but it doesn't dishonor it either. I thought it got really good and intense when he confronts Dr X and Tate and Dio are singing to each other.

    Overall I'm pleased. I'm gonna have to sit down with some headphones and the lyrics before I can render a complete review. But thanks for prompting me to go buy it, transplant. Good shit.
    It is time to admit that we used to rock like hurricanes. It is time to run for the hills and go round and round. It is time for us to shout at the devil. We've got the right to choose it, there ain't no way we'll lose it, and we're not gonna take it anymore.
    - C. Klosterman
  • barcoach
    barcoach Posts: 413
    Got it last monday... I haven't bought a QR release since Promised Land, but this I just needed it, I mean the first Operation album meant too much for me at the time, so I just knew I would get this one no matter how good or bad it'd be... Fortunately I started to listened and found a really tight album, yeah, I don't think it hits you as deep as the first Operation, but this is a really solid effort on its own merits... Though I can't name any especific songs yet (have tons of music to listen and I've only gave this one a couple of spins so far) I was pleasently surprised with this songs because even they keep the Queensryche sound, they're plaid like with a different approach, this is not prog metal, and that's just good, I went to see Dream Theater a few weeks ago and it was the most boring concert I've ever been to, it isn't heavy metal either, this is just a band in control of their own game, a band that sounds contemporary without forgetting their roots. Yeah, the album, I think is far from being a classic or anything like that, but it blew my soul away... this was just like meeting with an old friend again (yeah, I'm stealing the metaphor, transplant) I really thought QR couldn't make records as good as this anymore.
    Stone: Thanks for the pick and the night of complicity, you rock!
    -The crazy guy with the Ramones t-shirt.
    Mexico C. 12/10/05.

    "There is a rose that I want to live for
    although, God knows, I may not have met her"
    -J. Strummer

    "And you'll never know just how dark this screen could be"
  • transplant wrote:
    Holy cow burnin, my eyes just lit up!

    The original Mindcrime and I kid you not has not left my top 3 greatest CD's of all time since 1988. I wouldn't hesitate to tell you to get this first since I have some backround on your musical tastes and your willingness to dive into a CD like this. It is a monster musically and lyrically.

    I would say their most accessible is Empire. Yeah, it has Silent Lucidity on it, but it was still a great great CD.

    Their most experimental and my second favorite is Rage For Order. It is out of this world however it is a little unique.

    Ok I can go on for days, here is my order of my favorites. I can't really rank this new one yet other than to say it is great. This was my favorite band for a LONG time.

    Operation:Mindcrime I
    Rage For Order
    Promised Land
    Empire
    The Warning
    Queensryche EP

    The others, Hear in the Now Frontier, Q2K, and Tribe don't bother.

    Alright! Thanks for a detailed recommendation, transplant! :)

    I like a little experimentation in my metal, so I'll go and check out the ones you mentioned. Cheers!
    "If hope can grow from dirt like me, it can be done"

    If you can't get high on purely music and the sounds that you hear, you're missing out on something.
  • rbrianj
    rbrianj Posts: 3
    All I've got to say is just keep listening to it. It will grab you. You will have a different opinion, I say more positive one, with each listen. Songs that didn't stand out at first, will later on.
  • transplant
    transplant Posts: 1,088
    DocChicago wrote:
    I listened to it for the first time today. My initial impression is that this simply doesn't stand up to the original Mindcrime, but it doesn't dishonor it either. I thought it got really good and intense when he confronts Dr X and Tate and Dio are singing to each other.

    Overall I'm pleased. I'm gonna have to sit down with some headphones and the lyrics before I can render a complete review. But thanks for prompting me to go buy it, transplant. Good shit.
    I remember it took me a couple months before the original became legendary in my mind. Funny, I have turned more people on to the original by plopping them down with a set of headphones. You really do have to concentrate at times to get the full effect. I also need to do that with II but haven't had the time.

    Sounds like you are in the same mindset as myself. I am really interested to hear what people think of this so I hope to read a complete review. It will take time but I hope to do the same.

    Barcoach, didn't know you were a fan of the original! I should have known better!

    burnin, hope you enjoy, let me know what you think of them when you get a chance.
  • Atomic Punk
    Atomic Punk Posts: 2,941
    frogwater wrote:
    i saw them on their mindcrime I tour (which was when they were opening for (gasp) def leppard on their hysteria tour). i never heard of queensryche before that night. ...

    Thats my story exactly. Queensryche blew Def Leppard away and I went out and bought Mindcrime the next day.