GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
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Episode 162:Β Operation: Mindcrime III [Geoff Tate] Review/Rant with Tim Durling
Q: What do Geoff Tate and Helix have in common in 2026?
A: They both made their new studio albums frustratingly hard to buy physical copies of in Canada.
Tim Durling from Tim’s Vinyl Confessions is tonight’s guest host, and he’s gonna tell you all about it!
Geoff Tate won the performance rights to Queensryche’s Operation: Mindcrime I and IIΒ as part of the settlement made for the Queensryche band name.Β Β Tate has always taken pride in his rock opera epic, and so expanded the series to a trilogy with his new solo album.Β Interestingly enough, Operation: Mindcrime III is not a third part to the story.Β Instead, it is a re-telling of the first album, but from the perspective of the evil Dr. X.
Tim will tell us about each of the songs, and the experience of just trying to buy a copy in Canada.Β Get ready folks – for a price he’d do about anything, except mislead you about Operation: Mindcrime III.Β Is it any good, or is it the proverbial weak link in the trilogy?Β Find out tonight, on Grab A Stack of Rock with your host, Tim Durling!
An unusually playful and jovial Queensryche joke around with Dan Gallagher while waiting for chicken wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo!Β The band show a rare comradery here and are absolutely having a blast laughing it up with Dan.Β It’s quite refreshing.Β Β Unfortunately, the whole interview is tinted in blue, because the 90s.
Topics discussed:
The Empire tour’s stage show.
Suicidal Tendencies opening.
The upcoming “Seattle Sound” and why Queensryche don’t sound like that.
Fall, 1991.Β A shy Chris and Geoff dropped by the MuchMusic studios to talk Empire with Erica Ehm.Β Topics addressed:
Being homesick for Seattle
Canadian connections – DalBello, Howard Ungerleider, Jaymz Bee
Playing Operation: Mindcrime on the Empire tour
What is the stage show like?
“Another Rainy Night (Without You)”
With 20/20 hindsight, it’s funny to hear Geoff Tate talk about the live Mindcrime set being a one time only event, considering how much he’s milked it since then!
In late 1987 and early 1988, QueensrΓΏche were at frigid Morin Heights in Quebec, recording what would become their most important album.Β Their first true concept album (although you could make good arguments for Rage for Order) was in fact partially inspired by the perennial Quebec separatist movement.Β Singer Geoff Tate envisioned the story and characters, with guitarist Chris DeGarmo joining him on the lion’s share of the writing.Β Still, it was Tate and guitarist Michael Wilton who came up with “Revolution Calling”, the third track but in all fairness, the first song on Operation: Mindcrime.Β Wilton co-write a huge chunk of side one.
The eerie thing about “Revolution Calling” is how it still applies today.Β Direct references to characters like the evil Dr. X aside, so much of this song is relevant to current events.
“I used to trust the media to tell me the truth, tell us the truth.”
“Well, I’m tired of all this bullshit they keep selling me on T.V., about the communist plan.”
“I used to think that only America’s way, way was right.Β But now the holy dollar rules everybody’s lives, gotta make a million, doesn’t matter who dies.
I have criticised the Operation: Mindcrime for being too “comic-book-y”, a critique also levelled at the album by revisionist reviewers in the 1990s.Β Now, I’m not so sure.Β As the world teeters on the brink, a song like “Revolution Calling” impacts harder than it did in 1988.Β How many Nikkis are out there ready to start their own revolutions?
As we look forward to the new Queensryche album Digital Noise Alliance, let’s also look back at one of their strongest songs from Mindcrime, “Revolution Calling”, on the Sunday Song Spotlight.
REVOLUTION CALLING (Tate/Wilton)
For a price I’d do about anything Except pull the trigger For that I’d need a pretty good cause
Then I heard of Dr. X The man with the cure Just watch the television Yeah, you’ll see there’s something going on
Got no love for politicians Or that crazy scene in D.C. It’s just a power mad town
But the time is ripe for changes There’s a growing feeling That taking a chance on a new kind of vision is due
I used to trust the media To tell me the truth, tell us the truth But now I’ve seen the payoffs Everywhere I look Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook?
Revolution calling Revolution calling Revolution calling you There’s a revolution calling Revolution calling Gotta make a change Gotta push, gotta push it on through
Well, I’m tired of all this bullshit They keep selling me on T.V. About the communist plan
And all the shady preachers Begging for my cash Swiss bank accounts while giving their secretaries the slam
They’re all in Penthouse now Or Playboy magazine, million dollar stories to tell I guess Warhol wasn’t wrong Fame fifteen minutes long Everyone’s using everybody, making the sale
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
Revolution calling Revolution calling Revolution calling you There’s a revolution calling Revolution calling Gotta make a change Gotta push, gotta push it on through
I used to trust the media To tell me the truth, tell us the truth But now I’ve seen the payoffs Everywhere I look Who do you trust when everyone’s a crook?
Revolution calling Revolution calling Revolution calling you There’s a revolution calling Revolution calling Gotta make a change Gotta push, gotta push it on through
Revolution calling Revolution calling Revolution calling you There’s a revolution calling Revolution calling Gotta make a change Gotta push, gotta push it on through
There’s something going on There’s a revolution, there’s a revolution, there’s a revolution
Ever wanted to know what the legendary Little Mountain Sound studios in Vancouver looked like?Β Well, you get a white wall with “Sue was here” graffiti on it.Β But, you also get the legendary Terry David Mulligan interviewing the even more legendary Geoff Tate of Queensryche in October 1991!Β Peak ‘Ryche.
The band were in town for a session and Mulligan caught Tate when the band were busy sound-checking.Β Lots of interesting talk here.Β Queensryche has done a lot of studio work in Vancouver.Β Why?Β According to Tate, because Seattle didn’t have the recording technology they needed to make their kind of music!Β You can hear Vancouver on the Empire album, as Geoff explains.
They also talk about “Silent Lucidity” which of course was the big song for them.Β Β It’s not exactly clear what Queensryche were doing at Little Mountain in Vancouver at that time.Β Should I ask Mike Fraser?
GETTING MORE TALE #821: The Lost Chapters “Top Ten Bad Albums by Great Artists” (2004)
I found this previously unpublished entry in my old Record Store Journal. Not sure how I missed it during Record Store Tales! This came via a challenge from Dan Slessor of Kerrang! magazine. Have a read. A few of these albums would still make my lists today.
Date: 2004/10/03Β
Dan asked me to throw together a top 100 crappy albums list, but I just couldn’t do it. Instead he asked for a top 10 bad albums by great artists. I threw one together in about 10 minutes. So while this is not my DEFINITIVE list, it is a fun read.
1.AC/DC – Blow Up Your Video
OK, this is understandable. Malcolm Young was so ill he didn’t do the tour for this record. Angus even suffered exhaustion on this tour. It was just a boring, bluesy, slow AC/DC record with only a couple notable singles. Slow AC/DC just doesn’t cut it, does it?Β [Still disappointing, but not an all-time worst today.]
2.Motley Crue – New Tattoo
Even worse than Generation Swine, New Tattoo proved that it was Tommy Lee in fact who made the Motley Crue sound, NOT Vince Neil. Without Tommy, the band produced a piece of less-than-mediocre, soundalike crap. Randy Castillo (RIP) could not save this band, nor could Samantha Maloney. Weak songs, weak production, weak drum and guitar sounds.Β [Would still make my list in 2020.]
Β 3.Black Sabbath – Forbidden
The final Sabbath studio album was recorded in a few weeks, and sounds like it was written in those weeks too. Ernie C (a guitar player from Body Count) produced it like a demo, and brought in Ice T to rap. I’m serious. [Would still make my list in 2020.]
4.KISS – Hot In The Shade
It was Gene & Paul aiming for the goal posts again, and featured a harder rock sound and three great singles. What it also featured were 12 bad songs, and demo-like production. No wonder! Most of the album WAS a demo. [Would still make my list in 2020.]
5.Jimmy Page – Outrider
WOW. Maybe it’s not so bad on the surface, but coming from the greatest rock songwriter ever, this is just sub, sub, SUB standard. Robert Plant lent a hand, for all the good it did.Β [Been too long since I’ve listened.]
6. Vince Neil – Carved In Stone
“Rock n’ roll hip-hop record”. That’s all you need to know. [Not significant enough to make my list today.]
7.Guns N’ Roses – The Spaghetti Incident?
A covers album is a tricky deal to start with, and Guns at least picked 12 interesting covers. A 13th “hidden” Charles Manson tune marred the whole thing, as did the lacklustre performance and production. Really, only one song has any spark, and it’s actually a solo track by Duff! [A covers album would not make my list today.]
8.Deep Purple – Abandon
Maybe it’s unfair to include it in this list, but I was colossally disappointed when it came out. The previous record Purpendicular was so good, it felt like 1970 again. Abandon felt like a tired band who had given up trying to write good songs. Nothing could be further from the truth of course, but the results still left me underwhelmed. [Would not make the list today.Β I’ve warmed to it since 2004.]
9.Geoff Tate – Geoff Tate
When a singer from a God-like band puts out a solo album, it had better shine. Geoff Tate of Queensryche instead chose to do a dancey, new-agey synth album which completely alienated his fans and may in fact prove to be the nail in his career coffin. [Still pretty awful but not really significant enough to make my list anymore.]
10.Halford – Resurrection
I’m gonna catch hell for this one. I stand by it, however. The lyrics are worse than juvenile (Priest’s are only mildly juvenile) and the songwriting and production are so generic. Thanks a lot, Bob Marlette! You proceeded to wreck so many albums…let’s not forget Alice Cooper’s Brutal Album Planet.Β [Still cheesy but not bad.]
Wanna know this list in 2020?Β That’s another story for another day!
There’s a sports phrase in the parlance of the profession:Β a “ringer”.Β It means boosting your team with a player who who’s above your league, usually with accusations of dishonesty or bad sportsmanship.Β If you had a beer league hockey team, and your friend’s son happens to be Connor McDavid, and he substitutes for your usual center Big Jim McBob, then you have a ringer.
I was watching some live music on YouTube and wondered if there is a rock band equivalent.
Though it’s not considered cheating, did Queensryche pull a ringer when they got Todd La Torre to sing?Β Todd is a fine vocalist who enables Queensryche to perform the old material properly; stuff with notes so high that only a young singer can really pull it off.Β Journey did something similar with Arnel Pineda.Β They wanted to play the original songs in the original keys, not tune them down for an older singer.
Original Queensryche singer Geoff Tate’s voice has changed over the decades.Β That’s nature.Β He can be hit or miss when singing the high stuff, so he tends not to anymore.Β He’s able to steer around difficult notes and still play the song.Β La Lorre has no issues with them however, adding some of his own grit to the screams.Β Todd La Torre is 45 years old.Β Geoff Tate is closer to his old bandmates at age 61.Β If Queensryche were to look for another singer in his 60s, they wouldn’t be able to find one able to scream the opening to “Queen of the Reich”.
Go back in time further, to the early 1990s.Β One band that absolutely hired a ringer was Poison when they acquired Richie Kotzen to replace C.C. Deville.
Without being too unkind, C.C. and Richie are not playing the same sport when it comes to guitar.Β C.C. is a WWF wrestler, hammering you over the head with loud sloppy moves and tricks.Β Richie is like a light boxer with heart, a fast contender with a feel for it.
When Poison picked up Kotzen, they plucked someone from the upper echelons to replace somebody who was basically still in the garage.Β While it failed to win fans in the “get serious 90s”, it did give them an album that they never would have been able to create otherwise.Β Eventually they were forced to bring C.C. back, but they can never perform material from the Kotzen album.Β They’d sound ridiculous.
It could be argued that Kiss hired ringers with almost every replacement member in their band, from Eric Carr to Vinnie Vincent to Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick.Β All of these guys are, on a technical level at least, lightyears better players than the original members.Β But on the other hand, none of those replacements could capture the sheer vibe of the original band either.
Think about it.Β When a veteran band loses an original member, do they ever replace them with a peer?Β Very rarely.Β Deep Purple replaced Jon Lord (age 61 at retirement) with Don Airey (54 at hiring).Β But Black Sabbath replaced Bill Ward (age 71 today) with Tommy Clufetos (40 today).Β No matter what Bill claims, Clufetos is simply in better physical condition.Β He’s a ringer.
What is your take on this subject?Β Are these guys ringers, or just regular hired guns?Β Is there really a difference?
WE WISH YOU A METAL XMAS AND A HEADBANGING NEW YEAR (2008 Armoury)
Yep, It’s another Bob Kulick album with various guests.Β You know what you’re going to get.Β Let’s not dilly-dally; let’s crack open the cranberry sauce and see what a Metal Xmas sounds like.
Generic!Β A truly ordinary title track features the amazing Jeff Scott Soto on lead vocals, but it’s a purely cookie-cutter arrangement with all the cheesy adornments you expect.Β Ray Luzier fans will enjoy the busy drums, but this does not bode well for the album.
Fortunately it’s Lemmy to the rescue, with “Run Rudolph Run”, an utterly classic performance with Billy Gibbons and Dave Grohl.Β All spit n’ vinegar with no apologies and nary a mistletoe in sight.Β I remember playing this for my sister Dr. Kathryn Ladano in the car one Christmas.
When Lemmy opened his yap, she proclaimed “This is bullshit!Β How come they get to make albums and not me?”
Lemmy Kilmister, pissing people off since day one, has done it again.Β You can buy the CD for “Run Rudolph Run” even if the rest is utter shit.
A silly “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Alice Cooper echoes “The Black Widow”, but novelty value aside, is not very good.Β A joke song can only take you so far, and Alice is usually far more clever.Β (At least John 5’s soloing is quite delicious.)Β And even though Dio is next, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” comes across as a joke, too.Β Which is a shame because the lineup is a Dio/Sabbath hybrid:Β Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, and Simon Wright.Β Dio’s joyless, dead serious interpretation is amusing only because of its unintentional dry humour.
Funny enough, Geoff Tate’s “Silver Bells” has the right attitude.Β Even though Geoff is perpetually flat, his spirited version (with Carlos Cavazo, James Lomenzo and Ray Luzier) kicks up some snow.Β That makes me happy, but it pains me to say that Dug Pinnick’s “Little Drummer Boy” (with George Lynch, Billy Sheehan and Simon Phillips) doesn’t jingle.Β Ripper Owens, Steve More & pals team up next on “Santa Claus is Back in Town”, so bad that it borders on parody.
The most bizarre track is Chuck Billy’s “Silent Night”, with thrash buddies like Scott Ian.Β Chuck performs it in his death metal growl, and it’s pure comedy.Β Oni Logan can’t follow that with “Deck the Halls”, though it’s pretty inoffensive.Β Stephen Pearcy’s “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” adapts the riff from “Tie Your Mother Down” and succeeds in creating a listenable track.Β “Rockin’ Around the Xmas Tree” is ably performed by Joe Lynn Turner, sounding a lot like a Christmas party jam.
The final artist is Tommy Shaw with John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”.Β It’s an authentic version and while not a replacement for the original, will be enjoyable to Styx fans.
Christmas albums by rock artists are, let’s be honest, rarely worthwhile.Β This one has only a handful of keepers so spend wisely.
After Pink Floyd made history by releasing The Wall in 1979, concept albums fell out of fashion.Β Β Almost a decade later, two heavy metal albums brought the artform of the full-length story back:Β Iron Maidenβs Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, and Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryche.Β Of the two, Mindcrime had the more coherent linear story, but both remain high water marks for each band.
The Queensryche album sold slowly at first, as the band refused to make music videos to let the album speak for itself.Β They changed course in 1989 when βEyes of a Strangerβ made it to MTV and MuchMusic.Β Fortunes changed dramatically for Operation: Mindcrime.Β The album eventually went platinum.
The reason Mindcrime was better suited as an album than music videos was the connected storyline running through each song.Β Employing a classic frame technique, we begin at the end with βI Remember Nowβ.
βI remember now.Β I remember how it started.Β I canβt remember yesterday.Β I just remember doing what they told meβ¦β
The anti-hero Nikki is an angry, aimless addict who fell in with a radical political group called Operation: Mindcrime. Β He is a disheartened young American. βThe rich control the government, the media, the law.βΒ Mindcrimeβs modus operandi?Β Using drugs and brainwashing, would-be assassins are sent out to kill strategic political targets, building to revolution.Β Inequality, corruption and the media have made the country an ugly place.Β Dr. X, the mastermind behind Mindcrime, has total control over Nikki.Β He also uses the nun Mary, a former prostitute, to feed Nikkiβs needs.Β Nikki and Mary grow closer until he receives the order:Β βKill her.βΒ She knows too much.
The first two tracks are just setup before you get to the meat.Β βI Remember Nowβ and βAnarchy-Xβ create a powerful set of images, with anthemic guitars and the sound of massive crowds rallying to a cause.Β βRevolution Callingβ, the first real song, begins the narrative.Β βThen I heard of Dr. X, the man with the cure, just watch the television, yeah youβll see thereβs something going on.β
Nikki is indoctrinated on the title track, an ominous riffy behemoth of a song.Β Dr. X uses Nikkiβs drug addiction to control him.Β With nothing to lose, Nikki falls for the doctorβs words.Β βThereβs a job for you in the system boy, with nothing to sign.βΒ Nikki has no use for the government or politicians.Β It all sounds good to him.Β On βSpeakβ he receives his first assignment.Β βIβm the new messiah, death angel with a gun.βΒ On a blazing fast track with a thick chorus, Nikki falls into his new life.Β βEradicate the fascists, revolution will grow.βΒ On βSpreading the Diseaseβ, another kickass track with a chorus that goes on for miles, Nikki tells the story of Mary and his distaste for the church.Β βReligion and sex are power plays, manipulate the people for the money they pay.Β Selling skin, selling God, the numbers look the same on the credit cards.β
Queensryche take it slower (though not soft) on βThe Missionβ, as Nikki starts to feel disillusionment.Β βI look around, my room is filled with candles, each one a story but they end the same.βΒ He keeps telling himself that heβs doing whatβs right.Β βMy mission saved the world, and I stood proud.βΒ But then he is given the order he dreads:Β Kill Mary.Β This instruction opens album epic βSuite Sister Maryβ, 10 full minutes of riffs, choir and orchestra (by Michael Kamen).Β The riff alone stands like a monolith.Β Vocalist Pamela Moore sings a duet with Geoff Tate as the character of Sister Mary.Β As for that riff?Β Chris DeGarmo was the master riff composer in this band, a hole they have never quite filled.
The second half of the story commences with βThe Needle Liesβ.Β Nikki wants out, but finds that it doesnβt work that way.Β There is no βoutβ.Β Meanwhile Queensryche strafe the speakers with a thrashy blitzkrieg.Β Drummer Scott Rockenfield cannot be contained.Β Then on the quiet filler track βElectric Requiemβ, Nikki discovers that Mary had made his choice to disobey orders irrelevant.Β Dead by her own hand, Nikki is broken and tailspins into a mad depression.Β This is portrayed on βBreaking the Silenceβ, another stone cold winner of a song with a mighty chorus.Β The chunky guitar riff is to die for.
With his memory failing him, Nikki doesnβt even know if he killed Mary himself or not.Β He questions everything on the ever-cool single βI Donβt Believe in Loveβ, one of the most remarkable of all Queensryche songs.Β Once again the writing partnership of Tate and DeGarmo struck heavy musical gold.Β Two shorter tracks (βWaiting for 22β and βMy Empty Roomβ) fill in some story points, and Nikki is eventually caught.
Operation: Mindcrimeβs biggest song is its final track and first single, βEyes of a Strangerβ.Β Memories are but fragments.Β βI raise my head and stare into the eyes of a stranger.βΒ Itβs one of Queensrycheβs most incredible recordings, a perfect storm of guitars, vocals and melody.Β Itβs neck deep in drama, with Geoff Tate at his most emotive.Β The story ends with some questions left unanswered.Β At least until 2006βs unnecessary Mindcrime II….
Operation: Mindcrime took Queensryche to an artistic level that fans and critics always knew they could achieve.Β Their debut EP showed promise.Β They didnβt live up to that potential until Mindcrime.Β Though good, The Warning album wasnβt a stunner like Mindcrime.Β Rage For Order was brilliant but alienating.Β Even when it was first released, Mindcrime did not blow all the critics away.Β Only after it had been digested slowly over time did the masses realize they were sitting on something very special.Β Queensryche had done conceptual work before, but more abstract.Β Nothing as well-hewn as Mindcrime.Β Musically it was like they distilled everything they had accomplished thus far, and concentrated it into pure rock majesty.
The 2003 CD reissue had two live B-sides as bonus tracks.Β βThe Missionβ was originally released in 1991 on the B-side to βSilent Lucidityβ.Β It is a different recording from that on the live album Operation: LIVEcrime.Β βMy Empty Roomβ is a later acoustic recording, released in 1995 as a B-side to βBridgeβ.Β Itβs interesting for its acoustic setting and percussion, but is best heard in the context of the βBridgeβ single with its other acoustic counterparts.
Is Operation: Mindcrime a masterpiece?Β The story is a bit Hollywood and a tad juvenile, but the broad strokes are remarkably still valid today.Β Mindcrime is rivalled by only a few.Β Itβs a worthy, nay, important addition to any metal collection.
Β 3.
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