QUEENSRYCHE *Operation: Mindcrime* NM- Canada LP EMI Records

$

28

EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL VINYL

 CANADIAN PRESSING

 1988

**QUEENSRYCHE**

**OPERATION: mindcrime**

Queensrÿche  is an American progressive heavy metal band formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington. The band has released twelve studio albums, one EP and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Geoff Tate, guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield.

Queensrÿche is the self-titled debut EP by the American progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche, released independently in 1983 through 206 Records and reissued later that same year through EMI-America. 

In the early 1980s, Queensrÿche was known as The Mob, a cover band that played songs from popular heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Their line-up consisted of guitarists Chris DeGarmo and Michael Wilton, drummer Scott Rockenfield and bassist Eddie Jackson. Without a singer, they performed several shows with Geoff Tate, who at the time was the front man of the local band Babylon, and later of Myth. Tate chose not to join The Mob, because he was not interested in performing heavy metal covers.

Inspired by the positive responses from their performances at local rock festivals, The Mob decided to switch from playing cover songs to writing original music. The four members, who were between 17 and 19 years old, rehearsed five days a week in the basement of Rockenfield's parents,and took on at least two jobs each to earn enough money to record a 24-track demo tape. They booked the graveyard shifts from Monday through Friday at Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington to record four songs. Tate was asked to join the band for the recording sessions, and in the same week write the lyrics to one unfinished song, which became "The Lady Wore Black". The whistle at the beginning of "The Lady Wore Black" were unintentional, as Brett Miller recalls: "Geoff needed to set the mood, so he had the lights turned off and sang with a single candle burning in the studio. While waiting for his first verse to come up, he whistled along with the opening guitar not realizing they were taping him. He told them it was a mistake, but everyone agreed it was cool, so they kept it."

Attempts to be signed to a label through the demo were unsuccessful. Kim and Diana Harris, the owners of Easy Street Records, ultimately offered The Mob a management contract.As the band name "The Mob" was not available,it was changed to "Queensrÿche". Kim Harris sent the demo tape and a band photo to a friend at the British music magazine Kerrang!, resulting in a glowing review and causing a growing buzz in both the United States and Europe.

Operation: Mindcrime is the third studio album by the American progressive heavy metalband Queensrÿche, released on May 3, 1988. The album was re-released on 6 May 2003 with two bonus tracks, and in 2006 as a deluxe box set.

It is a concept album and a rock opera, its story following a recovering drug addict who becomes disillusioned with the society of his time and reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".

In the United States, the album was certified gold a year after its release, and was certified platinum in 1991.

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.

The song "I Don't Believe in Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 in the category "Best Metal Performance".

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.

A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006, with Ronnie James Diotaking over the role of Dr. X. The subsequent tour consisted of the band performing bothOperation: 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".

In 2006, Operation: Mindcrime was re-released as a deluxe box set, containing the 2003remaster, a live CD with the album played in its entirety at the Hammersmith Odeon on 15 November 1990, and a bonus DVD containing the 1989 Video: Mindcrime and bonus clips.

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. He remembers how, as a heroin addict and would-be political radical frustrated with contemporary society due to the economic inequality, corruption, andhypocrisy around him, he was manipulated into joining a supposed secret organization dedicated to revolution. 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. Through one of Dr. X's probable associates, a corrupt priest named Father William, Nikki is offered the services of a prostitute-turned-nun named Sister Mary. 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. 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, fails to comply with the command to murder her. He and Mary decide to leave the organization together, and Nikki goes to Dr. X to tell him that they are out. Dr. X, however, reminds Nikki that he is an addict, and that he is the one who can provide him with his daily fix. Nikki leaves, conflicted and uncertain, and he returns to Mary only to find her dead.

He cannot cope with the loss, as well as the possibility that he himself may have killed her without knowing it (whether her death occurred at his hand or at the hand of someone else such as Dr. X is left deliberately ambiguous) and begins to succumb to insanity. He runs through the streets calling her name. The police arrive and attempt to subdue him. A gun is found on him, and they take him into custody under suspicion of Mary's murder and the murders he committed for Dr. X. Suffering from complete loss of memory, he is put into a mental hospital, where he sees a news report on the recent spree of political homicides. This jogs his memory and returns us to the beginning where he remembers what has happened and begins to tell his story.

Track listing

***EMI/Manhatten Records***

EI 48640

Tracks Include : please see above

CONDITION

Jacket: NM- (Still in shrink)

Vinyl: NM-

Canadian Pressing of 

***QUEENSRYCHE***

****Operation: mindcrime****

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I use the 'Goldmine' grading system. (NM, VG, G with appropriate +/-) NM would be my highest grade. I have endeavored to be as accurate in my assessment as I can. I will not sell LPs that appear to be in less of a condition than I myself would be happy to receive. The only exception would be truly rare discs and then any flaws would be clearly explained. Having been disappointed by the condition of a number of LPs purchased I am EXTREMELY sensitive to this issue and will try my best to grade with this in mind.

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