Monday, February 06, 2006

The crime of Operation Mindcrime 2

I think there are few Queensryche fans who post here so there may be some good varying views on this topic. I think Queensryche are overall a good band, but not great. I first heard them when the Warning came out in 1984 and heard Operation Mindcrime right when it came out in 1988. I liked the music and thought the story was okay. The topic here is the second part of this story which is due out April 4th so it will be over 18 years since the first part. I know that I cannot judge the album yet because it is not out, but I have a problem with Queensryche doing this album. It's just that doing a sequel to a concept album that's almost 20 years after the original makes them appear desperate. Operation Mindcrime was one their two most popular albums and doing this sequel makes it sound like they don't have any good original ideas so they are going to cash in on a concept that worked for them before. It also bothers me because no matter what you thought of the finished product of Operation Mindcrime, I think you would have to say that it was a genuine attempt rather than a cash-in. I mean it's not like heavy metal concept albums were all the rage. These guys have been seen as a progressive metal band and in the past they have at least tried to act like they are always writing to move ahead in a different direction. Yet where's the progress in doing a sequel album at this point in your career? I don't mean to pick on Queensryche either because in recent years King Diamond did Abigail 2 and WASP's two part Neon God is really just a rehash of their Crimson Idol album. I know the music is what matters and maybe OM2 will come out and be outstanding, but my guess is they will try to gear the style to be very much like the first one and the result will be a watered down imitation of an 18 year old album. Just like with films, the only thing worse than a bad sequel is a bad remake and that is what I fear this album may turn out to be. Am I being to hard on these guys or not?

I don't mean to harp on these guys, but this does bother me. However in honor of the release of Operation Mindcrime 2, my 20 year old album review in April will be Rage for order. An album that seems to be nobody's favorite Queensryche album, but we'll see if maybe time has been kinder than we thought to this album.

6 Comments:

Blogger David Amulet said...

I have been a late comer to Queensryche's music beyond Operation: Mindcrime and Empire, but within the last couple of years I have picked up everything else they have done. There are brilliant bits on losers on each of their albums, but I tend to like the earliest stuff the best.

I am also of two minds on O:M2. Part of me says this is stupid, that no good concept album has ever had a good sequel, and this is just an attempt to cash in.

But then I think about all the concept albums/songs that I thought had room for more development (Genesis' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and Rush's 2112, for exmaple), and perhaps the boys of the Ryche have more of the story to tell.

So I'm very much on the fence. I'll have to hear it ... and there are so many other things I want to check out that it isn't even going to be on the top of my "buy list" in April. I'll need you and Ben to do reviews to convince me!

-- david

5:42 AM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

David- I have a friend who has heard an advance copy of it and he says it's good. Though he is a far bigger fan of theirs than I am.

5:43 AM  
Blogger UnHoly Diver said...

As a huge Queensryche fan(don't worry, Mark; I'm not offended), I'm looking forward to OMII. The original was my introduction to the boys, and to this day, I think it holds up well. Geoff Tate(who I think has the best voice in rock) has said that he has moved the storyline 18 years into the future, as Nikki is plotting his revenge against Dr. X. Besides, how bad can it be with Ronnie James Dio playing Dr. X? :)

6:00 AM  
Blogger T-_Bone said...

I am skeptical, but trying to be optimistic

8:02 AM  
Blogger :P fuzzbox said...

Doing a sequel after 20 years does sound mindless but then again they have had a lot of time to put thought into it. So it might turn out alright.

12:08 PM  
Blogger Metal Mark said...

I would like to hear it, but I will definitely be borrowing it instead of buying it.

3:58 PM  

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