Operation: Mindcrime (Bonus Disc Version) [Remastered]

iTunes Review

Queensryche hit its career peak when hair metal was also at its commercial apex. Ironic, maybe, considering that 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime is a much less escapist product than those of, say, Poison. A concept album whose storyline takes place in a futuristic dystopia in which music is illegal and “the rich control the government, the media, the law” (“Speak”), the record builds on the ideas of Rush’s 2112 with a marked leftist perspective. Its epic scope is matched by the band’s wide palette, which offers everything from thrash (the cautionary “The Needle Lies”) to the operatic (the 10-minute “Suite Sister Mary”). The album’s expanse found many welcoming listeners, eventually going platinum and setting Queensryche on the path to even bigger success with its followup, Empire. This remastered edition contains two live tracks along with a London concert version of the entire album.