OPERATION : MINDCRIME II

When I heard this was being recorded I was torn between fear and excitement. Queensryche haven't been very impressive in some time, a long time actually. I really think the band started a decline right after the release of "Promised Land" in 1994. The original "Mindcrime" was an a amazing mix of prog and metal that somehow made its way into the mainstream, taking Q'ryche from having a smaller die-hard following to elevating them to monsters of the genre in 1988.

The original Crime was beautifully done!! Tate's vocals were still clean and clear and Mr. DeGarmo was still in a creative mood! When the album was over you had a feeling that you had seen this story taking place...you feel for the characters, you understand the story's progression, you wonder who the hell killed Mary!!!

That's the way it should have ended!!!! We didn't need to know who killed Mary!!! It's like a bad movie sequel that tells you more than you wanted to know. Sometimes the mystery is part of the allure...this is one of those cases. However, this is a music review, not a review on the band's decisions or lack of common sense.

It is heavy folks...heavier than anything they've done possibly since the original Crime. As I was discussing moments ago in one of the forums, heavy is not always a good thing! In my opinon, it feels like the 'Ryche decided to make this album heavy just for the sake of it, just to more closely mirror the original Crime. They failed at re-creating the same atmosphere and even their heavy moments are somehow diluted - the edge is gone, as is the guitar genius of DeGarmo and the voice that Geoff Tate once had.

To wrap this up, Queensryche fans who appreciated the band's career from "Promised Land" through "Tribe" should pick this up! They have heavied the sound up, but the elements of the modern 'Ryche are all present here. For fans of early 'Ryche, have a friend burn this before you pick it up...it's missing the intensity and the drive of early 'Ryche material. Not to mention the story in Chapter 2 really isn't that good anyway!!!!!

This gets ONE star just for balls...as in I give Tate and Co. credit for having the balls to record a sequel to a classic album!! I'm not being sarcastic or mean, I'm serious. It takes guts to revisit a classic, and whether it was done for a carreer kickstart or if it was just time for it, I give them credit for trying. An album like this makes or breaks a band in my opinion.

The other 2 stars are for the music and writing. There are moments were Tate sounds as strong and fresh as he did in 1988. There are several moments that are quite inspired and show you that the 'Ryche can still rock hard when they want to, but there aren't enough of those inspired moments! The duet with Ronnie James Dio is worth checking out and would have elevated this release to a 3.5 if ONLY the female "Mary" vocals didn't sound like bad outtakes from a Bonnie Tyler bar appearance!!!!