OPERATION : MINDCRIME II

I've been a Queensrÿche fan for quite some time and have listened to thier first four albums (if you count the original EP as an album) many, many times. Empire was ok but definitely started their decline, and nothing after that has attracted me until.... the heralded sequel: Operation Mindcrime II. Now I knew coming in that this wasn't going to stand up to the "Big 4," but I knew it would be a lot better than their more recent stuff. The entire band seemed excited about what kind of material they were putting out with this album, and so of course I got pretty excited too. However, once I actually GOT the album, it was quite a disappointment. Sure it's the "return to metal" that everyone hoped for. The problem is is that there are too many PROBLEMS!!! First off Geoff's vocals are not what they used to be. Everyone knows that. I give him credit for trying to keep with his style though. However, he is almost totally understandable (according to my ear and my friends' ears as well) throughout the entire album. What's the point of a concept album if all you can decipher of the lyrics are the choruses?

Another problem is the balance of the album. It seems like the guitars are WAY too loud for what they are playing. It's mostly just boring chords, and yet they drown out the rest of the band! Anyone who expected some great guitar playing like the original Mindcrime had will be sadly disappointed. There is nothing memorable about the riffs (or lack-there-of) and the times when actual talent is needed to play something, they ruin it by having it be a dual guitar harmony every time which gets really dull fast. If the balance was correct this would be a much better album I must admit.

Overall, there is nothing really special here musically either. All of the songs are VERY short, quick, and very forgetable. Thinking back on the album, I really only remember the choruses of the songs and not much else. I remember how Dio outsang Geoff on his own album which was laughable, but other than that no individual song sticks out as memorable. Re-Arrange You is BY FAR the best track on the album though. If there was one song that could've been added to the original Mindcrime that wouldn't have tainted its greatness, it would be Re-Arrange You. The song kicks major butt in every department. It's like Queensrÿche finally pulled off what they were going for with one song. It's seriously one of my favorite Queensrÿche songs now. If the entire album was as good as Re-Arrange You is, it would be a crazy album. However Mindcrime II is also filled with abominations like Circles, which is by far the worst song in existence today. I'm American has a catchy chorus I guess but it breaks into a rap thing in the middle which I'm not so wild about. Maybe Queensrÿche was white for a reason because they don't pull off the rap thing too well. Overall, the album is filled with some decent songs, but nothing I'd listen to really. They just bore me and are totally forgotten by the time the next song comes on (excpet for Re-Arrange you and maybe a couple others if they're lucky). Anyways this album was pretty disappointing for me and I don't understand how anyone could give it a 5 star rating. I'm giving it 2 stars simply because of a few shining moments but overall I'd give it a 1.5/5

Share this QUEENSRYCHE review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to KansasRushDream
• Report this review (#79887)
• Buy QUEENSRYCHE music online with PA partners
• Show all QUEENSRYCHE MP3/Stream
• Go to QUEENSRYCHE page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Operation : Mindcrime II page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for QUEENSRYCHE related discussions