Queensryche is mostly praised and known for the creation of "Operation Mindcrime", a huge album in it’s time that tells an intense and complex story through the course of its 15 tracks, and has often been referred as a "masterpiece" by heavy metal connoisseurs. The plot is so convoluted that since its released back in 1988 there has been a lot of discussion and speculation as per the continuation of the story. Now, fans are finally granted with the answers –or at least some of them- with "Operation Mindcrime II", just released this past April on Rhino. Queensryche is now touring and performing the full blown heavy metal opera including Mindcrime 1 and 2, with actors on stage, huge projection screen, cinematic lighting, and least but not last, a proper intermission to separate both lengthy and intense acts.
The House of Blues was packed with mostly late-30's fans, who seemed to be quite familiar with the plot of "Operation Mindcrime" and its characters Nikki, the problematic drug-addict, Dr. X, the villain, and Sister Mary, the ex-whore-now-nun character, with whom the arguably hero Nikki has a love relationship with. The story is complex and exciting, and I would need much more space than what I have right now to go through its intricacies. At the end of the 15 tracks, while Dr. X is free, Sister Mary is dead and Nikki is in jail. You can probably now understand the anticipation and the significance of "Operation Mindcrime II": After 18 years, the story continues with Nikki now out of jail and is out for revenge.
Even though the first part of the "Operation Mindcrime" story contained political references to the Regan administration since it came out back in 1988, it is interesting to note how today's performance at the House of Blues could be flawlessly adapted to the current political environment. After song "Revolution Calling", Tate shout "Someone please give Bush a blow job so we can impeach him". The wide screen in the background repeatedly projected more recent images of war, fire, soldiers, Bush and the World Trade Center.
After the intermission, "Operation Mindcrime II" kicked off with "I am American","One Foot In Hell" followed by "Hostage" , which seemed to go beyond Nikki's story, and also send an underlined message about the current political environment: When Tate shouts "I want to see you dead" supposedly referring to the confrontation between Nikki and Dr X, all the audience could see was videos of Bush and war played in the background screen.
It is too soon to call if "Operation Mindcrime II" will have the same repercussion and success as its original did 18 years ago. But if you ask any of the die hard fans at the show that Friday, they will tell you that it was more than a mere attempt to continue Queensryche's epic story. There was so much going on, that the rock concert itself was almost secondary to the whole theatrical performance they were able to pull it off.
Queensryche still delivers an amazing show as good as or even better than they did 20 years ago. It is always refreshing to see that a talented band can remain fit, innovative and intense for over two decades. Queensryche is one of those bands and lets hope they are around for another decade or two.
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Written by Guest on 2006-10-03 08:27:34
Just what the world needs....another rock opera |
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