Although having already released two full-length albums,
an EP and a live video in their first seven-years together (1983's 'Queensrÿche',
1984's 'The Warning', 1985's 'Live In Tokyo' and 1986's 'Rage For Order'),
it wasn't until 1988 that Seattle (Washington) based act Queensrÿche
finally delivered a masterpiece that not only delivered on their initial
promise, but one that would from that point on determine the direction
of forward thinking progressive metal. Released in 1988, 'Operation:
Mindcrime' was immediately hailed as a landmark release for it's compelling
conceptual storyline (revered so much that it's still ranked alongside
classic albums from Pink Floyd, The Who and Yes some two decades on)
and its redefinition of what was then considered progressive rock, and
soon became a commercial and critical success that launched Queensrÿche
into the mainstream.
Rather than simply retread the past, Queensrÿche
continued to evolve and move with the times with a string of respectable
releases (such as 1990's 'Empire', 1994's 'Promised Land' and 1999's
'Q2K'), with the band enjoying varying levels of success. But as solid
as Queensrÿche releases were, it didn't silence those who felt
that the story within 'Operation: Mindcrime' left too many unanswered
questions behind, fuelling calls (that grew increasing louder with each
passing year) for a sequel.
Having previously resisted the temptation to revisit the
past, Queensrÿche (who are vocalist Geoff Tate, guitarist Michael
Wilton, guitarist/vocalist Mike Stone, bassist/vocalist Eddie Jackson
and drummer Scott Rockenfield) finally return with the long awaited
follow up to their magnum opus in 'Operation: Mindcrime II'.
Fresh from a successful promotional tour of Europe, I
finally caught up with vocalist Geoff Tate (after having had the interview
rescheduled three times and Tate surviving a car accident incident this
morning!) to find out why it took eighteen years to return to 'Operation:
Mindcrime', what it was like working alongside the living legend Ronnie
James Dio, their upcoming first ever tour of Australia and the surprisingly
divided opinions over the long awaited 'Operation: Mindcrime II'.
"I guess the divided opinions over 'Operation: Mindcrime
II' is a good thing because it means people are actually listening to
the album. I really haven't taken too much notice to be honest. I've
been so busy putting together the European tour we just did together,
as well as organising this upcoming tour we have. On top of that, I'm
also working on another album right now (the follow up to his debut
self-titled solo album from 2002), so I've had my nose to the grindstone
doing all these things, which means that I really haven't taken too
much notice on what's been happening outside. But from what I do know,
most fans seem really happy with the album, and it's also been selling
well."
Regardless of what critics and fans alike make of 'Operation:
Mindcrime II', Tate and the fellow members of Queensrÿche on a
personal level are more than satisfied with the results of the album,
especially given the expectations of a follow up to such a classic.
"Making 'Operation: Mindcrime II' was a long endeavour.
We seriously started work on it around August 2004, so it was eighteen
months in the making from start to finish. I guess you could say that
it was eighteen years overall in the making when you sit it next to
the first 'Operation: Mindcrime' album. So it's been something that
we've been working on throughout the years. It's been off and on the
backburner for quite a while, and only every now and then we would go
back to it. Throughout that time, I had this file on my computer that
had the original story, along with the makings of a sequel. I would
kind of work on it here and there, look at it for a while and then put
it away knowing I would eventually come back to it sooner or later.
And then one day, I was looking at what I had in an overall sense, and
it really started to make sense to me. It just seemed to feel right.
I know its not the most scientific way of working but that's really
how it all started to take shape! (Laughs) Queensrÿche really works
off intuition. We wait until something kind of feels right, or wait
until everyone is enthusiastic about a certain thing, and we then pursue
it. I just had a feeling about this project and I went to the band and
said to them, 'This is kind of making sense to me. What do you think?'
We all sat down and talked about it and everybody was kind of in the
right place at the right time mentally to tackle this project. It was
a challenge to return to 'Operation: Mindcrime' but I think we actually
pulled it off."
While Tate admits that the making of 'Operation: Mindcrime
II' presented its fair share of challenges (remaining true to the original,
while ensuring that they show some level of progression), he's also
quick to point out that the album wasn't any more difficult than any
other Queensrÿche release.
"(Laughs) There's difficulties with every album you
make. There are always those frustrating times where you have a vision
in your head and you can't quite capture that outside your own mind.
And then sometimes you might write a song where there's that one piece
missing from it that you can't quite get. Sometimes songs come together
really quick and sometimes they take months to develop. But it's those
times when something isn't quite progressing like it should, we simply
give it the time it needs to get there rather than force it along the
way. We'll simply put it away and come back to it when the time's right.
So every album is like that. Some days you can get a lot of work done,
and then there are some days where you can't get a thing done. It's
always crazy. 'Operation: Mindcrime II' was no more difficult to create
than our other albums in that sense."
Helping Queensrÿche bring to life 'Operation: Mindcrime
II' was Jason Slater (ex-Third Eye Blind/Snake River Conspiracy bassist),
who not only produced the new album, but also helped co-write most of
the album alongside Tate and Stone.
"Slater's a very creative guy both from an engineering
standpoint as well as from a song writing perspective. He's really a
guy whose opinion I really respect. He's very experienced in a lot of
different styles of music and he has an incredible focus when it comes
to putting a song together. He seems to know the right thing to do,
and when's the right time to do it. He's also very funny and easy to
hang out with, which makes a big difference when you're in close confines
for long periods of time. Both he and Stone stayed with me at my house
for about four months. In that time we worked every day together on
this album. We had a real 'live and breathe the album' kind of vibe
where we wouldn't take showers for days at a time, everybody grew their
beards out and we actually ended up just walking around in slippers
all the time. That's how casual things got! (Laughs) But it went really
well. It was a great working environment."
While Slater's contributions to 'Operation: Mindcrime
II' are evident, two other individuals also played a key role in helping
shape the course of the album, with the first being Pamela Moore, who
reprises her role as Sister Mary.
"I was looking for a way to explain the storyline
and the way Nikki was experiencing the psychological drama that's a
direct link to his past. It's through his consciousness that he battles
with his plans for revenge on Dr. X and decides to do something with
his life. And it's that inner voice that I thought would be interesting
to be the voice of Sister Mary, who was his only true love in his life
and the only person he ever really felt close to. I really liked that
kind of association with the love interest, this female presence and
something that is in complete opposition to the male presence. I spoke
to Moore about the role I had in my mind with Sister Mary, and she really
liked the idea too. She helped with a lot of input in regards to what
Sister Mary would say to Nikki, and how she would treat him knowing
the course of those conversations. Moore is always up for singing and
performing. She's got a great rock 'n' roll spirit. I think it really
worked out well."
Another key player on the album is vocal legend Ronnie
James Dio (Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Dio), who plays Dr. X in 'The Chase'.
"Actually, I was in the studio and I had just finished
doing the vocal parts on 'The Chase' and I was sitting back in my studio
chair patting myself on the back at how clever I was. And it was then
that I had this horrific epiphany. I thought, 'Oh my God! Who am I going
to get to sing this? It has to be a really good singer, somebody that
has a command musically and somebody that has an authoritarian sounding
voice.' I immediately thought of Dio. He was my first and only choice
really. I looked up his number and gave him a call. Luckily he picked
up the phone! (Laughs) I played the song to him over the phone and then
sent him a copy of the song. He called me up a couple of days later
and said that he was in. I was so lucky he accepted the invitation.
I don't know what I would have done if he had said no! (Laughs) He was
great. It was wonderful working with him. He's a creative man and a
terrific musician. He had a lot of different ideas on how we could approach
the vocals and he really took the song under his wing and made it something
unique. I have to tell you, in my mind at least, Dio is a complete legend.
He's one of the all time great singers in my opinion. I can't think
of a single singer that sounds like him. I've known Dio for years. He
was very gracious and invited Queensrÿche out as special guests
on his 1983 tour. That was our first tour of Europe. He treated us incredibly
well and it really was a wonderful breakthrough for us. He shared his
audience with us and he really gave our career a kick-start. So he's
very influential to us all, both on a musical level and as a person.
I know that this is objective, but for me, he's kind of an idol. For
him to accept my offer and come into the studio, to sing his parts and
allow me to record and produce him on those sessions was an honour.
I might also add that it was very difficult for me too. How do you ask
a legend to give you another take? It was hard to say, 'That was really
good Ronnie. But can I have another take?' (Laughs)"
While 'Operation: Mindcrime II' finally concludes the
story that started some eighteen years ago, it's not the complete end
for 'Operation: Mindcrime', as Tate continues to make progress with
plans to adapt the story onto the big screen.
"We have a screenplay, and it's in the hands of Hollywood
agents right now. They're shopping it around to different studios and
so far we've gotten the stage one green light with a studio that is
interested in it. Film is a whole different industry to music. With
music, you make an album and then you shop it around to different labels.
They then take the album and sell it to the public. In the movie industry,
this had to go through different screenwriters, scriptwriters, then
we had to get an agent to shop it around, and then that agent has to
work with another agent. A whole bunch of different people touch it
before it gets anywhere off the ground. But so far things are looking
good. We're at stage one right now so things are slowly moving. There
comes a time when you have to decide just how badly you want to make
this film. Do you want to give away all your rights, or do you want
to hold onto some sort of creative control on a certain level? You just
have to decide just how far you want to go with it. Film studios will
always want to completely own the rights so that they can do whatever
they want with it. We want to retain that creative control so that's
why we're at stage one so far. But we're happy to be there. Someday
it will be made. We'll just have to see what happens next. If all else
fails, god I just might take out a loan and make the movie myself! (Laughs)"
While we all await the big screen version of 'Operation:
Mindcrime II', Queensrÿche will continue to provide the next best
thing by playing both albums in their entirety out on the road, which
Australians will finally be able to witness for the first time in the
coming weeks.
"The new material simply goes off live. We just finished
some incredible shows in Europe and I would say that they were probably
some of the best shows that we've ever had. We got an incredible reaction
and the rest of the band is playing so well now. We really were on fire!
(Laughs) We also have an incredible soundman. He really makes things
sound different. You never really know what you sound like and that's
one of the really difficult things about being in this position. You
could be having the best show of your life but if your soundman is adequate,
or even worse, inept, nobody in the band knows it! (Laughs) As far as
the fans can tell, you're just making noise up there. We actually had
a soundman for a short while out on tour a few years ago and we actually
found out a year later from the concert promoters that they weren't
interested in booking us because they had received so many complaints
about the way that we sounded! (Laughs) We were all thinking, 'Oh my
god! Why didn't somebody tell us?' We now have that all resolved and
we can't wait to get back on the road. We especially can't wait to get
down to Australia. We've never had the opportunity to go down there
before, and now we finally can! Seeing as this is our first visit to
Australia, we'll of course be giving people a presentation that is somewhat
Queensrÿche like with plenty of visual effects and surprises. Material
wise, we'll be focussing on the 'Operation: Mindcrime' albums, along
with some songs from our other albums as an encore. It all depends on
time allowances, audience enthusiasm and that kind of thing. And of
course there's health! (Laughs) How everybody is feeling is always a
big factor on things. In all honesty, we're all so damn excited about
this album and playing it live, I don't think anyone could stop us!
(Laughs)"
I would like to personally thank Geoff Tate for his
generous time. I would also like to thank Chris O'Brien at Solitaire
Music for making the interview possible.
For more information on Queensrÿche, check out -
http://www.queensryche.com
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
