Operation: Mindcrime | ||||
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Studio album by Queensrÿche | ||||
Released | May 3, 1988 | |||
Recorded | 1987–1988 | |||
Studio | Kajem/Victory Studios, Gladwyne, Pennsylvania Le Studio, Morin Heights, Quebec, Canada |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 59:14 | |||
Label | EMI Manhattan Records | |||
Producer | Peter Collins | |||
Queensrÿche chronology | ||||
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Singles from Operation: Mindcrime | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
"I Don't Believe in Love"
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10 |
Metal Forces | 9.5/10 |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide |
Operation: Mindcrime is the third studio album by the American progressive heavy metal band Queensrÿche, released on May 3, 1988. The album was re-released on May 6, 2003 with two bonus tracks, and in 2006 as a deluxe box set.
A concept album and a rock opera, its story follows Nikki, a recovering drug addict who becomes disillusioned with the corrupt society of his time and reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".
The album was certified by the RIAA as 'gold' a year after its release, and it was certified as 'platinum' in 1991. A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006.
In the United States, the album was certified Gold a year after its release, and certified Platinum in 1991.
The band shot a one-off promotional video in 1988 for the song "Speak" using performance footage. It did not include a dramatization of any of the story's concepts.
The song "I Don't Believe in Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 in the category "Best Metal Performance".
During the tour promoting the 1990 album Empire, Operation: Mindcrime was performed in its entirety. The stage show featured video, animation and guest singer Pamela Moore as Sister Mary. A recording was released as Operation: Livecrime. The story was initially explored in a series of video clips for MTV in the 1989 VHS video, Video: Mindcrime.