Posted on 10/20/2004 3:44:54 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
Metal men give dystopia a suitable soundtrack;Stick It To Bush
You can’t keep a good concept album down — especially when elements of its ominous story can be found lurking in current events. In 1988, Seattle quintet Queensrÿche released “Operation: Mindcrime,” a dark record that depicts a dystopian future society driven by charismatic — and sinister — demagogues. The central character is a street kid named Nikki who comes under the thrall of Dr. X and turns into his loyal assassin, eliminating anyone who poses a threat. It’s sort of “1984” meets “The Manchurian Candidate” with a dramatic metal soundtrack welded on. “It’s a story about a terrorist,” singer Geoff Tate explains. “It sort of fits in with what’s going on in the world right now.” The band began life in the early ’80s with a sound that owed quite a bit to Iron Maiden, with Tate’s operatic pipes wailing out front. Gradually, more progressive, arty influences found their way into the mix, earning Queensrÿche the tag “thinking man’s metal.” “Operation: Mindcrime” represents the band’s creative pinnacle, selling well over a million copies, though its follow-up record, “Empire” (1990) actually sold a bit better thanks to the top 10 single “Silent Lucidity.” Queensrÿche is revisiting “Mindcrime” on its current tour, with elaborate staging, surround-sound technology, orchestral backing and even actors portraying characters from the album. Careful, guys, remember what happened to Styx on the “Mr. Roboto” tour.
There’s a story to tell
“I’ve always been interested in dramatic productions,” says Tate, 45. “I’ve always thought of Queensrÿche as a very dramatic musical organization, and our music lends itself to that sort of treatment. Especially ‘Mindcrime,’ because it’s a story. “We started on this route because I was writing a screenplay based on the album,” Tate says. “And I noticed there are a lot of holes on the album that you can’t cover musically. … So in true Queensrÿche fashion we started brainstorming and came up with some angles that would make it interesting for us to play it and interesting for an audience to see it.” Tate says that going back to the old album inspired the band members to work on a sequel, titled (what else?) “Operation: Mindcrime II.” And, he says, there’s definite interest in a “Mindcrime” movie from the Hollywood community. “Over the years we’ve been approached by various companies about making a movie, but we never felt quite right about it,” Tate says. “Whether it was the people they wanted to use, the screenwriter or the director, it just didn’t feel right.” Directors Luc Besson, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are on Tate’s wish list to take the project’s helm.
Sticking it to Bush
“Mindcrime” is an album about devious individuals gaining control over the hearts and minds of impressionable people, and it’s a theme that never strays too far from Tate’s observational eye. “The situation in our country is perfect fodder for an album,” Tate says. “I’m fascinated by marketing, by the commercials the government makes and the ideology they sell us and that we buy so readily. We’re really just a nation of consumers; that seems to be our culture. “They can tell us we need to go to war with Iraq, and we buy it. We don’t question it. We don’t say, ‘Wait a minute, Iraq didn’t have anything to do with the terrorist attacks. Why are we going to war with this country?’ “I’ve come into contact with a lot of people who say they want to vote for George Bush. And I ask them, ‘Why are you voting for someone who has failed on every level as a leader?’ I don’t understand why people who don’t have two nickels to rub together support an administration that has no concern for them.” Queensrÿche’s political stance apparently has ruffled the feathers of some fans who were under the impression that their favorite band was a horse of a different color. “We’ve gotten some flak from fans who say they’re going to burn our records,” Tate says. “We recently played a benefit show … which gathers funds for the Democrats. “People have said to us, ‘How can you do this? How can you get behind this?’ And I say to them, ‘Listen to the records. We’ve always been on this platform.’ ”
I think a better question would be: What was the last album you payed for?
Mine was "Me and Mr. Johnson" by Eric Clapton
Now we're really screwed. Jesse "the body" and Eminem just came out against Bush.
What are we going to do?
Somebody call the Junkyard Dog and Captain Lou Albano and see if they'll support Bush!!! Maybe Superfly Jimmy Snuka?
That said, it does disappoint me. The very subjects covered by Operation Mindcrime are things I associate with the Left, but the 'Ryche associates them with the Right. I can still listen to that album but I have to interpret it my way.
Musically, they kick a$$. Geoff Tate does have the best pipes in the business, and the band is solid. Too bad they're liberal nutcases.
I saw Queensryche open for Def Leppard way back in 1988 or so. They blew chunks. They were trying to be progressive, but without the talent to pull it off.
I would boycott them, but since I never owned anything by them, I am already in a defacto boycott.
Musically, Queensryche is amazing. Good enough that I can ignore their politics.
Dream Theater and Fates Warning are better, IMHO, however.
Dream Theater is a band that has enough talent to pull off truly 'progressive' music. I don't see Queensryche as having anywhere near Dream Theaters skills.
Have you seen DT's Live at Budokan DVD?
I interviewed Geoff Tate when I was stationed in Japan, for a radio program, and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but the "quasi-intellectual" stuff came through loud and clear. It's only rock and roll, Geoff.
"Queensryche needs DeGarmo to be there or we are only seeing half of what a once great band used to be. Chris actually chooses to fly private jet's now for rich clients...he says he makes more money than he would touring with QR."
DeGarmo almost won American Idol last year. She's on her own now. ;)
LMFAO!
vh1 classic has been pumping the ever living hell out of this tour they have starting...they toned it down a bit because they have no impact on a pending election now...I bet they didn't acknowledge the revolution that happened in Iraq yesterday...did they?
REVIEW
Queensryche's Political Message, Like Its Orlando Performance, Falls Flat
By Douglas Maher
LAKE BUENA VISTA
The 1980s rock band Queensryche made its way through Florida last week with a stop at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney.
Queensryche, responsible for such hit albums as 1988's multimillion seller "Operation: Mindcrime" and 1991's multi-platinum selling "Empire," spent part of the concert offering political advice to the crowd.
Unlike the recent Rock for Change tour that's been playing hockey arenas throughout the fall with such acts as Bruce Springsteen, REM, John Mellancamp, The Dave Matthews Band, and others, Queensryche did an evening of political rock on their own.
Queensryche has managed to sell more than 10 million albums globally since the early 1980s, but it was easy to see how the band has managed to go from playing sold out arenas in the 1990s to grabbing barely 2,000 people on a recent Sunday in Downtown Disney.
To be blunt: Queensryche has become stale.
Not to be fooled by any means, Queensryche still contains scraps of talent, especially when speaking about lead vocalist Geoff Tate's abilities. He is possibly one of the greatest voices in rock music today.
The band is injured, though, by the spot that's been vacated by founding guitarist Chris DeGarmo, who is no longer playing for smaller crowds.
The problem with Queensryche is they think they are more important and relevant than they really are. When the band took the stage for part one of the Evening With Queensryche show, the band played a short set of 10 songs that spanned from the hit single "Jet City Woman" and "Another Rainy Night Without You" to the political "Empire" and dreamy bedtime story, "Silent Lucidity," which grabbed a Grammy nod back in the early 1990s.
Unlike bands from the same era -- like the Canadian rock band Rush, who play well over 31/2 hours per show -- Queensryche managed to muster up a mere 50 minutes of music before taking an intermission. It was bad enough that you had to stand for an extra hour for the doors to open, and then another hour for the show to start; now Queensryche were taking an intermission after barely an hour on stage.
The stage was changed into what one could only call a community theater prop set, and then the familiar sounds of "Operation: Mindcrime" came across the PA and video screen.
Queensryche decided to bring out actors to portray the story of a drug addicted, paranoid man named Nicky, who was put under some form of mind control from the U.S. government, which hired Nicky to kill local religious leaders and a nun named Mary.
All of this was sandwiched between nonstop video images of President Bush in a less than flattering light. The most stunning moment was when Queensryche played the track "Revolution Calling," a song about making a rally cry for Americans to take over their government in a revolution, while Nicky paced the stage with a mock handgun.
The show came to a merciful ending and then the band offered a premiere of "Operation: Mindcrime Part 2 -- Coming Soon in 2005," with a video and audio track of the first single to come from it, "Hostage."
It appeared to me that Queensryche has run out of ideas and needs to return to what put them on the map to begin with; but that simply wasn't going to happen at this concert. It seems to me that Queensryche's best days are behind them, and now they've returned to concept albums.
If the band was being overtly political, so were many in the crowd, who had a decidedly mixed reaction to the band's decision to combine rock with politics. There were Independent voters, Democrats and Republicans in attendance, not to mention many from out of town, such as Steve Maggi, a resident of Argentina who said, "I flew in to see these shows, and meet up with a friend from Indiana. I have been a fan for decades of Queensryche. They have their core following, and I honestly feel they hit both political parties fairly in their live show."
Maggi's friend, Andy Manchir of Indiana, disagreed.
"Seeing a rock show is not going to decide my vote for president," he said. "Queensryche has always been political, but it is probably getting a bit more attention right now because of everything going on with the election. I'm not offended."
Hector Delgado came in from Kissimmee to see the show and afterwards said, "These guys are just blind. I can't believe this is the same band that I used to listen to for hours in high school. I used to be inspired by them. Now I'm embarrassed, not just by the smaller venue, but that the message they are trying to use is just pure hatred. Then they have the audacity to throw a peace sign in the air at the end of the show. Get real."
Not everyone was so critical. Steve Stack of Kissimmee found it to be "a really amazing show. No band out there today has the guts to perform what just went on inside. As far as the politics go, I am a Republican and I am here with Republicans and Democrats. I was not offended by what I saw, but then again, I am not swayed by what Hollywood and the music industry tells me as far as politics goes."
Stack added: "My advice for people is to become informed before you vote and study the issues. Being partisan is being blind."
That's a lesson Queensryche obviously has not learned in nearly 25 years.
House of Blues Orlando is at 1490 E. Buena Vista Dr. at Downtown Disney. The box office number is 407-934-BLUE.
Upcoming concerts include Switchfoot with The Format today, Deep Dish with special guests on Friday, the MTV2 Headbangers Ball on Nov. 12, Jonny Lang on Nov. 13 and Bouncing Souls on Nov. 14.
House of Blues is also known for its popular Sunday Gospel Brunch, featuring inspiring gospel performances and a buffet to feed the body and the soul.
Douglas Maher is a feature writer. He can be reached at The Reporter office at 863-421-5577.
Not a word.
Unfortunately, they are way off base if they think corporations run the world. Sure, the global economy is a if not the major influence on society, but there are so many handcuffs put on capitalism from environmentalists to special interest groups that I find it hard to believe they are handicapping themselves (if we are to believe that "the rich control the government the media the law...")
If anything, it is as you suggest, the left controls the government, the media, the law... since, by it's nature, government is a construct of the left. The media is absolutely controlled by liberals and activist judges threaten freedom and the Constitution on a daily basis.
That's what I've always thought too, to my ear Nicky was duped by drug dealers using a fellow traveler message to get people that were being effective in keeping people off drugs and competing drug dealers out of the way. Then he figures out he's been duped and they turn him in to the cops. Great music though. Real shame how the mighty Ryche has fallen, although maybe they just over achieved for a while, their pre-Mindcrime albums had issues.
I agree with your whole post. The 1st was an EP, and it was awesome. Now, I can't stand them.
It was Tommy, not Nikki!
And I love Motley Crue...
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