1031. Operation: Mindcrime / The New Reality. 2017. 1.5/5

I did promise I was going to steer clear of listening to future releases from Geoff Tate, a number of times actually. And I then also promised that I would stop reviewing those albums, mainly because it would give them an unfair skew giving that each time I listen to a new release it is poles apart from what I like. But here I am again, being sucked into the vortex, because there is always that chance that what I hear may again please me like Geoff’s original band pleased me back in the day.

The New Reality completes the trilogy concept plan that Geoff promised to deliver on the creation of his new band and name, which will apparently be mothballed once the tour behind this album is completed. Those that have listened to the first two albums – The Key and Resurrection – will therefore know what is coming on this album. I did too, but I still had to complete the journey just so I could say I gave it all a fair shake. So if you have listened to those two albums and you enjoy what has been offered then you can approach this album with open arms. If you found that the first albums were much of a muchness, and more tedious than experimental, then you can also steer clear of this album.
There are the odd moments when the Tate vocals come back into play, such as about halfway through “All For What?” where he sounds as though he means what he is singing and gives it some oomph. But for the majority of the album the songs crawl along in way that sounds like it should be 1970’s progressive rock, but without the rock part involved. The synthesizers dominate, and Tate’s saxophone becomes prominent in a number of songs, while Kelly Gray is back to offer some guitar and more producing of the album.
Yes, I assume there is more of the storyline that has been offered throughout, but as I’m sure I have suggested on reviews for the previous two outings, I just don’t have the inclination to find out exactly what it is about and what is happening. The story doesn’t matter a fig if the music drags you in, which is exactly what happened with the album that carries this project’s name. Unfortunately here, the music and songs do nothing to inspire me to search out what is happening within the lyrical content.

So I have satisfied my curiosity by wallowing through this release, and reached the end of what is the great Geoff Tate Trilogy following his exit from his previous band. Though none of it has tickled my fancy in the slightest, at least it is done. The next question will be, what is the next move by Tate, and will I feel as though I must continue to follow his music on the extraordinarily long off chance that he produces something that will rekindle his lacklustre appeal.

Rating:  There's light at the end of the tunnel.   1.5/5

982. Operation: Mindcrime / Resurrection. 2016. 1.5/5

I guess we can be brutally honest about this. There must be someone, somewhere out there, that thinks that what Geoff Tate is doing in his current musical field with his band Operation: Mindcrime is the equal of or better than what is happening in the Queensrÿche camp. I don’t know any of them mind you, but there must be fans out there who are enjoying this stuff. And what it shows is that the split between the two should have happened a long time ago, and let Geoff do this without dictating to others what should work best for them.

You can’t argue with his work ethic though. Albums keep coming forth on a regular basis, and he tours as he feels it necessary. The fact that he celebrated the final parting with Queensrÿche by christening his new ‘band’ by the title of its most famous album, and then engaged in writing and releasing a concept album trilogy, of which this is the second chapter, makes it even more thought-provoking as to why he stuck with it for so long. No doubt the name of the band was making more money.
And so on to Resurrection, which is Part Two of this story that apparently details virtual currencies, internet banking and stock trading. Honestly I haven’t listened to the lyrical side of the songs hard enough to garner that information out of them, I just found it on Wikipedia and threw it in here. And was it not for the addition of Spotify into my life, I am quite sure I would never have heard this album because the utilising of virtual currencies, internet banking or stock trading to purchase this album was out of the question given the two albums that preceded this. So I had no illusions going in. I was probably going to hate this.
Is hate too strong a word? Having now listened to this album in full on a number of occasions, it probably is. But is there anything likeable about it? Very little as you can probably imagine, and that is simply because it is nothing like any kind of music that I do like. It’s like asking me to review anything by Justin Bieber – I don’t like his music, so any review or rating is going to be coloured by that. Resurrection more or less takes up from where The Key leaves off. It is dreary. It’s like listening to the rain at the end of Queensrÿche's “Della Brown” and expecting to hear “Another Rainy Night” but instead getting “The Queue” from the previous album. Honestly, this album goes for over an hour, but it feels like an afternoon. There is little to distinguish between the songs, they all roll into one another. Geoff’s vocals all remain monotonic for great passages, even when layered on each other. There’s more synth than guitar or drums. It almost redefines a progressive rock genre into something far less, almost into easy listening. Most of it will lull you off to sleep if you allow it. It’s not that it is all terrible, but there are parts that cannot bring out any other adjective apart from that. 

“Taking on the World” is the closest this album has to a hard rock song, and having brought on Tim “Ripper” Owens and Blaze Bayley to take part as guest vocalists for this one song should make it the centrepiece of the album. The fact that it is, even though it doesn’t allow Ripper to actually unleash his powerhouse vocal (perhaps for fear that it would overshadow Tate’s degenerating vocal abilities) is a shame. This is the one song on the album I can almost get on board with, and I would be lying if I said it was for any reason except for Ripper and Blaze’s appearance.

The fact that Tate has struggled gain the Operation: Mindcrime name seems absurd given that the albums are practically still a two man show, with himself and Kelly Gray doing the bulk of the instrumentation. Why not just stay as Geoff Tate or The Geoff Tate Band? Is it so necessary to market himself based on his past with his other band? Despite this, the music will still be what he is judged on, and so I come back to the way I started this review. There must be people out there who like what Tate has been writing, both here and in the last ten years of his time with Queensrÿche. I’m just not sure who they are. This album is probably a little more interesting that The Key. That’s about the best I can say about it.

Rating:  One long monotone.   1.5/5

879. Operation: Mindcrime / The Key. 2015. 1.5/5

So yes, you are right. After the break up of Queensrÿche, and the release of Frequency Unknown by Geoff Tate's side of the break up, and the extreme averageness of the music written and performed on it, I did vow that I would not be seeking out anything further along this path. It had been an epiphany, that the recent spate of Queensrÿche albums had obviously been engineered by Geoff, and that style was not for me. I would no longer have to follow his releases. But I couldn't shake the curiousness. What if, by some small miracle, Geoff and his new band actually produced something that came back to the roots laid down over 30 years ago? What If they did and I missed it? So despite my better instincts, I delved into The Key to see if I could be transformed.

So once again I've gone in with an open mind. I've got a pretty fair idea of what I might find, and I have no preconceptions that this will be a great album, or a piece of crap. I've played the entire album in my general 'album listening' places, each one giving me a different perception of what is on the album - at work at my desk, in the car while driving, in my 'Metal Cavern' at home while writing, and in my wingback chair in the lounge room. In doing so I gave the album every chance to find its way into my psyche, to find its way into a vein that would deliver it to the correct processing parts of my body, and be able to take hold. I gave it every chance.
Part of the process that was distracting was Geoff's insistence that he was writing a three part concept story. Really? Haven't you done this already? Oh well, I guess Alice Cooper does it every couple of albums so let's just get past that and listen to what has been afforded us.
I guess I'm going to have to get used to the tempo, which is slow to a maximum of mid-range. No doubt I also have to get used to the bass guitar rumbling quietly along the bottom of the album, and the keyboards floating along at the top. Yep, I've heard this before, but probably not in the degree it will come across here given the Geoff now has complete control of the direction of the music. "Choices" acts as the entry point to the story, musically in just this way. Once it segues into "Burn", the guitar joins the party in that same grungy way that Tate has made synonymous with his music, while the drums roll in with the time-keeping role. It's catchy enough, but what's missing here? What's missing is any urgency in the music, we just flow along like a slow moving river. No worries, "Re-Inventing the Future" sounds a bit more like what you would like to hear... in fact... it does sound like a poor man's version of something from... well... maybe Operation: Mindcrime II? Hmmm... yeah, I remember this feeling of slight disappointment before. It starts off with the right moves but soon loses its mojo in the mix. It's a shame, but perhaps there is still better to come? In "Ready to Fly" my initial reaction was, "What's that keyboard? It sounds like Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds!!" Perhaps I am to be mistaken about the chance of better to come. The story-joining "Discussions in a Smoke Filled Room" leads into "Life or Death?" which features a guest vocal from Mark Daly. Despite the slight increase in an upbeat song, and Daly's welcome cameo, the momentum of the album is barely able to lift itself from the canvas. "The Stranger" isn't able to improve the mood.
"Hearing Voices" is perhaps the closest Tate comes to an old style song from his previous band, with the harmony guitars through the middle of the song certainly showing a significant similarity to the Queensrÿche sound. "The Queue" puts a stop to this immediately, with the slow treacle-like music stretching out to eternity, while Tate quietly manoeuvres his vocals within, and the strange keys and that saxophone moving this song into waters that are somewhat indefinable. It suddenly sounds like we are in a 1940's detective show, with the star wandering the darkened streets trying to find some clue as to where he is going. Yikes. "An Ambush of Sadness" is a minute and 41 seconds of an inconclusive instrumental, which is followed by "Kicking in the Door" Where it sounds like they are bringing in the string instruments, but perhaps they are just using the keyboards in a different way. Again though, we are just creeping along, almost lulling the listener off to sleep such is the slow pace and mostly uninteresting style of the music. Oh, but when the saxophone comes out in "The Fall", it pretty much puts a big full stop on all of this. If it wasn't too much of the big atmospheric keyboards trying to dictate the flow of the song, once Geoff pulls out the sax it all becomes a bit too overblown and cringe worthy for my taste.

Everyone who goes to listen to this album should know what they are in for. The equation is pretty simple. If you enjoy Geoff Tate's stuff, not only his solo stuff but the last half a dozen Queensrÿche albums, then the odds are in your favour that you will enjoy this. Any one who feels the polar opposite of this will no doubt find more disappointment in store if they venture into this first album of what will no doubt be countless more with the same modus operandi.

Rating:  This ain't nothing, this ain't even a chore.  1.5/5