Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime, a Concept Masterpiece

When it comes to concept records, few have made the impact that Operation Mindcrime had.  Recorded by Queensryche, Operation Mindcrime tells the story of a man who gets caught up in a terrorist organization and wanting out of it.  The album got released in 1988 and has since gone on to be one of the most classic concept records in music history.  

The album kicks off with Remember Now, an mysterious intro with the main character stating he remembers what he did.  Then we get hit the the rockin instrumental intro, Anarchy X.  This is a short, but great rock intro to the rest of the album.  Then, we finally get the first vocal song on the album with Revolution Calling.  Chris DeGarmo gives a great intro guitar solo to the song which is followed by the amazing voice of Geoff Tate, as seen in the highlighted  link below.
Revolution Calling

Christ Degarmo

Geoff Tate

The album goes on with a nice flow from song to song that is amazing and very ground breaking for its time.  The transitions are smooth and never sound out of place which is very hard to pull off, but Queensryche pulled it off very effectively.  Some transitions that stick out most in my mind are when Break the Silence goes into I Don't Believe in Love and when My Empty Room goes into Eyes of a Stranger.  The transitions set up the next songs perfectly and really get you excited for them.  

The songs themselves are fantastic.  They are all well composed and every musician in the band gives it their all to make every song unique and great to listen to.  Some of my favorite song on the album include Suite Sister Mary, I Don't Believe in Love, and Eyes of a Stranger.  Suite Sister Mary has a great mysterious sound to it that I haven't heard often in metal.  I Don't Believe in Love has amazing guitar work, great bass work, and fantastic vocals.  Similar thing with Eyes of a Stranger, Chris Degarmo does great guitar work and Geoff Tate's vocals are very unique and stand out.  Check out all three songs by clicking the highlighted links below.  

Suite Sitar Mary

I Don't Believe in Love

Eyes of a Stranger

With a great concept, an amazing flow, and fantastic songs, Operation Mindcrime is a must have album.  Even if you are not a huge metal fan I still highly recommend you buy this album.  You can preview this album by listening to it on Spotify, and if you like it you can get it on ITunes, Amazon, or Ebay.  I personally recommend getting a physical copy of the album.  Trust me, it is one album you will want to add to either your CD collection, or vinyl, if you can get one.  Operation Mindcrime, listen to it, love it, buy it.  

Trans Siberian Orchestra Christmas Eve and Other Stories Album Review

When Savatage decided to become TSO in 1996 they decided to make the Dead Winter Dead  be their inspiration for their music going forward.  They would focus on a combination of Christmas themed music and their classical metal style they used in Savatage. This combination would come to be when TSO debuted in 1996 with the Christmas Eve and Other Stories albums.

Musically, they deliver big time on this record.  This album has some of the best instrumental songs I have heard in a while.  From the heavy hitting Christmas Eve Sarajevo, to the classical rock combo of O Come All Ye Faithful, this album is full of amazing instrumentals.  The vocal songs are amazing as well.  You have great classical voices on songs such as An Angel Came Down.  Then you got more bluesy style vocals on songs like Good King Joy and This Christmas Day.  The music on the vocal songs is nothing to overlook as well.  The guitar solo in This Christmas Day is a great melodic solo that helps give that powerful feel to the song.  The same thing can be said about An Angel Returned, the melodic solo helps drive that Christmas Spirit the song is going for.

 

Lyrically, this album is all Christmas themed, like the music.  What makes the Christmas theme work so well lyrically is how the band makes every song with lyrics in it a story.  For example,  Good King Joy does a great job of sing about the Nativity.  When you listen to that song you hear a great blues take on the journey of the wise men and the birth of Jesus Christ.  Another example would be This Christmas Day.  This song is about a families daughter returning home on Christmas Day and them celebrating Christmas joyfully when she returns.  With each set of lyrics telling a great Christmas story, you are in for a series of very compelling lyrics.  

Christmas Eve and Other Stories is not just a great Christmas album, but a great rock album as well.  It is one of the few albums I have seen that successfully reaches both the rock crowd and the non rock crowd.  If you are a metal head or rocker you need to buy this record.  If you are looking for good quality Christmas music you need to buy this record.  While the album is available on ITunes, I recommend getting a physical copy of this record.  The album artwork is amazing and seeing how many people contributed to it in the booklet is memorable.  If you see it in a record store in a CD section don't hesitate, buy it!!