When Geoff Tate looked back on Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime and its sequel

Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate reflected in 2009 on the impact of the band’s 1988 concept album *Operation: Mindcrime* and its 2006 sequel, which received a more divided response. The original remains one of prog metal’s most celebrated records, but its success also cast a long shadow over the band’s later work.

The album tells a story involving political corruption, murder and brainwashing, and helped establish Queensrÿche’s reputation. Tate said the band avoided genre labels because they could limit creative freedom, and described them as difficult to categorise. The article also notes that *Empire*, released in 1990, was the band’s only other record to achieve a comparable level of commercial impact.