Album Review: Geoff Tate - Operation Mindcrime III

Here's the problem with being a nostalgia act; you can't make new nostalgia. Geoff Tate has been trading in that ever since he left Queensryche, both by regularly playing "Operation Mindcrime" in its totality during his live shows, and by forming a band named after that album. Now, after years of being utterly irrelevant in terms of making new music, Tate has brought back the one piece of his legacy he still has access to for yet another go.

What's different this time is that "Operation Mindcrime III" is not a sequel, as the first sequel was, but rather a retelling of the original from a different perspective. We're nearly forty years on, so the chances of Tate capturing that magic again are virtually zero. That's both because my own experience as a writer tells me he likely doesn't remember the mindset he was in when we wrote the original, but also because he hasn't written a single decent song since the much derided "Frequency Unknown".

But here's the thing; "Operation Mindcrime" might be the most overrated album in metal history. Yes, it brought concept albums into the metal vernacular, but I don't consider that a good thing. I have never understood what about the songs is supposedly legendary, but then again, I don't know why people call Tate one of the greatest metal singers of all time. I know my brain is weird, but there's something about Tate's tone that is almost Muppet-esque. And since his voice has obviously been damaged by his own mistreatment of it, a new installment of this saga is something I will fully admit I only listened to out of morbid curiosity.

After the scene is set, the first song is titled "You Know My F*****g Name", which tells us all we need to know about the nuance and maturity that will be on display throughout the record. Hearing Tate bellowing about doing "whatever the fuck I want" is very much like watching a rebooted movie or tv show that tries to be 'gritty' by adding in more sex, violence, and profanity to cover up the fact they don't have a story, or an understanding of the original characters. At that point, all you're doing is borrowing names people recognize in an attempt to con them into accepting your subpar writing. If something once worked, and you can't make it work again without changing the entire identity of it, that's a 'you problem'.

Much of the same can be said of the melodic songwriting, which is non-existent. Tate turns this album into a slog of slow setups with little in the way of a payoff. The sparse verses highlight the peculiarities of his voice these days, where he slurs through words in ways that could understandably invite questions about his health. He does not sound good at all, which is amazing when you consider he sounds far better when doing guest vocals for Avantasia. How can he get less out of his own voice less than Tobias Sammet does?

"I'll Eat Your Heart Out" almost does something good, as the melodic swell sets the stage for an epic chorus... but it is the chorus. Everything about the album feels like it needs 'more', as this supposedly cinematic narrative comes across so small and inconsequential. With Tate's almost weeping delivery, we're supposed to feel some sympathy for what turned the character into what he became, but the warbling sound more like he is in physical pain than emotional pain, so I come away feeling sorry for Tate, not the character.

Coming in at a brief forty-four minutes, including multiple scene setting pieces, the record winds up feeling more like an EP that got stretched into a full length by slowing things down and adding some extra padding. Adding up just the real songs doesn't come close to matching the weight of the original "Operation Mindcrime", and those songs are largely slow and flaccid attempts to capture a time and sound that is entirely in the past. The entire project lacks energy, and has none of the creative ambition Tate's trilogy of albums had, even if they turned out to be terrible. You could tell form them Tate was interested in making them, while this feels like something he made only because it was the only way he could get the funding to keep making music.

I might not like the original "Operation Mindcrime", but I can at least understand what other people see in it. I can't see what appeal this album would have. The songs aren't there, and Tate's voice is a smoke and alcohol damaged disgrace. Nostalgia might be a powerful drug, but I don't know if it's strong enough to make this record something you'll actually enjoy sitting through.