Queensryche have taken their newest epic prog-metal show to the UK, starting a ten date tour at the Glasgow Carling Academy. These aren’t your normal rock show gigs though, totalling an astounding three hours of music the band are, for the first time in the UK, performing both the Operation: Mindrime concept albums in their entirety with full theatrical stage show. This involves not only video projections & stage props but also actors interacting with band members to tell the story behind the albums.
Operation: Mindcrime I follows an intriguing and complex plot that revolves around Dr. X, a political puppet master who brainwashes the story’s main character, Nikki, to assassinate corrupt public figures. The story also includes Nikki’s lover, Sister Mary. A former teenage prostitute who becomes a nun, Sister Mary is murdered mysteriously, leaving the cliffhanger “Who Killed Sister Mary?” Then, set twenty years after the original, Operation: Mindcrime II explores Nikki’s fate after being released from prison and reveals the identity of Mary’s killer. The album centers on revenge and what it does to people, their emotions and the choices they make. “This concert is the realisation of an idea that began nearly two decades ago” says lead singer Geoff Tate, “Between ritualistic execution, working prostitutes, motorcycle crashes and everything in between, we are able to really draw the audience in to the story.”
[flickr tag=queensryche]
