GEOFF TATE Is Putting The 'Finishing Touches' On 'Operation: Mindcrime III' Album

In a new interview with Ernest Skinner of Canada's Border City Rock Talk, Scottish guitarist Kieran Robertson, who plays in ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate's solo band, spoke about the status of the recording sessions for Geoff's upcoming third and final chapter in QUEENSRŸCHE's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" album series. Asked if they are still recording the LP or if they are now putting the finishing touches on it, Kieran said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, super finishing touches. It's me, Geoff, [DISTURBED bassist] John Moyer [who is producing the effort] and then obviously all the other amazing musicians who have played on it. But right now it's just me, Geoff and John going over the final, final touches of the mixing and stuff. So we were a couple of days in Texas. We were just adding some new stuff. And then we have two days off at the end of this tour, [and we're] going to San Francisco to finalize it. So I'm fairly confident within the next month we'll have a… I mean, I've got the songs. It's really minimal things now. It's, like, 'That snare drum needs to come out or [be] turn[ed] up.' But in terms of listening to the album, yeah, it's killer."

Asked if "Operation: Mindcrime III" will more closely resemble the original 1988 "Operation: Mindcrime" album or its follow-up, 2006's "Operation: Mindcrime II", or if it will be something totally different, Kieran said: "That's a good question, man. I really like 'Operation: Mindcrime II' as well. What we tried to do, and me and John spoke about that, is we wanna bring you back to the 'Mindcrime I' universe with a modern feel — just modern as in the drums sound bigger. 'Operation: Mindcrime' is a very sort of tinny-sounding album. It's an incredible album, but just [by] today's standards, now this album's gonna have some bottom end and some punch. But I think definitely 'Operation: Mindcrime I' would be, from my standpoint of writing it and production, that's where my head was."

As for how many songs will end up appearing on "Operation: Mindcrime III", Kieran said: "Right now we're still sort of deciding that. Right now, in a Dropbox folder, I have about 10 songs. That's what we're kind of working with right now. It could be more, could be less. That's up to the big boss man to decide. I just submit them."

This past January, Geoff told Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station that his upcoming third and final chapter in QUEENSRŸCHE's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" album series is "all recorded" and is currently being mixed. "With John [Moyer] touring and me touring, it's a bit of a challenge to get us in one place so we can actually confer and listen to the music and make mix notes," he explained. "So we have to kind of line it up where we have several days that we can devote to it. So that's coming up very soon. So we hope to be finishing it up and releasing it this summer."

Tate went on to confirm that "Operation: Mindcrime III" will once again be a concept album with a storyline following Nikki, a drug addict-turned-assassin manipulated by a shadowy figure known as Dr. X. However, unlike the first two installments, "Operation: Mindcrime III" will tell the tale from "the perspective of Dr. X, how the story happened from his point of view. Which is kind of interesting, I think, because we've only heard it from Nikki's point of view, and he's been sort of this victim throughout the whole story. And Dr. X's perspective is completely different, 'cause he's not the victim at all. So it's very aggressive, and, yeah, I'm looking forward for people to hear it."

Asked if he always had it in his mind to write three chapters to the "Operation: Mindcrime" story or if it's something that just happened over time, Tate said: "No, it's kind of an ongoing story. I am fascinated by social science — why human beings do what we do, and groups of people that seem to have patterns over time, following in the footsteps of their generation. That kind of stuff just is fascinating to me. And so that was the basis for the story of 'Operation: Mindcrime'. And so I just kind of explored that — human nature and what happens to a guy who gets convicted of murder and sent to an insane asylum and then graduates to a prison and then finally gets out after 20 years in prison. Does he still have the motivation for revenge against the people that put him there? That's kind of the focus of 'Mindcrime II', the revenge aspect of it."

Regarding whether it's fair to say that "Operation: Mindcrime III" is a musical throwback to some of the earlier QUEENSRŸCHE material, Geoff said: "Yeah, I guess so. It's got some complex arrangements, which QUEENSRŸCHE was pretty into during our writing. It's just very aggressive sound-wise. And stylistically, I would say, it's very QUEENSRŸCHE."

Last October, Tate told Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic that he was "days away" from releasing the first single from "Operation: Mindcrime III". "And we have a whole bunch of new songs that we're gonna kind of release one at a time," he explained. "Rather than putting everything together in one disc and selling it right off the bat, we're gonna kind of spread it out over the next year and release track by track, kind of thing. And we're actually just days away from [putting out the first song] right now. We're excited. When everything comes out [in the form of several singles], by that time we'll have put it together as a one-piece package."

In January 2025, Tate told 96.1 KLPX afternoon jock Larry Mac about the upcoming third chapter in the "Operation: Mindcrime" album series: "Well, I wouldn't call it a sequel. I'd call it a continuation of the story. We're doing it in kind of an interesting way. We're not gonna release an album, so to speak, right off the bat. We're going to release the album once all the songs are released, if that makes sense. We're gonna release a song a month or every quarter, and then when it's all finished, we're gonna do a special presentation with all the songs included."

Regarding how he comes up with the musical and lyrical ideas for his albums, Geoff said: "It's all different, really. Sometimes it's a musical figure that you're fiddling around with in the studio that leads to a complete song or a few songs. And sometimes it's the lyrical idea. Sometimes it's a sentence that just sparks your imagination and gets you rolling on something. With the 'Operation: Mindcrime' albums, it was a story that came about really quickly, actually — I wrote it very quickly — and then expanded on it over the years to explain a little bit more in depth as to what was happening within the story. 'Cause the first album is a little bit vague in what it's talking about in it. The second album explains even more as to what the characters are going through. And the third album, again, will be even more explanation, but taken from a number of different viewpoints, which kind of is interesting, I think."

Originally released in May 1988, QUEENSRŸCHE's third studio album, "Operation: Mindcrime" took the quintet to an entirely new level. The concept, revealed through the songs, revolves around the character of Nikki, a recovering drug addict disillusioned with a corrupt society. Drawn into a cult-like revolutionary group headed by Dr. X (voiced by the late and beloved British actor Anthony Valentine),Nikki is manipulated to assassinate political leaders until his friendship with nun Sister Mary finally opens his eyes to the truth. Regarded as one of the greatest concept metal albums of all time, "Operation: Mindcrime" was certified platinum in 1991 in the U.S. and was ranked in the "Top 100 Metal Albums Of All Time" by both Kerrang! and Billboard magazines. Rolling Stone included it on a similar list, noting that "nearly 30 years after its initial release, 'Mindcrime' feels eerily relevant."

The original "Operation: Mindcrime" album weaved themes of religion, drug abuse and underground, radical politics. By contrast, 2006's "Operation: Mindcrime II" was regarded as an unnecessary sequel that many felt cheapened the original album, despite being a decent record in its own right.

Tate previously discussed his plans for "Operation: Mindcrime III" in a November 2024 interview with "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern". Speaking about the musical direction of his new solo material, Geoff said: "I would say it has more of an early QUEENSRŸCHE feel. [The new songs are] super heavy, and some of 'em are incredibly technical. They're like algebra. [Laughs] You need a calculator when you're listening to the song. [Laughs] And, of course, some of them are very emotional. It's the last chapter in the 'Mindcrime' series. So it's following the exploits of Dr. X and Nikki and Sister Mary, and picks up at a particular point in their story and kind of does the microscope of what is happening at that particular time with them. And I am just in love with it. I am so happy with everything so far, and I can't wait for people to hear it."

In a 2016 interview with East Valley Tribune, Tate said that he looked back fondly on "Operation: Mindcrime II". "I haven't listened to that album since I recorded it," he admitted. "However, it was a new story. Overall, it went down well live with the audience. I have no complaints or regrets about it."

During QUEENSRŸCHE's 2012 legal battle with Tate over the rights to the band's name, guitarist Michael Wilton submitted a sworn declaration in which he said the idea to make "Operation: Mindcrime II" was first brought to the table by Geoff's wife and QUEENSRŸCHE's then-manager Susan Tate. "The band was hesitant and did not want to lessen the original," the guitarist claimed. "But Susan Tate and Geoff Tate hired a budget producer and took control without really any other input. Scott Rockenfield [drums], Eddie Jackson [bass] and I were squeezed out of having any input in the musical direction or business decisions, thus the project suffered. During the initial writing phase, I would show up to bring my input to the creative process only to find that the producer, the new guitar player (who were both staying with the Tates at the time),along with Geoff Tate had been up late the night before or up early that morning and had written the songs without me. I was then told my ideas were not needed as the songs were now done. I could, however, 'bring my own style' in during the recording after learning to play what they wrote for me. In frustration, I gave up on the writing process knowing that I would at least get to make changes in the studio to bring back the QUEENSRŸCHE sound into these songs that we were known for. The final straw was when they refused to let me to be a part of the final recordings and mixes. I was shut out and they had the nerve to replace some of my parts on my songs. They denied me flying to San Francisco to be a part of my band, telling me that everything was ready to go and I was not needed. Had the communication been better, and had I been aware that parts needed to be recorded or rewritten, I would have been there. It was not until years later that I even became aware of the issues during the final recording and mixing of 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. It was all under the control of Geoff and Susan Tate. Call it delusions of grandeur, but they were convinced that this was going to sell three times more than the original, and to date (six years later) this album has sold fewer than 150,000 copies. The original album sold over 500,000 copies within a year."

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, has released four albums thus far with QUEENSRŸCHE: 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman", 2019's "The Verdict" and 2022's "Digital Noise Alliance".