QUEENSRYCHE Operation LiveTime [05.06.10
18:02:48]
By Martin Popoff
Seattle prog metal legends Queensryche have added another bit of business to
their summer touring with the re-juiced Judas Priest, and that’s the sonic
icings to the cake known as Operation Mindcrime II.
“We are in the process now,” notes Eddie Jackson, backstage at the band’s sunny
June 5th Toronto stop. “We've been working on it for the last year, trying to
put some finishing touches on the writing. Plus we have to lay some bass tracks
probably in about a week, while we’re on the road. It's going to be a little
interesting, because we've never recorded on tour. But because we want to meet a
certain deadline (vocalist Geoff Tate, from the stage later that night, said
January), we want to get ahead of the game and get as much of the instruments
tracked as possible.”
What will be this record’s musical personality, versus the original Operation
Mindcrime?
“Well, without giving too much away, we're talking, 17, 18 years later, so it's
going to be interesting to see what the fans are going to expect. But the thing
is, we've already released one Operation Mindcrime, so we're trying not to tread
water and make it sound identical to it. We've been there, done that, but we
still want to keep it within the guidelines of making it interesting and tense.
It's been such a long time, and to do a follow-up to something that's been kind
of a staple in our career, something that a lot of people recognize – our band
with that particular record - talk about some pressure.”
But the band had to be ready; the timing had to be right…
“It's been kind of on the back burner for so many years; so many fans have been
asking about it. When are you guys going to do a sequel? And it's like, you
know, we’re not really in that mode right now. We're trying to create music and
do what we do, at what ever given time it is. But we just felt that, you know
what, maybe it is time. I mean, it's interesting, because there are still fans
reaching for certain answers from the first one. And you're like, gosh, should
we even bother?! But a lot of fans are interested.”
“In a nutshell, it's got its moments,” adds Eddie, in summary. “There are going
to be some songs that might have a certain feel of what the first one was about.
But we're trying to really create an epic here. Because it could be just the
final chapter of this story that Geoff put together. We're going to try
incorporate some orchestration, more so than before. There are bits and pieces
of the first one. I think what we're trying to do is create this not so much
sonically, but visually, and just take it from there. Like I was saying before
though, it's going to be a challenge. But we're pretty much done with the
writing, and we’re just trying to put everything together and start recording.
We've got the drums and we’re going to be recording bass. I hate to be so vague
about it (laughs).”
Have you had a meeting and said, ‘We don't want to say too much’?
“Kind of. We never really have done this, or been in this position before.
Because whatever we were releasing, we would give people a heads up on what it's
about. But because this one is special to us, and hopefully to some of the fans
out there, we're just trying to keep it low key.”
Low key but certainly not completely – Queensryche’s set on the Priest tour
includes Mindcrime II track ‘I’m American’, which is a fast, heavy, fairly
technical and catchy tune with an interesting vocal hook and a proggy section –
it’s unarguably a solid first step toward rendering the record well-received.
Closing thoughts drift toward Queensryche’s tour mates Judas Priest…
“We're just kind of getting started with these guys,” notes Eddie. “It's been
like a week; it takes a good week or two until you feel each other out and get
to know each other. But the thing is, since we're the ones that are opening,
we've got to give them their space. But yeah, we talk to them, and we chat to
them, whether it's over lunch or dinner. It's funny though – Priest were a big
influence. With the original lineup, way back when Chris (DeGarmo – guitars) was
with us, we were opening this one show, a local club show, way back in ‘82, ‘83,
with ‘Dissident Aggressor’. And Geoff said, ‘Wouldn't that be crazy to walk out
there and just play ‘Dissident Aggressor’? And we're like, ‘Yeah, let's do it!’
But no, you don’t want to steal their thunder - it's their show (laughs).”