wacken 2019 already casts its shadows. it is going to be the 30th anniversary of the festival and the wacken bookers already confirmed a good lot of bands for the coming year. one of the very early groups were queensrÿche. i knew the band only by their name but never actually took the time for a proper listen. so i informed myself about them. it became obvious that their third full length "operation: mindcrime" was widely considered their opus magnum.
it is based on an elaborate lyrical concept and was stated as progressive metal. this seemed to tick all the right boxes. a few weeks ago i was at the christmas staff party of my job. the whole staff drove to bremen to visit the christmas market. we had a bit time to kill before we would all meet up again for eating and drinking. as i knew the hot shots records store from a former visit of the city, i knew beforehand that i was going to spend some time there.
next to a nice copy of yes' "tales from the topographic oceans", i found a lovely original press of "operation: mindcrime" for a very decent price. the cover sleeve and the printed dust sleeve are in great conditions considering their age. the vinyl has a few hairlines and a little bit of surface noise at times but plays really good. musically the a-side is a scorcher. wow, fine balance between traditional heavy metal and progressive elements. the b-side falls a bit flat in comparison but is good as well. the lyrical concept is a real thriller, check this sucker out. emi records. 1988.
