GEOFF TATE Says 'Operation: Mindcrime III' Album Was 'Recorded All Over The World'
Архив новостей | Русская версия
Ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate will release the third and final chapter in the band's classic "Operation: Mindcrime" album series, on May 3. The LP's first single, "Power", will be made available on Friday, March 20.
"Power" was written by Geoff and his guitarist/producer Kieran Robertson. It features vocals by Tate, drums by Rich Baur, bass by DISTURBED bassist and "Operation: Mindcrime III" co-producer John Moyer, guitar by Dario Parente and Amaury Altmayer, and synths and strings by Tate and Robertson. It was mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios in Pacheco, California.
In a new interview with the "Let There Be Talk" podcast, hosted by rock and roll comedian Dean Delray, Tate stated about "Power" (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's a cool track. 'Power' is the first — I don't know — we call 'em singles nowadays. It's the first release on the album. And, yeah, it's a really cool song — very, very energetic, very up, and kind of says a lot in a very short time, which I like."
Regarding the writing process for "Operation: Mindcrime III", which follows 1988's "Operation: Mindcrime" and 2006's "Operation: Mindcrime II", Geoff said: "I think you use whatever sort of way you can in order to get what you want. And, for me, I sort of look at it as a story, and I write the story out first of what is happening, and then I kind of dissect it and create chapters, and those chapters turn into songs. And then I kind of work to link them all together and follow a storyline that makes sense. And then you gotta kind of factor in musically how you're gonna tie it together. Does it make sense musically and melodically to put this song before this song, before this song, before this song? 'Cause that's a big thing too, is making it flow, so it doesn't seem obtrusive and people don't have to turn the page back to find out what happened, and they're kind of following along in a chronological order."
After Delray noted that "Power" "sounds like QUEENSRŸCHE", Geoff said: "Yeah. Well, part of the whole writing process was keeping the music in the universe of 'Mindcrime', writing within that style, I guess you'd say."
As for how "Operation: Mindcrime III" was recorded, Geoff said: "There's 13 songs on the record, and it was recorded all over the world. And the beauty of modern recording is that if you have the right equipment, the quality gear, we just take it with us wherever we go. And we set up in hotel rooms backstage at shows, venues. I think one track was recorded in a church. Just wherever we have the right kind of room for the sound, we can record there. We recorded one of the songs, parts of it, in this castle in Italy. Do you remember that character Casanova? Well, he was imprisoned in this castle way back when. And the place is just an amazing ruin, of course, but it had this one room that was just incredible. It [had] big, high ceilings, open environment, big stone walls and that kind of thing. But it added a really unique sound to the song. So anyway, we just kind of took advantage of that wherever we could and wrote the album as we were touring around the world, really. And I wrote music for the album and lyrics for the album. And Kieran Robertson, my writing partner for this project, contributed so much to this record, playing guitar and also writing music and lyrics too."
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.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
