Former Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate has announced that the first single from the final chapter of his legendary rock opera, Operation: Mindcrime III, is just “days away from releasing.” In a new interview, Tate revealed a major conceptual twist for the long-awaited album: the story will be told from the perspective of the original story’s antagonist, the manipulative cult leader Dr. X.
Speaking with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, the iconic vocalist gave the most detailed update yet on his ambitious plan to conclude the epic trilogy he began in 1988.
“It’s the continuation and the final chapter of Operation: Mindcrime. And it’s the story told from Dr. X‘s perspective,” Tate revealed. “So the previous two albums were from the perspective of Nikki, the lead character. And this is Dr. X‘s perspective, so it’s quite interesting.”
Tate also detailed an unconventional, modern release strategy for the album. Instead of a traditional album drop, he plans to release the new music incrementally.
“We’re days away from releasing a new song that’s coming out. 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 when everything comes out [in the form of several singles], by that time we’ll have put it together as a one-piece package.”
The original 1988 album, Operation: Mindcrime, is widely regarded as one of the greatest concept albums in heavy metal history. The story of a brainwashed assassin named Nikki and his relationship with the mysterious Sister Mary earned the band a Platinum record and a place in rock and roll history. A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released in 2006.
