QUEENSRYCHE - Operation LiveTime
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."

QUEENSRYCHE - Operation LiveTime Page 2