Geoff Tate returns to sound exactly like the watered down version of Queensryche we thought he'd bring to the table.

I started this blog reporting about infighting in Queensryche a few years ago. So why wouldn't I write about it now?

First off it's not hard to beat any expectations I have of what a Geoff Tate lead band will sound like that isn't Queensryche. The last Ryche album with Tate's handpicked members went over like a fart in church. I've said enough about what's gone on between Tate and the other members of the band. I've talked about how quickly many of the hand picked band found reasons why they couldn't tour to support the album that generated a contest about how much fans hated it. Rats jumping ship.  Remember that label even sponsoring that said contest and the very person to win was the least critical fan to even make it into the final round.

Ok, so the court case went on forever. Queensryche got to keep their name, Tate got paid off and was allowed to start a new band with a name that completely sounds like a Queensryche tribute band. OPERATION: MINDCRIME What was Tate's first plan of action for this new band? To write the completion of the Mindcrime arc throughout the next several albums of the band's initial offering. Talk about hogtying the creativity of your new band for years to come. Talk about an identity crisis.

So today this track appears in my Youtube. The hair, man that hair....Tate has a thing for switching up the mohawk and goatee to just a goatee every few years. It's cool, I get it, with all that hair dye going to waste just dyeing a beard you might as well grow out a chia pet on your head.

SO on to the music. What do I think of this first taste of OPERATION: MINDCRIME?...if this was actually a tribute band, I'd write them and tell them good job. It's what I'd expect from a tribute band playing the hallowed halls of an Asian cuisine and buffet joint on Saturdays in my hometown.
Oh wait, this is the genuine, original Ryche crooner. The spitter. The wine glass and vest man. hmm....Well, it's actually exactly what I thought it would be. The worn down voice of a guy who took his position in a once great band for granted and decided to start a pissing match with his band mates in public for the whole world to see. A world of viral videos and everything that actually used to happen behind doors all for the world to see - type of world. Good job Tate. You've succeeded in attaching your wagon to the sound that all the fans and your former band mates wish you had continued to perform instead of the shite you call burlesque when you were actually still in the band.
Whoop deee dooooo...