Geoff Tate shared a tantalizing audio teaser for his upcoming Operation: Mindcrime III album. You can hear a sample from the release below.
The former Queensryche vocalist has been promising the highly anticipated final chapter for a while now. He offered a more definitive update this week, revealing that the record is scheduled to arrive May 3 and the first single, “Power,” will be released on Friday, Mar. 20.
The original Operation: Mindcrime concept record was released by Queensryche in 1988. Combined with 1990’s Empire — and that album’s singles like “Silent Lucidity” and “Jet City Woman, the two records helped to establish the progressive band as a dominant presence in hard rock and heavy metal.
READ MORE: How Queensryche Created Their Future With ‘Operation: Mindcrime’
They delivered a sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, in 2006, with the legendary Ronnie James Dio giving a voice to Mindcrime character Dr. X.
Tate eventually left Queensryche after an acrimonious split in 2012.
Listen to a Preview of Geoff Tate’s ‘Operation: Mindcrime III’
What Can Fans Expect From the ‘Operation: Mindcrime III’ Album?
He says it’s not necessarily a prequel to the previous chapters of Operation: Mindcrime, but instead, it’s a storyline that takes place during the same time period as the original Mindcrime LP.
“The story of [the] three characters [in Operation: Mindcrime], really: Nikki, Dr. X and Sister Mary, it’s an interesting relationship between all three of them,” he shared with The Metal Voice. “And Nikki’s story has really been kind of chronicled on Mindcrime I and Mindcrime II, and nothing has really been written about Dr. X. Like, who is he? What’s he all about? Why is he the way he is? What got him to this place he’s at?”
“I just found the subject to be interesting. And especially at the age I’m at now, where I’m probably very close to Dr. X’s age, I’m looking at life differently now, and [I have] different goals, [and I have] a different reason to be, really,” he added. “Which I think probably happens with people as they age and get older.”
“You’ve had past accomplishments, you’ve had things that you’ve done that you’ve really been interested, and you’ve followed your dreams, you followed your muse, and now you’re at a different place where those wants and needs kind of change,” he concluded. “So Dr. X is a character study, really, of where he is at and how he got to where he is.”
According to Tate, Operation: Mindcrime III will be released May 3. The metal vocalist will be back on the road starting Mar. 28 in Germany, as he continues his ongoing Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter tour. The trek, which launched in early 2025, features what the singer says will be the final live performances of the original Mindcrime album.
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