Operation: Mindcrime

Founded in 2014 by <a href="spotify:artist:2OgUPVlWYgGBGMefZgGvCO">Queensrÿche</a> vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:4YGXSFiOaglXLDO92EDVeU">Geoff Tate</a>, Operation: Mindcrime specialize in melodic, narrative-driven progressive metal. Taking their name from <a href="spotify:artist:2OgUPVlWYgGBGMefZgGvCO">Queensrÿche</a>'s landmark 1988 concept album of the same name, the band formed as the result of <a href="spotify:artist:4YGXSFiOaglXLDO92EDVeU">Tate</a>'s acrimonious split from his former group in 2012. After a tense two-year period that saw both <a href="spotify:artist:4YGXSFiOaglXLDO92EDVeU">Tate</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2OgUPVlWYgGBGMefZgGvCO">Queensrÿche</a> touring under the moniker, a settlement was reached, with <a href="spotify:artist:4YGXSFiOaglXLDO92EDVeU">Tate</a> losing the rights to the name, but awarded exclusive performance rights to Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime II. The newly minted band, which features a rotating cast of musicians with <a href="spotify:artist:4YGXSFiOaglXLDO92EDVeU">Tate</a> at the helm, inked a deal with Frontiers shortly after forming. The Key, the group's debut studio long-player and the first installment in a planned trilogy, was released in 2015, with Resurrection dropping the following year. The band completed the trilogy in 2017 with the release of New Reality. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi