Operation: Mindcrime

Well, today still finds my mood to be a poor one. I suppose I should not complain. I stlll have a roof over my head and food to eat, as opposed to so many devastated by the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I am also making more money than I have in a long time, even if I have to work two jobs to do it. And for the past three years I must say that I have been happy for the most part. It is simply that earlier this year I felt that my hope and dreams had all been dashed. More recently it seemed possible that I might recover those hopes and dreams. Now that possibility seems more remote than ever.

I am then still very much in the mood for depressing music. Indeed, my mind has turned back to my days as a metalhead and one of my favourite albums of all time. And perhaps one of the most depressing. The Queensryche album Operation: Mindcrime was released in May 1988. Operation: Mindcrime told the story of Nikki, a poor soul who falls into the clutches of Dr. X, a rather unscrupulous psychiatrist who advocates violent political change. Dr. X brainwashes Nikki for his own nefarious ends; namely, to perform the assassination of various political and religious leaders. To make things worse, along the way Nikki falls in love and loses the woman he loves in the worst way possible. In many respects the plot of the album resembles both the novel and the movie The Manchurian Canidate. In th arena of heavy metal music, it is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of any band.

The album's biggest hit and, in my opinion, the best song that Queensryche ever wrote, was "I Don't Believe in Love." The song occurs after Nikki's beloved Mary has been murdered (some think it was Nikki himself who commited the crime, his mind controlled by Dr. X--I've always thought Dr. X himself committed the crime) and expresses Nikki's feelings of loss and hopelessness. It is also one of the saddest songs ever written.

Anyhow, here it is, a sample of Operation: Mindcrime by Queensryhce:

"I Don't Believe in Love" by Queensryche