After an illustrious career with Queensryche, and an unfortunate court battle with his former bandmates, Geoff Tate has taken the first official step on his next path with “Reinventing The Future,” the debut single from Operation: Mindcrime.
From the forthcoming album, The Key, “Reinventing The Future” is one of 12 tracks included in the first installment of an epic musical trilogy. Finally able to write without the constraints of other band members or the expectations of fans, Tate truly is free to “reinvent the future.”
It can be argued that Tate might actually be better off making a fresh start under a new moniker. His last album, Frequency Unknown, would most likely have been met with much more enthusiasm if it was released as Operation: Mindcrime, rather than being one of two Queensryche albums released within a few months of each other from different bands.
Although you can never say never when it comes to band reunions, there is likely too much water under the bridge for the original members of Queensryche to share the stage again, much less record. It’s probably for the best, since Tate and his former bandmates are no longer headed in the same musical direction.
Understandably, “Reinventing The Future” features shades of Queensryche, but there are also enough unique elements to show that Operation: Mindcrime is an entity unto itself. The song features Tate’s signature vocals and unique writing style, heavy guitars nicely complemented by keyboards, a solid rhythm section and interesting time changes.
Queensryche fans who love immersing themselves in Tate’s incredible storylines and characters should be eagerly awaiting the release of The Key on September 18th.
It should be noted that Operation: Mindcrime is not actually a band, but rather “a musical project of like-minded people uniting to achieve a common goal.” All of the contributors have added their own influences to help shape the sound of the project.
While the songwriting falls mainly on the shoulders of Tate, Kelly Gray (guitars) and Randy Gane (keyboard), a number of other musicians are featured as well, including: bassists, Dave Ellefson and John Moyer, drummers Simon Wright, Scott Mercado and Brian Tichy, guitarist Scott Moughton and vocalist, Mark Daly.
Rather than trying to recapture the past, Tate should be commended for “Reinventing The Future” with Operation: Mindcrime. The countdown to September 18th begins…
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