In a new interview with Rock Of Nations, former Queensrÿche vocalist Geoff Tate discussed his recent announcement about the upcoming ‘Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter’ tour and explained why he won’t perform the album after this tour.
“Well, because it’s gonna take me a couple of years [to hit all the cities and countries around the world] when I’m almost 70. That’s a good reason, I think,” he said.
When asked if he has had the opportunity to work on new music in recent years, Tate responded: “Yeah, actually, over the last couple of years of preparing for this upcoming tour, we have quite a few songs written for the album. I guess you don’t call ’em albums anymore. I don’t know. We’re gonna release a song one at a time, but we have a full album’s worth of material that we’re gonna release over a two-year period. And, yeah, so that’s all ready to go. And then in the meantime, I’m finishing up… It’s funny — people ask me, ‘Are you still on tour?’ Yeah, I’m still on tour from the last tour that I started years ago. It takes me about two, two and a half years to get everywhere. It’s kind of a slow process. So I’m just finishing up ‘The Big Rock Show’ tour, which ends in Scandinavia in January. And then I have a little time off before we start up ‘The Final Chapter’ shows.”
Released in 1988, Queensrÿche’s ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ catapulted the band to fame. The concept album tells the story of Nikki, a drug addict who becomes entangled with a dangerous cult led by a figure named Dr. X. Thanks to its compelling narrative, Operation: Mindcrime is considered a classic in the genre.
On the other hand, the sequel ‘Operation: Mindcrime II’ had mixed reviews. Many fans and critics felt it was not needed and took away from the impact of the first album.
However, it seems a new ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ album is in the works and it will be the final album of the series. “I would say it has more of an early Queensrÿche feel,” the rocker said of his upcoming solo work in another interview. “[The new songs are] super heavy, and some of ’em are incredibly technical. They’re like algebra. You need a calculator when you’re listening to the song.”
“And, of course, some of them are very emotional. It’s the last chapter in the ‘Mindcrime’ series,” Tate added. “So it’s following the exploits of Dr. X and Nikki and Sister Mary, and picks up at a particular point in their story and kind of does the microscope of what is happening at that particular time with them. And I am just in love with it. I am so happy with everything so far, and I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
Tate announced the final ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ US tour for 2025 two months ago on social media. It starts March 18 in Tucson and ends April 25 in Boise, Idaho, then continues on September 25 in Greenville, and wraps up October 18 in North Tonawanda.
