OPERATION : MINDCRIME II

This is by far the most disappointing album I bought this year. Clearly, it cannot stand the comparison with the first "Operation: Mindcrime": songs are pretty straightforward heavy metal (short - around 3 minutes each, basic verse/chorus structure, mostly heavy with a few ballads here and there), somewhere between "Hear In The Now Frontier" and "Q2K". Is the inspiration gone with Chris De Garmo? Well, some of the songs are still great, and the concept is very good, but there are too many forgettable songs on this album.

"Freiheit Ouvertüre" - a nice symphonic intro for this album, balances the heaviness of "Anarchy X" on the first "Operation: Mindcrime". "Convict" - a small spoken bridge (should those 8 seconds really be one album track? I think it should have been included in the intro). "I'm American" - first real uninspired song, sounding like the opener of many Iron Maiden albums. "One Foot In Hell" - a mid paced song, quite forgettable. "Hostage" - here the first progressive elements can be heard with a song that grows from beginning to end. "The Hands" - the first great song on this album, very catchy, in the vein of "I Don't Believe In Love". "Speed Of Light" - starts very smoothly, typical "Hear In The Now Frontier" stuff, until the spoken part when it becomes really boring. "Signs Say Go" - this is "Wot Kinda Man" revisited, totally insipid fast metal. "Re-arrange You" - this song starts the best part of the album, good music work and vocals, fast paced but very melodic, very reminiscent to the old material. "The Chase" - another outstanding track, thanks Mr Dio for the great vocal duet. "Murderer?" - great melodic intro, beautiful mix of emotions, I just don't like the brutal verses, but this song needs this type of contrast to express the feelings of the main character. "Circles" - a small quiet interlude with spoken/semi-sung lyrics, the first Mindcrime had a few of those ("My Empty Room"...). "If I Could Change It All" - the first ballad of the album, I really like ballads and this one is very good, ending with a choir (I just find the choice of the vocalist that impersonates Mary very odd... maybe someone with a higher pitched voice would have worked better). "An Intentional Confrontation" - starts symphonically, a bit like Nightwish meets Pink Floyd ("In The Flesh")... but it's nothing more than a continuation of the song "Speed Of Light". "A Junkie's Blues" - has an "outro" feeling, just like it gonna be the last song of the album (reminds me a bit of "Eyes Of A Stranger" for that). "Fear City Slide" - another forgettable song. "All The Promises" - finally a great closing track, an excellent ballad with male/female vocal duet... and a kickass guitar solo reminding me of the mid part in the excellent "No Stranger To Love" from Black Sabbath/Toni Iommi's "Seventh Star".

Rating: 61/100 (2 stars)