Nobody but an absolute die-hard fan of Queensryche could have dreamed or foreseen how the band from Washington State would come crashing into the rock/metal progressive party in 1988. The group’s first couple of albums, 1984’s debut The Warning and its follow up Rage For Order in 1986 had charted well and the sound that Chris DeGarmo on guitar coupled with the blossoming intensity in which Geoff Tate sang was interesting, erring on the side of a youthful dynamic but didn’t look as though it would ever challenge the accepted order or the new American bands coming through. Then in May 1988 all that changed, the group released perhaps still to this day their single most important work, the dystopian tale of a heroin addict and an attempt at overthrowing the American way of life in a bloody revolution, its policies and its politics that made the times unbearable for many millions. To this day Operation: Mindcrime stands out as a classic, it paved the way for the band to become one of the most highly rated bands of the time with their complexity, incredible guitar playing and unflinching attitude to the social side of American life.