Operation: Mindcrime

Operation: Mindcrime is the third studio album by American progressive metal band Queensrÿche. Originally released on May 3, 1988, the album was reissued on May 6, 2003, with two bonus tracks, and again in 2006 as a deluxe box set. Operation: Mindcrime is a concept album and a rock opera. Its story follows Nikki, a drug addict who becomes disillusioned with the corrupt society of his time and reluctantly becomes involved with a revolutionary group as an assassin of political leaders. In January 1989, it ranked at No. 34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". Operation: Mindcrime was Queensrÿche's breakthrough album, reaching number 50 on the Billboard 200 while its last two singles "Eyes of a Stranger" and "I Don't Believe in Love" served as the band's first charting hits in the United States. The album was certified by the RIAA as gold in early 1989, and was certified as platinum two years later. A sequel, Operation: Mindcrime II, was released on April 4, 2006.