Classic Queensryche singer Geoff Tate talked about the band’s staple 1988 album “Operation: Mindcrime,” telling 105.7 KOZZ during a recent interview (via Blabbermouth):
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“It was one of the first five digital albums ever made. When we handed it to [EMI, the band’s then-record label], they didn’t like the way it sounded, because everybody at that time was used to analog.
“This was hard and brittle and it was metallic, which is what we were going for. They made us go back in and remaster it, which actually was a good call because it was a little too harsh for the world, I think.”
Focusing on the album’s initial reception, Geoff said:
“When it came out, it sold exactly what all our other records sold. It didn’t make any big noise; it was just another record.
“We worked for probably a year touring and trying to get radio airplay and all that, and it kind of just did what it did, and nothing really came of it.
“Our management actually came to us after a year and said, ‘Well, you guys have really given this a lot of work, and you’ve been touring. We think it’s time to go back into the studio to make another record.’
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“We started working on another record, and about a week later, we got a call from the head guy at MTV. He said, ‘I love this record, and I want you guys to make a video. I promise I’ll play it.’
“We made a video for ‘Eyes of a Stranger’, put it out and sure enough, he was true to his word and he played that song every day. In two weeks’ time, we sold 500,000 albums.”