- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080i/60
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0 Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Region: ABC (Region-Free)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 1 (1 x Blu-ray)
- Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
- Blu-ray Release Date: October 18, 2011
- List Price: $19.98
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BestBuy.com
Purchase Queensrÿche: Mindcrime at the Moore on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Performance
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Performance
[Rating:3.5/5]
Listening to Queensrÿche’s Operation Mindcrime always takes me right back to my late teens, to a time when my musical tastes were already shifting away from heavy metal, but there were a few of metal albums from the late 80s that still hooked me. Guns ‘n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction, Metallica– …And justice for all and Operation Mindcrime were three of those albums.
Queensrÿche had been rocking Seattle long before the whole grunge scene came around and slammed the door on the 80s hair bands that were dominating the airwaves. The band weren’t exactly your typical metal band, however. They certainly weren’t a “hair band,” but they weren’t speed metal or death metal either. No, they were a new breed of progressive rock; they were a progressive metal band. It wasn’t until 1988’s Operation Mindcrime, their third album, that they really showed just how progressive they were. The concept album was sort of The Wall for the metal generation. To be honest, I never did fully grasp what exactly the concept was, but I knew I liked it. It spoke of “revolution calling,” hinted of anarchy and distrust of the authority and government – hey, it was the perfect blend of hard rock and paranoia for misspent 80s youth. The story loosely tells of a junky, named Nicky, his relationship with a nun, Sister Mary, and how he is manipulated into becoming an assassin by a mysterious character named Dr. X. In 2006, the band tried to capture that magic again with their album Operation Mindcrime II, a sequel to the first album meant to complete the story of Nicky. Personally, I don’t think it is as successful as the original album, mainly because the songs aren’t anywhere near as memorable. The concept is just as convoluted as the original, so there it is a wash.
In 2006, they went on tour for Mindcrime, making their way to their hometown of Seattle where they would perform both albums in their entirety at the Moore theatre. That show is presented here on this Blu-ray from Eagle Rock. Captured over the course of three nights at the Moore, the band performed accompanied by actors in the roles of Nicky and Sister Mary and a big screen projecting filmed animation and visual effects, including Ronnie James Dio as Dr. X. The musical performances are spot-on, recalling some twenty-odd years ago when I saw these guys opening for Def Leppard at Madison Square Garden, so their skill and energy level is certainly not called into question. The problem lies in the small scale of the staging. This is a show the cries out for a larger setting and the tiny Moore and obviously limited budget of the production make it all feel a bit claustrophobic , repetitive, and anticlimactic; this is no Roger Waters’ The Wall in Berlin, to put it lightly.
Still, I’m certain fans will be able to enjoy the live interpretations of the music; I know I did and as a special treat, the encore included two non-Mindcrime tracks “Walk in the Shadows” and “Jet City Woman.”
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
There are too many quick edits and fast pans in this live, original HD production. Combining that with the numerous lighting effects and other visual effects that are often superimposed over the image, this 1080i transfer shows a lot of artifacts, but it is still acceptable though far from perfect for a concert video. The strongest aspect is the reserved amount of video noise and the deep look of the blacks in the image.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is a strong one, with spacious placement of the instruments, clear vocals, and surprisingly good dynamics. Oddly for this concert video, however, the surround channels are sometimes used for discrete panning of sound effects. I’m not one who is against the use of surrounds for discrete information in musical mixes, be it in studio recordings or live ones, but in this case, the fact that these sounds occur so infrequently it seems odd and out of place, forcing me to knock the score down a half a point.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
The supplements here don’t impress me much at all. There’s a mundane “tour documentary” that offers up some backstage footage of the band and a featurette on the Rock & Ride Charity Ride event in New York City, but the best of the bunch is the bonus performance of “The Chase” with the late Ronnie James Dio.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Tour Documentary
- “The Chase” Performed with Ronnie James Dio
- Rock & Ride Charity Motorcycle Ride
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Operation Mindcrime I and II are brought to life here, but hampered by a meager set and small budget that doesn’t serve the concept well. It also doesn’t help the lesser of the two albums, Part II, to be performed right after the superior original 1988 classic. At least when you’re watching this at home, you can skip through the tracks and avoid which song or songs you want or not watch both parts back to back.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product align=”right”]B005JJSG3U[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com
Purchase Queensrÿche: Mindcrime at the Moore on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Performance
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
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