Resurrection is the second part of a planned trilogy from former Queensryche vocalist with his new band Operation: Mindcrime, who also feature John Moyer, Simon Wright, Brian Tichy, Kelly Gray, Randy Gane, Tim Fernley and Scott Moughton. Their 2015 debut The Key was a major disappointment, and not a good way to kick off this conceptual storyline, so how does Resurrection fare you ask?
Unfortunately, no better actually. As little life as The Key had, there's barely a pulse here on Resurrection, and it's just mind boggling with the track record of Tate as well as the musical cast he's assembled here that he couldn't muster something a bit more compelling. Sure, "Left for Dead" and "Miles Away" have some decent melodies, and Tate is trying to reach some of the vocal heights that made him famous, but it still feels restrained, and there's nothing here that even takes the remotest of chances nor shows any aggression or power. The majority of the songs here are bland, mid paced numbers, with way too much atmosphere, and a clear absence of guitar. In fact, it's not till "Taking on the World" that we hear anything resembling a heavy metal guitar riff, and this song is actually mostly noteworthy thanks to the guest vocals of Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who seems to give Tate a kick in the ass to up his game just a little. "A Smear Campaign" tries to rock a bit, but then veers into some jazzy passages with saxophone and loses steam, while "Which Side You're On" actually works as a moody prog number with some cool rhythms, but again, the atmosphere is just way too thick.
In the end, Resurrection is mostly just a flat out bore, an album mired in way too many keyboard atmospherics with Tate crooning over the top. He's got a fine band, but doesn't give them anything to do here, which seems like quite the waste. It's as if Tate wants to create his version of Pink Floyd with this trilogy, but the majority of the material is either filler or unmemorable. With maybe a handful of decent tracks spread out around the first two albums, he's really going to have to knock it out of the park on the third installment to redeem himself.
Track Listing
01.Resurrection
02.When All Falls Away
03.A Moment in Time
04.Through the Noize
05.Left for Dead
06.Miles Away
07.Healing my Wounds
08.The Fight
09.Taking on the World
10.Invincible
11.A Smear Campaign
12.Which Side Your On
13.Into the Hands of the World
14.Live from my Machine
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