[2][3][4] 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.

[6] Operation: Mindcrime was Queensrÿche's breakthrough album, reaching number 50 on the Billboard 200 while its 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 idea for the album came to Geoff Tate after moving to Montreal, Canada, and listening to the loose talk of members of the militant Quebec separatist movement who had grown friendly with him, some of whom were in organizations which engaged in bombing and terrorism.

At the head of this organization is a mysterious political and religious demagogue known only as Dr. X, who manipulates Nikki through a combination of his heroin addiction and brainwashing techniques to become an assassin.

Suffering from an almost complete loss of memory, Nikki is put into a mental hospital, where he retraces in his mind his last moments with Mary ("Waiting for 22", "My Empty Room").

Back in the present in the hospital room at the beginning of the story Nikki has regained his memory, but now stares at his image in a mirror, unable to recognize who he is and what he has become ("Eyes of a Stranger").

Contemporary critics praised the band's musicianship, Geoff Tate's voice, the complex and well-developed storyline and Peter Collins' production.

[17][18][19] Rock Hard reviewer remarked how Queensrÿche's music featured "clever breaks, unusual song structures and ingenious arrangements", which was "an unmistakable sign that the band (did) not aim to the taste of the masses, but primarily (wanted) to publish intelligent, artistically demanding albums.

found some flaws only in the apparently incomplete storyline and wondered if the "highly socio-political" topic could "be enough to clinch the continued support of their existing fan base and turn on a whole lot more".

[17] Bernard Doe of Metal Forces stated that Operation: Mindcrime "deserves to stand alongside the likes of The Who's Quadrophenia and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for its conceptual brilliance" and lauded Queensrÿche for "injecting new blood into old ideas and stamping their own authority over them.

AllMusic's Steve Huey was sometimes taken aback by the lyrics and political observations "too serious and intellectual for their own good", but wrote that it is "a testament to Queensrÿche's creativity and talent that they can pull off a project of this magnitude.

"[15] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff appreciated how "the involved, heavy-handed storytelling" was paired "with the band's most urgent, up-front metal display since the Queensrÿche EP", which he considered "quite an accomplishment for a concept record wrapped up in drugs and religion.

The subsequent tour consisted of the band performing both Operation: Mindcrime and its sequel in their entirety, back-to-back, with actors, props, an elaborate stage set, and a video screen.