Operation: Mincrime is Queensrÿche's third full-length album, which was released on May 3, 1988. It is a concept album about a man becoming disillusioned with American society, and joining in a conspiratorial plot to assassinate its corrupt leaders, with spoken dialogue between songs that advances the story and ties the songs together. The album is generally considered to be the first, and still one of the most important and popular, progressive metal recordings. In January 1989, it ranked #34 on Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums Of All Time".