Long before Seattle spawned Nirvana and their grunge ilk, the city was home to many groundbreaking rock bands. In the ’60s, Jimi Hendrix emerged from the jet city. Seattle sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson carried the torch for female hard rockers with their band Heart in the ’70s. Then in the early ’80s, one of the most groundbreaking bands in metal emerged from the city.

Queensryche‘s independently released 1983 debut EP set the metal world on its ear. The band’s sound was the perfect storm of Iron Maiden meets Judas Priest with a bit of Rush-worshipping prog rock thrown in. The delivery was quite unlike anything that came before, especially from an American band.

As part of Amazon’s monthly $5 MP3 album deal for June 2012, Queensryche‘s Operation: Mindcrime is on sale for only $5.

If you would like a physical copy of Operation: Mindcrime, the CD is available for only $8.97.

Operation: Mindcrime was the definitive rock concept album of the 1980s and Queensryche’s third full-length studio release. Each song tells the story of Nikki, a junkie turned assassin, and Sister Mary, a prostitute turned nun, and the conflicted lives they lead under the heavy influence of the nasty Dr. X and a shady priest named Father William. The band has played the entire album live as a rock opera, incorporating actors to play the parts of Nikki and Sister Mary and even recording Ronnie James Dio‘s one-time live performance as Dr. X which was played on a screen during all other live performances. There have been talks for years about staging Operation: Mindcrime on Broadway, but nothing has been set as of this writing.

Browse the main sale page to see the other 99 albums on sale for only $5 each in MP3 format through the end of June 2012.