Whilst BethesdaвЂ™s focus is on the new release, owners of Special Edition arenвЂ™t being left behind.

Special Edition takes the already charming world of SkyrimДЄnd makes every locale a genuine vista in its own right Legendary Edition in 2013 gave players a one-stop-shop to all prior DLC content Special Edition in 2016 brought graphical updates to the game to keep it competing with other modern titles and Anniversary Edition will carry its own slew of new features to keep the hype for Elder Scrolls alive into the 2020s. It has become something of a joke the amount of re-releases Skyrim has received, but itвЂ™s hard to deny the gameвЂ™s staying power and the influence of each and every remaster. SkyrimвЂ™s 10th anniversary is just around the corner, and Bethesda have decided to celebrate the occasion with a new release of the monolithic RPG. Skywind promises to make old new again, and much like Skyblivion, we wait in anticipation to play it ourselves! Whilst still a respectable RPG, the gameвЂ™s dated graphics and unwieldy gameplay make it a struggle to replay without its own mods. The album winds up with IвЂ™ll Be the One, a pretty generic, mostly acoustic ballad which could have been left on the cutting room floor, and then Fly Angel Fly, the darkest and heaviest track here and a strong coda.The other major remake project, Skywind instead tackles the oldest of The Elder ScrollsвЂ™ fully 3D installments, Morrowind. As you might expect from a bunch of Italians, thereвЂ™s a tune here titled AriaвЂ¦and Tate sings it in dramatic Italian, with a twin guitar solo to match midway through. The art-rock alienation anthem Anybody Out There is built around a familiar David Gilmour riff вЂ“ but itвЂ™s not the delicate acoustic one you might be thinking of. His wintry vocals hit an unexpectedly operatic peak in Remember Me: imagine the Psychedelic Furs playing metal. Wake Up Call has a suspicious similarity to a famous Pink Floyd tune: вЂњHow do we get beyond the lies?вЂќ Tate wants to know. Another Change, a breakup anthem, has some wild tapping from the guitar вЂ“ itвЂ™s not clear if thatвЂ™s Lonobile, Walter Cianciusi, or Dario Parente, the latter two also being Operation Mindcrime members. It takes a lot of balls to name your own song Let It Be вЂ“ this stomping, midtempo minor-key ballad is infinitely better than the one youвЂ™ve been subjected to on the BeatlesвЂ™ worst album. Guitarist and main songwriter Aldo Lonobile contributes a careening, blues-infused solo. The band reach for a steady, storm-brewing backbeat atmosphere in the second track, Strong Pressure, driven by bassist Luigi Andreone and drummer Michele SannaвЂ™s leaden thump. The opening track, Once Again One Sin immediately hits an ornate, symphonic drive, keyboardist Antonio Agate fueling it with his elegant minor-key piano and wafting string synth, much as he does with the rest of the album. His sound hasnвЂ™t changed much over the years: NWOBHM rock with cinematic keyboard ambience.

In addition to fronting the Operation Mindcrime touring band, he also has a new album, Relentless, with his Sweet Oblivion project streaming at Spotify.

Who knew how prophetic QueensrycheвЂ™s Operation Mindcrime would become, thirty years after it came out? Did the band have a sleeper agent in Davos, keeping an eye on developments in predictive policing and data mining? Or did the group just have a healthy cynicism about transnational elites and their drift toward Orwellian totalitarianism?ДЄnd who knew that in 2021, the bandвЂ™s frontman would still be going strong? Geoff TateвЂs vocals have weathered the storm well.

Oblivion cutting room floor