Blistering.com has posted the fifth part of their celebration of the 20th anniversary of QUEENSRŸCHE's Operation:Mindcrime album. Blistering.com has been running a multi-part retrospective detailing the album's creation titled, "I Remember Now: The 20th Anniversary of Operation:Mindcrime."

The following is an excerpt from the fourth installment, from Christa Titus:

When Queensrÿche paints character stories about women, it often picks up a dark or tragic brush. The titular figure from the band's namesake song, "Queen Of The Ryche," steals souls under the cover of night. "The Lady Wore Black" is the tale of an enchanting woman damned to eternal life, while the homeless "Della Brown" struggles for survival and the fragile "Lady Jane" is possibly mad. Yet the best-known and most beloved among all Queensrÿche damsels in distress is Sister Mary, the prostitute-turned-nun who's repeatedly abused by men until she falls in love with Nikki, the protagonist of Operation: Mindcrime ??But the band didn't cut Mary a break either—indeed, she's put through the wringer the most. After she and Nikki finally succumb to their desire and make love, the villainous Dr. X drives her to suicide. She still doesn't find peace, haunting Nikki throughout Operation: Mindcrime II and chastising him for his weaknesses. By the time he dies as well, it's a relief to see them walk through the pearly gates together.??Pamela Moore performed Mary's duet with Nikki on "Suite Sister Mary," the nearly 10-minute song on the first Mindcrime that serves as the album's lynch-pin. When the band approached the Seattle native about the gig, she was acquainted with some of its members through her job at one of the city's record stores. Moore was also working with a popular local band and singing in radio and TV commercials. Her voice was featured in a long-running TV ad for the record shop, and she believes that's how the band determined she had what they needed.??"They called me up [while they were recording] in Montreal and said, 'How would you like to try out? How would you like to sing with Geoff [Tate]?,' Moore says with a laugh as she remembers. "I’m like, 'What?' ” ??Moore was flown up to Montreal since the band didn't want to take a chance on the music getting leaked. Over dinner, Tate and guitarist Chris DeGarmo explained that they were doing a concept record.??She says, "This is going over my head, ’cause here I was doing top 40 music, and I was thinking, 'What? Conceptual album? What does that mean?' "??They handed her a cassette tape with "Suite Sister Mary" to listen to that night. She got familiar with it, then went into the studio the next morning "and did the whole shebang," Moore says. "I was nervous about it, ’cause I wasn’t sure what they were gonna have me sing. Luckily it was something that I knew I could probably hit pretty good, I could probably nail pretty well for ’em. It turned out, you know—look what happened," she giggles. "I had no idea it was gonna be this career turning into it. It’s been a blessing that I’ve been really grateful for, that’s for sure."

Read the full story at Blistering.com.