DIGITAL NOISE ALLIANCE

I have to begin my comments on this album by saying that I stopped listening to this band back in the early 90's when grunge took the world of music by storm, so right out of the gate Todd's presence is a new one for me. So' 30 years after I last made contact with the band, an incredible reinvigorated Queensr'che releases their 17th studio album, and there's only a twelve album run that I just missed and the content of those records remains unknown to me. From the times of Empire we still have founder member Michael Wilton on guitars and long time bass player Eddie Jackson, accompanying them are Todd La Torre on vocals, Mike Stone on guitars, and Casey Grillo on drums. There are two main aspects of this album that immediately showed me its greatness and started de pull-me back process of nonstop listens, those are the outstanding and catchy guitar work, and the high quality on the vocals, both melodies and harmonies, plus the immense range Mr. La Torre has.

Besides that, the production on the rhythmic section is absurdly good, the album sounds heavy, clear and powerful, memorable from start to finish' before Rebel Yell'

The best way to describe what I'm listening to when I drop the needle here is a mix of late period (actual) Iron Maiden with the more technical early Queensr'che era, and a side of extra melodies and twin guitar work. Progressive metal with just the right virtuosity and complexity, never overwhelming and always hooky, all songs can be sing-a-long songs without abandoning the darkness and redness of the music, formidable formula!

The album kicks off with the intense opener In Extremis, and from that moment on it will just start climbing higher and higher in quality, reaching its pinnacle with the hypnotic Behind Walls, a future live anthem for sure. There's a moment on doubt in my mind with the softy Forest, something in the vocals perhaps, not the mood or musical content, I just find something off, very minuscule, but is there somewhere' however it still is a very strong song, perhaps the band just needed to provide a break before the final climb to the summit, trying to accomplish the hight they invested almost 30 minutes to reach, now they only have slightly over 12 minutes to get there again, and they do, eventually. Chapters, Lost in Sorrow, Sicdeth, Nocturnal Light, Out of the Black, Realms, Hold On, and Tormentum round up an exquisite setlist of songs, a very solid record. Highly recommended for any metal music lover, no matter the sub genre, perhaps the best in Progressive metal so far in 2022' just perhaps. Cheers'

QUEENSR?CHE, who would have thought that I would chronicle them one day? Founded in 1981, 86 and an avant-garde 'Rage For Order', 88 and the ultimate metal-prog concept before its time; MAIDEN and FLOYD reunited with Geoff TATE and his operatic voice and name taken from their original hit-anthem 'Queen of the Reich'. Keyboards to denote basic heavy-metal, a more complex composition that will propel them to the face of the world. A separation from the singer, the soul of the group, procrastinated albums bringing nothing new and drowning fans in repetition; in short what about this 17th opus, the 4th with Todd with vocals speaking of the alliance against digital noise, having apparently a more marked progressive expression?

"In Extremis" his recognizable, voice à la IRON MAIDEN, yes Todd has this particularity while the original group precisely took up the compositions of the master group, singular; good rhythmic melodic metal, weighed with the prog tessitura, the sound, a bit of latency and the catchy guitar. "Chapters" Jackson on bass distills a heavy heavy rhythm with a chorus removed for stadium, just enough to regress a few decades; good and agreed with the solo which goes well in break. "Lost in Sorrow" wakes me up a bit; high voice and "Empire" sound, choppy, progressive, it's starting to interest me; the catchy guitar riff and 5 minutes that go by like a letter in the post, with no mail delay. "Sicdeth" more nervous, at least this album is not boring, which I feared; drawing inspiration from the sound of yesteryear and with that cool proggy metal touch; the sober break that arrives gives hope of a drift for a few moments, that's cool especially that "Behind the Walls" arrives as a chained title with this enjoyable, latent, almost symphonic intro; that's it, I feel like I'm diving back into "Operation" at this precise moment; his recent, more nervous, more 'Cadbury', my feet vibrate it's a good sign; it is especially that we are not dealing with an album mouth hole on the classic sounds; a synth in the background stamped prog metal smells good; variation of the voice, guitar excrescences, synth re-covering, the riff which holds in suspense and the final in crescendo with the crystalline guitars and this final synth which makes shiver, hop. "Nocturnal Light" tumbles and drives the point home: progressive latency by the voice, the rhythm, the architecture of the title built like a story; be careful, the station wagon is huge, everything is there to make you swoon; my speakers liked it, they even got me out of the dust of the 80s by pushing the volume.

"Out of the Black" for the 2nd side and an old-shool sound for a melodic title with a licked riff, voices and choirs as before and the solo which glides by itself; title à la MAIDEN à la PRIEST, à la LIZZY. "Forest" paf stop ballad; text on the pandemic, the loss of a loved one, melancholy harmony just right; warm, languorous voice and latent declination with a keyboard touch. "Realms" opening medieval riff, we wait for the horde of Huns coming with their swords; the guitar riff that squirts, the musical voice that follows the rhythm, all that I like or how to combine text and instruments; it goes up, it's nervous and melodic, epic and agreed all the same, you can't have very good all the time. "Hold On" goes on suddenly, jerky air, the drums raise the atmosphere; Todd comes in softly with Chris' vocals on the verse; it's 80's atmosphere on the other hand without much novelty we agree; the whirling break with this melodic, fruity guitar saves the title; boom sequence with "Tormentum" the title: intro hard riff speed à la SLAYER, sharp voice MAIDEN which sends; more choirs, the repetitive air and it starts very heavy, only the riff suggests that it will last; 3 minutes, a few thoughts, a voice-over, pads, an incisive guitar solo that searches for itself then leaves which of Mike and Michael will have the last word; the backing vocals return before Todd regains control aided by a decrescendo. "Rebel Yell (bonus track)" synths in front for Billy's limpid cover with guitars in the background, additional title for the pleasure of remembering, also a reminder that time flies too.

QUEENSR?CHE released a catchy, varied, dynamic and sometimes atmospheric album with metal fusion and advanced proggy; latent atmospheres are created and avoid falling into a redundant phase; an album that does not invent but brings up to date the progressive fusion of metal with the progressive current. Good quality album which could be more noticed if certain titles had explored these prog breaks more deeply.(3.5)

"Digital Noise Alliance" is the sixteenth full-length studio album by US power/heavy metal act Queensrÿche. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2022. It´s the successor to "The Verdict" from March 2019 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Parker Lundgren has been replaced by Mike Stone (who previously played with Queensrÿche in the 2003-2009 period), and drummer Casey Grillo has been added as a permanent member after Scott Rockenfield didn´t return (he didn´t play on "The Verdict" either, where the drums were recorded by lead vocalist Todd La Torre, who also happens to be a capable drummer). Rockenfield took a longer paternity leave, but his status with the band was uncertain for quite a few years, before lawsuits between him and the other two remaining founding members Michael Wilton (guitars) and Eddie Jackson (bass) put an end to his time in Queensrÿche.

"Digital Noise Alliance" is the fourth La Torre fronted Queensrÿche studio album after he replaced Geoff Tate in 2012, and it further cements the musical direction which Queensrÿche returned to after they fired Tate. The last couple of Tate-fronted Queensrÿche studio albums weren´t well received and many fans felt that the band were going through the motions...and in retrospect that´s probably exactly what was happening, and change was needed and ultimately happened. The 2013 eponymously titled "Queensrÿche" album introduced a more power/heavy metal oriented style, where it was obvious that the band were searching for a sound closer to their late 80s/early 90s heyday, and with the new energy and strong vocals of La Torre they arguably succeeded in giving the fans what they had been craving for a number of years. Melodic and catchy power/heavy metal with an occasional commercial edge, but still not mainstream in a pop/rock fashion.

Since then they´ve continued down that same path and with a couple of more good quality studio albums under their belt with La Torre fronting them, it´s no surprise that "Digital Noise Alliance" is more of the same high quality melodic power/heavy metal which Queensrÿche have been exponents for in the last decade. La Torre is still an expressive and skilled singer with a voice which sounds like a combination of Geoff Tate and Bruce Dickinson (which are definitely not the worst singers to be compared to), and the band are as well playing as ever (lineup changes or not). This is sharp, melodic, catchy, hard rocking, and clear sounding power/heavy metal, which is packed in a detailed and polished sounding production, which suits the material well.

It´s maybe a bit too nice sometimes and I´d love to hear this incarnation of Queensrÿche really let loose and cut some of the polished production values and atmosphere enhancing keyboards. When they are most raw and heavy metal oriented (like the verse section of "Sicdeth" or the heavy riffs and rhythms on "Behind the Walls") they sound incredible. On the other hand they are still masters of producing beautiful harmonies (both with guitars and vocals) and it´s a big part of their sound, so it wouldn´t be Queensrÿche without the melodies and the polish.

Upon conclusion "Digital Noise Alliance" is another good quality power/heavy metal release from Queensrÿche. There are no surprises here and if you enjoyed the last couple of albums this one will be right down your alley too, and that´s maybe the only complaint I have with latter day Queensrÿche. Their will to experiment and try out new things are pretty much gone and although they arguably produce high quality music, they´ve locked into a groove now and their albums sound a lot alike. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).