Now four albums into the Todd LaTorre era, Queensryche's latest release Digital Noise Alliance might just be their strongest yet, and that's saying a lot seeing as Condition Human and The Verdict were both, in the opinion of this writer, their best albums since Promised Land, way back in the early '90s. Joining LaTorre of course are founding members Michael Wilton (guitar) and Eddie Jackson (bass), alongside returning guitarist Mike Stone and drummer Casey Grillo (ex-Kamelot).
Kicking things off is "In Extremis", a terrific, vibrant melodic metal track, with Todd sounding spectacular and delivering a really strong chorus, and it's followed by "Chapters",
another upbeat melodic metal song featuring great textures with the guitars, the riffs heavy but melodic, and a very enjoyable chorus, Grillo also adding in plenty of intricate drumming underneath all the effective twin guitars from Michael Wilton and Mike Stone. Great track.
"Lost in Sorrow" has a very cool opening riff & drum barrage, the whole song sounds like vintage 80s Queensryche, with Todd soaring tremendously, a tremendous chorus, and twin guitars everywhere. Next up is "Sicdeth", a moody but quite heavy song, featuring a snarling Todd (fans of his solo album will love this song) and lots of guitar firepower, Casey also doing a great job on drums. "Behind the Walls" is a dark, crushing prog-metal piece, with killer riffs, and the vocals are outstanding, both lead and backing, taking the band down almost vintage Fates Warning territory…what a chorus too, just a heavy, heavy song, and it might be my favorite here. "Nocturnal Light" is another banger, with killer guitars, and it has that futuristic feel like Rage for Order and Operation Mindcrime styled material. "Out of the Black" is another winner...yeah, big ‘80s styled riffs, atmosphere, Todd killing it on the vocals, a memorable chorus, twin guitars all over the place…what's not to love?
"Forest" is this album’s dreamy soft song, complete with swirling guitar chords, lush vocals from Todd, keys…if you love "Silent Lucidty", this doesn’t sound like it, but it’s this albums version of that for sure. It's followed by "Realms", and the huge sounding guitars are back again, another classic sounding, majestic banger that will take you back to OM/Empire era Queensryche. "Hold On" has more crunchy & atmospheric prog-metal riffs, some nice intricate drum fills from Casey, and I like the way this one goes back and forth from bombastic & dreamy, and the chorus is really good.
Closer "Tormentum" is a lengthy, strong headbanger…what's really cool is, once you get through this album a few times, it’s actually heavier overall than it initially seems, and on this track, the riffs are huge, but it also contains some nice lead guitar fills and textures, with Todd sounding venomous on the chorus. A killer closer!
As for the bonus track "Rebel Yell"...yeah, it's a fun cover of a Billy Idol classic, but did it really need to be here? Regardless, it's saved for the end, so you can skip it if you desire, but it doesn't take away from what is a powerhouse album that is expertly produced and kick ass in every way. Digital Noise Alliance is an easy contender for album of the year here in 2022!
Track Listing
1
In extremis4:41
2
Chapters3:43
3
Lost in Sorrow5:12
4
Sicdeth4:42
5
Behind the Walls6:14
6
Nocturnal Light5:43
7
Out of the Black4:19
8
Forest4:46
9
Realms3:48
10
Hold On4:56
11
Tormentum7:29
12
Rebel Yell4:48
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