UMUR "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Verdict" from March 2019 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as guitarist Parker Lundgren has been replaced by Mike Stone (who previously played with Queensrÿche in the 2003-2009 period), and drummer Casey Grillo has been added as a permanent member after Scott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.

Kingcrimsonprog Digital Noise Alliance is the 16th full-length studio album by the Seattle Prog-Metal pioneers, Queensryche. It is their fourth album with Todd La Torre on vocals, and second without founding drummer Scott Rockenfeild in the band, last time (on 2019’s The Verdict) singer Todd La Torre also played drums, but this time Kamelot’s Casey Grillo is behind the drum kit. There has been much media drama about the band in the last decade, with various spats between current and ex-members, which can distract people from the music at times, but for my money the current four-album Todd-era run is the best continuous run of four albums the band has had since 1994. If you ignore all the distractions and concentrate on the music, you’ll discover some seriously good records.

Queensryche made their name by experimenting, changing constantly and never making the same album twice in the early days, and while this has resulted in a discography where not every album is to everyone’s tastes, the one thing you could also say is that each album sounded different to the last. However, since original singer Geoff Tate left the band, the run of three albums that followed do all sit in a fairly similar direction, and as good as that style is, sitting in one comfort zone isn’t something the band had ever done before.

With Digital Noise Alliance, Queensryche appear to be trying to test the edges of this comfort zone, broaden their horizons a little bit, expand the formula more and generally try a few new things. There’s a Promised Land style semi-acoustic ballad, (the kind they hadn’t been writing for the last few records), there’s a Billy Idol cover song, there’s some occasional new vocal styles Todd hasn’t used on record yet, there’s a different feel to the drumming, there’s a few riffs or chords or melodies you wouldn’t have heard on the last few albums and the guitar solos often take a different direcition to what listeners have been hearing for the last decade. Just enough variety to keep it fresh and not feel like they’ve fallen into a rut. However, the core of the album is the same core formula of the Todd era Queensryche albums, so it isn’t so different that it would scare away anyone who loved the previous ones, or a big enough departure that it would reach a totally new or different fanbase and win over anyone new. It’s the same sound; but broader, more diverse, ever so slightly more progressive, and most importantly fresh. A nice little grower of a record too, there’s an extra layer of depth and complexity here compared to the last few.

Highlights include: “Behind The Walls” “Tormentum” and “Hold On.”

If you like melodic guitar leads, gorgeous clean singing, clear bouncy bass lines and a slight prog edge without being ponderous or pretentious, then you’ll have a good time here. There’s always going to be a segment of the audience who just want the ‘80s sound or line-up, and I’m not even going to bother trying to convince you to try this if that is you, but for anyone who is still into the band nowadays but was just worrying if they might be over-relying on a formula or running out of ideas, I can reassure you this album is just as good as the last few, but not afraid to try new things and cover a bit more creative ground.