Review Summary: For those that have been waiting for a legitimate return to Queensryche’s classic sound, this is it.
When Queensryche released their self-titled album in 2013, it was the first time the three remaining original members had full creative control over every aspect of their music. Given the circumstances, it made sense to play it safe and release something as close to their classic sound as possible. However,
Condition Human was an awkward follow-up, to say the least. When left to their own devices, it seemed like the band weren’t entirely comfortable with their freedom and were possibly even unsure what to do with it. It wasn’t until
The Verdict that they seemed to finally settle into their own creativity. It was on that album they decisively stepped outside their comfort zone, releasing an album that was proggy, catchy, and more atmospheric than anything they had done in a long time – and most importantly it didn’t rely solely on nostalgia.
Digital Noise Alliance brings back a lot of those nostalgic elements while continuing down the musical path established on
The Verdict. Whether or not you view that as a positive will largely depend on how committed you are to the band’s new sound versus their classic formula.
When discussing
Digital Noise Alliance’s direction, Michael Wilton said, “You don’t want to take too many drastic chances in this day and age,” and he wasn’t kidding. Except for a few surprising ‘prog’ parts (most obvious on the seven-minute closer, “Tormentum”),
Digital Noise Alliance doesn’t take any drastic chances. In fact, it takes a step back from the unique sound introduced on
The Verdict in order to reintroduce a formula initially established thirty years earlier. To say that
Digital Noise Alliance borrows liberally from
Empire would be putting it mildly. The first two tracks on the album sound like they could have been lifted directly from
Empire, with “In Extremis” opening the album with an upbeat bass guitar-driven tempo that gives off definite “Best I Can” vibes, and “Chapters” relying heavily on its big chorus to carry it through its three-minute runtime. They’re both good songs, but not what anyone would refer to as a band taking a “drastic chance”. Fortunately, the rest of the album filters in some
The Verdict influences,
Rage for Order ambience, as well as expanded song structures, in order to bring a unique twist to what often feels a lot like listening to a more metallic
Empire.
One of the biggest reasons a lot of these songs elicit instant nostalgia is because the riffs have dropped a lot of the modern heaviness in order to get back that clean, harmonized, sound
Empire utilized in abundance. Also, there is a lot more nuance than what the band had been employing lately. From subtle keyboards to more interplay between riffs and guitar melodies, some of that classic sophisticated Queensryche sound has returned. They’ve even pushed the progressive elements a bit more within the expanded runtime of a lot of these songs. From brief bass flourishes to melodies that tend to veer off on quick tangents before returning to the main motif, the musicianship on these songs is top notch; just listen to the
Rage for Order-influenced “Nocturnal Light” for a great example. If I have any complaints, it’s more of a personal one. Essentially, I loved the direction the band were heading on
The Verdict and to see them dismiss a lot of that for what amounts to nostalgia’s sake took me a while to come to terms with. That doesn’t mean
Digital Noise Alliance is bad. On the contrary, it delivers the classic Queensryche feel that has been missing for the better part of thirty years (even doing it better than the other La Torre-fronted albums); it’s just a step away from what looked to be an exciting new direction.
For those that have been waiting for an actual legitimate return to Queensryche’s classic sound (and not just a surface level throwback),
Digital Noise Alliance is it. It delivers everything their 2013 self-titled release did, but it also includes a lot of elements that were missing such as the sophisticated nuance in the songwriting.
Digital Noise Alliance isn’t just a homage to the past, though, because it also takes the best elements from
Condition Human and
The Verdict, such as the metallic edge and progressive slant. Altogether,
Digital Noise Alliance is probably the closest modern Queensryche has ever been to recapturing their classic sound, but it’s still decidedly contemporary with its use of the more metallic and progressive elements first introduced with Todd La Torre.
