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Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Queensryche - Digital Noise Alliance (2022) | The Chairshot
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Andrew’s Judgmental Album Reviews: Queensryche – Digital Noise Alliance (2022)

New Queensryche is up to bat! Does the JAR still consider it a sad Geoff Tate cover band, or have they found their footing with La Torre?

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Now this band, is a little unlike some of my other “classics” that fell off my radar and I’m giving a fair shake after a decade of indifference. Full transparency, I was/am a huge fan of Geoff Tate. His vocal range and control drew me to Queensryche in the 90s, and when everything fell apart and the group kicked him out; I was admittedly conflicted. Frequency Unknown is an awful record…but I also never really liked anything new Queensryche has put out since their split from Geoff in 2012.

Last year, quarantine didn’t really allow for many more hobbies than the online related sort, so I gave Todd La Torre‘s solo album a spin; and I didn’t hate it. Okay, it was pretty good I had a few complaints, but its not a bad album. So now its time for me to give this new version of Queensryche a shot. Is La Torre gonna continue to do a really bad impersonation of late 90s Geoff Tate; or has he started finding his own groove.

Queensryche is: Todd La Torre (vocals), Michael Wilton (guitars), Mike Stone (guitars, backing vocals), Eddie Jackson (bass, backing vocals), Casey Grillo (drums)

  • Artist: Queensryche
  • Album: Digital Noise Alliance (2022)
  • Label: Century Media
  • Total Track Time: 60:32

In Extremis starts off with a little ambient prog metal space ship noise, but surprisingly…goes into a familiar Queensryche guitar tone and a little gallop. Interestingly the song is definitely a mixture of the older Queensrcyhe sound and a little Iron Maiden. It seems like La Torre is doing a better job at singing the song naturally instead of just trying to do a Geoff Tate impression. The song title literally means “at the brink of death”, so with a lot of time racing tempo and imagery, some consoling words and eventually flying away; its a very interesting song about being on a deathbed. The chorus is catchy as well for being a song about death. Chapters really locks into an Empire-era sound, that just really grooves along well and is sung very well. The more deliberate tempo and cadence really brings in that early 90s Ryche vibe. Another great chorus that flows and just catches in your brain as the song moves along; “A rhythm of time, a heavy load, Drifts away like a traveling show, A winter’s cold, a summer haze, And the sunset on display, Lament the years and memories, No doubt, time’s out, can’t you see?”. 

Lost in Sorrow with some of the imagery and the way its sung really feels like it could be on Operation: Mindcrime. This song is a potential pivot point for me, because the singing style is very reminiscent of Tate, and while that’s why they got La Torre, I’ve never wanted to hear him pretend to be Tate. So if the album spirals into more of this attempted Tate-era sound, I may sour, even though the song is pretty damn good. Sicdeth is heavily drum driven, so that gives a slightly unique sound to the song so far on the album, then it really steers back into more of the Iron Maiden influenced sound. While lyrically it does feel like a song about the Pandemic, its worded cleverly enough to be applied to many things. The first verse alone; “What to believe, what is deceit, it’s all around, Look at the zombies who’ll cut off their heads, they’re right beside you, Who’s lost their way and who has to pay, the truth makes no difference, My rights, bright lights, in god’s name they still pray, a season of sicdeth is calling their name”, really paints the picture of fake news, tribalism and ignoring things based on beliefs. So again, probably Pandemic inspired, so we know how I feel about that, but at least this is metaphorical enough to sound cool. Behind the Walls with a little slower tempo, more crunchy distortion and an interesting cadence, this reminds me of if Promised Land and Warning had a baby. So I’ll give the album credit, songs are jumping around in the Queensrcyhe sound, but for the most part still sounding fresh, unique and not like grasping at past clout.

Nocturnal Light so we’re continuing down around the Queensryche sound. The echoed out vocals gives early Queensryche vibes, and then we get a more mid tempo guitar driven arrangement. While the guitar tone has an almost 90s alt rock sound, to make you think of Hear in the Now Frontier there’s a few of those classic Queensryche elements which just blend nicely. As much as the little attempts to recapture old magic annoyed me to no end with their previous La Torre releases, it just feels like they’ve hit the perfect balance on nostalgia blended in with something for the newer members to latch on to. Out of the Black is the first song that doesn’t really conjure any immediately correlations for me, which is necessarily a bad thing. I think my biggest issue with it is while it doesn’t sound out of place, there’s something with the rhythm and the general pacing of the song that feels like it doesn’t fit the album. While I’ve been grooving along prior to this song, it just feels…skippable. Forest is a slow song that isn’t unusual to the band, this just feels super Simon & Garfunkel or Pink Floyd since I do get Comfortably Numb vibes. So yeah, it’s not offensive, but coming off a song I don’t feel really fits, trying to lull me to sleep isn’t where the smart money is.

Realms okay where to begin with this song. Its terribly…mediocre. The song is just a very simple radio rock song that has no profound message, it just exists and gets from point A to point B, and I will never remember this song exists unless I’m looking at a track list. Hold On is kind of what I want to say to this album. The first half was really good and I was enjoying the nostalgic nuggets mixed with a few newer wrinkles, but we’ve hit a weird valley in the song quality. Now we get yet another song about trying to make it through all the insanity the last few years have thrown at us and “hold on, make it through the rain”. Did they exhaust all of their clever metaphors and they’re just going for the static prog metal song about hope? Tormentum okay, wait we actually have a nice riff with some dark color and crunch. Now who’s the victim, you’vе crossed that line // Indignation, lights again, Suffocation, lights again, Domination, lights again, Isolation, lights again” interesting lyrics, they even have a spoken news sample verse. So this has a few of those classic Queensryche elements while also feeling a little heavier and darker than they tend to stay in. Finally the back half of this album has a pretty good song. Rebel Yell; you didn’t read that wrong, it’s a Billy Idol cover. So vocally it’s okay, but it definitely does not have the same cool factor and swing as the original. The arrangement is also almost an exact match, so they don’t even ‘make it their own’. So when it comes down to sonics and musicianship, the cover is accurate; but it doesn’t feel like a cool or slinky song like it should. When the song is about a passionate one night stand, it has to have some attitude.

Wow, this album is almost a tale of two extremes. I will admit the better portion of the back half wasn’t as bad as it was mediocre, but still; to start off strong and then have to coast to the end because you ran out of gas, is a little sad. As someone who is firmly in the ‘no one can replace Geoff’ camp; the first like 6 songs were a good attempt at making me move on from him at least. Even though I was disappointed with the quite a few songs, its better than being disappointed with the entire album. So new look Queensryche is finally starting to find their footing in my opinion.

Is the album terrible? Of course not. Also, the early quality really does bolster the overall score about mediocrity. If you’ve enjoyed new Queensryche, you’ll probably have less complaints than I do. So while it’s the best Queensrcyhe album since Operation: Mindcrime 2 (2006), that’s really not saying much.

 

Final Judgment: 6.95/10

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Bandwagon Nerds #288: Disney In The Desert

Disney makes a controversial decision about where it is building its 7th theme park. Plus, loads of trailers, Thunderbolts* news, DCU updates, and more!

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Bandwagon Nerds Mario

Patrick returns to the show this week and leads the guys through a stacked Trailer Park, including the most recent previews of Old Guard 2, The Long Walk, Peacemaker Season 2, and Stick. Patrick also shares his thoughts with Dave and Tunney about Thunderbolts* and addresses some interesting rumors about what didn’t make it into the film. Meanwhile, Disney makes a very divisive decision about a 7th theme park, and President Trump’s trade war targets the film industry. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. If you are curious, we have answers, so make sure you tune in!

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Mitchell’s Hyrule Puro-Resu News Report! (5/9/25)

June will be electric!

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Prepare for the most electrifying even of the HPW calendar!

While the stage is set for Blood & Thunder 4 and the HPW World Trios Championships, HPW must also address the return of KAGE!

 

Thundra Plateau is ready.

Wrestling is Life, but life has its stormy weather. The rain is going to be hot in June, but will the reign continue through the Summer? The Dark Forces may have failed to take the Undisputed Triforce World Championship from Zelda, but they still have the World Trios Championships. Harlequin, Lupay & Glutko will step inside the double ring, double cage to defend their gold. On one side, Arrow Club’s special combination of Fin Balure, Torbevito & Bad Croc Scaly. On the other, a new combination of its own in Cia, Lana & Midna.

 

Speaking of Cia, Lana & Midna…

The three of them are together, dressed in workout attire, in what appears to be a dance studio. This is a collaboration stream for Midna and Lana as they’re both big presences on the internet, aka “influencers.” Lana and Midna wave and say hi, and they give introductions, including Cia, who is reluctant to be standing there. Cia doesn’t know why they need to do this. Lana says they have to improve their teamwork. They may have won against Los Taros Locos, but it was really sketchy there for a second. Midna adds that doing a dance routine together is great for their timing and coordination.

Cia says she didn’t mean that, she meant having to stream it! Oh, well obviously, combining Midna’s viewing audience with Lana’s, and HPW’s overall, this makes huge numbers! So? And huge money…! Cia raises her eyebrow and says, “Oh really?” The trio sets up, and Lana says obviously they first have to learn the steps. Midna brings up, “Wait, what song are we dancing to?” Oh, good point. Lana was thinking something from Lulu. Cia asks, “Lulu? From the Indigo-Go’s?” Midna says Lulu’s got a great solo album. Lana agrees! That’s so great that they like the same music. Cia isn’t as familiar with her solo stuff, so she’ll rely on them for this.

Lana suggests they go with Energetic Me. For one, it has the most energy, duh. And it still has a dance vibe, which is the whole point. Midna says she might’ve gone with Royal Discotheque or Ten Outta Ten, but she sees Lana’s point. Lana shows them the dance moves she has in mind. Left arm up, bent at the elbow, and the hand up against the side of the chest. Then they switch so the right arm goes up to mirror that position while the left hand goes back to the hip. Maybe add a little hip pop as that happens. Do that a couple times, and then turn to the right. This puts the left hand on the back of the hip, right hand on the back of the neck for a sexy pose.

Then you turn to flip it the other way, then do a 360 with a big neck whipping, hair flipping move. Then finish with feet apart and double V’s up by the eyes, maybe with a wink. Cia says, “Yeah, okay…” while Midna says, “I like it!” Midna says she’ll set up in the middle. Cia asks why Midna is in the middle, and Midna says it’s symmetry. She’s the tallest, Cia and Lana are about the same, it makes sense. Yeah, but it also means Midna is the center of attention. Well, that’s just coincidental. Lana says it doesn’t matter, the point is them doing it all in synch. Cia sighs and says, “Fine.” Midna is in the middle, Cia is on her right, and the music plays.

Left arm, right arm, left arm, right arm, pose to the right, pose to the left, 360 spin and neck whip, then double V. Midna nailed it, but Cia was lagging. Cia defends she was not, but Lana says it’s alright, they’ll just keep trying. They run through it a couple more times, they do tighten it up, and all three feel really good about how that went.

The Dark Forces are watching.

They aren’t impressed by the “little dance party.” Harlequin says the Faces of Evil are way better anyway. Especially with the classics like the Thriller dance and Macarena. Zant says, “The Macarena? Pfft, and people think I’m a dork…” Harlequin says, “Don’t you dare mock the Macarena!” Harlequin changes tabs on the computer and starts playing the song! After the introduction, he lifts his right arm up flat, then his left. Then he turns the right hand up, the left hand up, puts his right hand on his left shoulder, left hand on right shoulder, then moves right hand up behind his head, and then his left.

Now his arms crisscross, right hand on left hip and left hand on right hip, to then switch so right hand on right hip and left hand on left hip. And of course, he swivels his hips in one big circle to go with “HEY~ Macarena! AIGHT!” Zant rolls his eyes while Harlequin keeps going, jumping 90 degrees to his left. Ganon walks in, Ghirahim following behind, and he tells Harlequin to “turn that crap off.” Harlequin pouts but he does as told. Ganon seethes as he takes a seat in his big arm chair. “Needless to say… Wrestling is Life didn’t go how I’d hoped. What was Kage even doing there?! Did either of you have any idea he was going to betray us?!”

Zant and Ghirahim are a bit flustered. Zant isn’t even sure Kage was part of The Dark Forces at the time Ganon took ownership. He’d kinda gone rogue at some point, didn’t he? Ghirahim agrees, it didn’t seem like he was even aligned with Cia and the others. All the more reason for Kage to keep his nose out of Ganon’s business! If Kage cared about the Dark Forces, then he would’ve helped them fight back at HyruleMania, or any time since. Kage clearly just wants the title, same as Ganon, so he’s a dead man walking. Speaking of that… Where’s Kevin? He came back in April, why isn’t he here?

 

Somewhere dark and spooky…

Heavy footsteps can be heard echoing as Kevin Gibdo moves down the hallway. He speaks with a low, airy voice, “Majora… Your madness… spread like wildfire… You thought by setting me ablaze… I would crumble into ash… You were wrong! Instead, I have been purified…! Purged of flaws and weaknesses… I now come forth… as gold!” There’s a light at the end of the hall, and Kevin enters a grand hall, with treasure gleaming in the light. At the center is the sarcophagus. Kevin walks up to it, opens it, and then his burnt and tattered bandages fall away before he steps inside. The sarcophagus closes, then the eyes on it begin to glow… Then the entire thing glows!

The glowing becomes a shining light, and that shining becomes so bright that nothing can be seen. It is clear things between Kevin and Majora are not over. Will the Masked Monster even stand a chance once the Gibdo of All Gibdos is restored to full strength?

 

Back to the Dark Forces…

Shabonne says, “I’m sure Kevin is just fine doing whatever Gibdos do on their time off.” Tali says, “What matters is what I’m about to do to that tiny little weasel with the Goddess Championship. If The Dark Forces is gonna have all the gold, then I need to squash her like a bug and take that title off of whatever’s left!” Ganon nods and says he likes the initiative. Tali will start on her own Triple Crown as the Dark Forces will make Hyrule Pro-Wrestling their kingdom! The group cheers while raising a toast! And then Harlequin gets Glutko and Lupay to join in on the Macarena, to which Ganon groans and facepalms.

 

And so, the ThunderStruck card is set!

The double ring, double cage will rattle with Blood & Thunder as the HPW World Trios Championships are on the line! The Gerudo Ace looks to settle a grudge with the Hero’s Shadow! And now, the Million Rupee Championship and HPW Goddess Championships will also be on the line! Will the Dark Forces absolutely dominate the Summer? Be ready to endure the heat on Friday, June 20th!

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

 MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling) 

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

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SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR


Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand


Powered by RedCircle


Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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