Courtesy: Metal Blade Records
Every year, any number of albums is released across the music world’s various genres. The number of albums featuring new material typically ranges somewhere in the hundreds. Of those hundreds of new albums released across the musical universe each year, far too few of those albums really stand out as works that will make listeners stop and want to say, “Hey, come listen to this!” However with the release of its debut album Quiet World, progressive metal band Native Construct has brought just such an album to the world. As a matter of fact, the Boston, Massachusetts-based trio’s debut is one of the most unexpected surprises of the year. It is one of the year’s most unexpected surprises not just within the rock and metal community but in the musical universe in whole. That is meant in the most positive manner possible, too. The main reason for its unexpected enjoyment is its wholly original story. Yes, that’s right. It is a concept album. And boy, what a concept. The album’s story follows a man who creates a world for himself in his mind after the woman he has feelings for makes it clear that she doesn’t have those same feelings for him. That’s just the beginning. It’s also just the beginning of what makes this album stand out so strongly. The album’s vast mix of musical styles makes the album stand out even more. It’s not just another prog rock or prog-metal record. Musically speaking, this album is a work that fans of Native Construct’s label mates Between The Buried and Me will appreciate. Last but hardly least of all that makes this record shine so brightly among the hundreds (if not thousands) of other albums out there already this year is its run time. The album’s seven total tracks bring the album’s run time to forty-eight minutes. For a concept album, that really is not that long. And that has to do largely with the run times of each of the songs that make up the album. That will be discussed at more length later. For now, taking into consideration the record’s relatively short run time along with its original story line and equally original compositions, all three elements come together to show exactly why this record should be on any music critic’s year-end list of the year’s best new hard rock and metal albums.
Metal Blade Records just announced this week that after only its first week in stores and online, Native Construct’s Quiet World has been making *ahem* quite a bit of noise in its own right. The band’s debut album roared into the #56 spot on Billboard’s Hard Music Album’s Chart and the #85 spot on Billboard’s New Artist Chart. Considering that this is the band’s debut album it says a lot about the notice that it’s garnering from critics and audiences alike. It would be no surprise if it ends up on at least some critics’ year-end lists of the best new hard rock and metal albums come December, too. The lack of surprise comes mainly through the record’s concept. As the band notes on its Facebook page, the album centers on the story of a man—a mute—that creates his own “perfect” world inside his mind as a result of unrequited love. The band notes that the unnamed figure had feelings for a woman, but the woman in question didn’t share his feelings. This leads to the creation of his “perfect” world. The problem is that soon after its creation, even his own “perfect” world proves to be anything but perfect. It does have a happy ending of sorts, not to give away too much information. But the real payoff here isn’t necessarily the story’s end but the journey to the end. The story crafted by the band—Robert Edens (vocals), Myles Yang (guitar), and Max Harchik (bass)—is a work that no other band or artist within the prog-rock realm has ever tried. And considering that it is the makeup of the band’s debut album makes it even more interesting. It’s just one reason that anyone thirsting for something original should hear at least once. It’s not the only reason that audiences should pick up this record, either. The album’s equally creative sound is just as worth noting in that avenue.
Native Construct took a huge risk releasing a concept record for its debut record. Even within the world of rock, the concept record is very much a niche format. Considering that the album debuted on not one but two of Billboard’s charts in its debut week shows that the risk paid off quite surprisingly. The surprise showing is obviously thanks at least in part to the album’s original and creative story. On another level, the music that serves as the story’s “soundtrack” shows in its own way why the album has made such an impressive surprise debut. Anyone that is a fan of Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard, or even the band’s label mates in Between The Buried and Me will especially enjoy the multitude of styles presented throughout the record. The Spock’s Beard influence is obvious right off the top in the album’s opener ‘Mute’ which introduces the story’s lead character. The song mixes something of a jazzy style and a more prog-rock sound that in a weird way actually works quite well. Even more interesting here is that it suddenly breaks into a symphonic power metal sound akin to that of perhaps Powerglove or Dragonforce with Edens boasting a powerhouse death metal style growl as he screams, “At last they all hear my voice/And this will make them see/That there is no being/In this world that will dare defy me.” Considering such lyrics, it makes sense that he would utilize such a vocal style. It could be argued to be a stylistic foreshadowing of sorts for what is to come later.
The hybrid jazz/prog-rock sound established in Quiet World’s opener is only the first example of this record’s musical diversity and how that diversity makes the record in whole well worth the listen. ‘The Spark of the Archon’ boasts its own mix of sounds. The prog-rock influences are there. And so is a sound that one can almost compare to easy listening believe it or not. Again, this is something that not even other prog-rock and prog-metal bands right now are trying. While the influences of the noted bands are there, none of the noted bands have tried mixing all of these styles together. The mix of sounds featured in Quiet World’s opening songs is also presented throughout the remainder of the album, with each element (including Eden’s occasional death metal growls) getting equal time in each song. The end result of that mix of sounds from beginning to end is an album that proves to be just as creative musically as lyrically. It makes for double the reason for rock lovers looking for something original to check out this record. Even with all of its musical and lyrical originality and creativity, there is still more to note that makes the album worth the listen whether listeners are fans of concept records or not.
Quiet World’s original lyrical and musical presentations are both plenty of reason for rock lovers to pick up Native Construct’s debut album. They work together to make this record one that stands out not just within the rock world but more specifically the progressive rock realm, too. Believe it or not, the album’s run time actually plays just as much a part in making the album stand out as its music and lyrics. The album’s run time makes it stand out because it actually breaks that mold, too. Its run time comes in at well under an hour. To be more specific, it comes in at roughly forty-eight minutes. That is not very long for a concept album especially with it consisting of only seven tracks. More often than not, the standard run time of a concept album is an hour at the very least. They can even run easily past that mark and then some depending on the band. Again, Quiet World does the exact opposite. The album’s songs hit a wide swath of run times with the shortest barely topping the two-minute mark and the longest clocking in at nearly thirteen minutes. the rest run between five and eight minutes in length. So even those that aren’t the biggest of concept album fans will appreciate that Native Construct didn’t follow the standard concept album formula even in this aspect. It’s yet one more way that Quiet World, in its own way, makes a big sound and why it more than deserves a spot on any critic’s list of the year’s best new hard rock and metal albums.
Native Construct has made quite a loud statement with its debut album Quiet World. The album is a concept album. But in comparison to so many concept albums that have come before, it breaks the formula used for those albums in every way possible. Its story is wholly original and creative. The same can be said of the songs that serve as the story’s “soundtrack.” And even the album’s run time breaks the concept album mold. It does so both on a micro and macro level. The songs themselves are generally not that long save perhaps for the album’s near thirteen-minute closer and its almost nine-minute opus ‘The Spark of the Archon,’ which comes in early in the album. The rest of the albums hit a variety of run times, each of which are sure to keep listeners’ attention with equal ease. Collectively, the songs’ run times bring the album’s overall run time to a total run time of forty-eight minutes. That is anything but the norm for a concept album. Such nonstandard run times partnered with equally original and creative music and writing proves in the end that this record is fully deserving of being placed on any critic’s list of the year’s best new hard rock and metal albums come December. Quiet World is available now in stores and online. It can be ordered online direct from Metal Blade Records’ online store at http://www.indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords/band/native-construct. More information on Quiet World is available online now along with Native Construct’s latest news and tour updates at:
Website: http://www.metalblade.com/nativeconstruct
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NativeConstruct
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