Album Review: Quiet World by Native Construct

By Brian Kane

A little less than a month ago, Native Construct released their first album, entitled "Quiet World". The format is your typical progressive metal affair: seven songs in forty-eight minutes. It isn't revolutionary, but it is a decent effort. Its sound is unique, a breath of fresh air in a sea of sound a-likes. That's not to say that there are no new ideas in metal, there certainly are bands willing to push the envelop, but progressive metal will always have a special place in my music library. The term "progressive" has been thrown around a lot lately, in some instances it has lost some of its meaning. Any band that experiments and tweaks the metal formula gets the tag "progressive" on it. That being said, Native Construct mixes melody and metal in a way that feels fitting.

I don't claim to be a prog metal expert, but one of my first metal bands was Dream Theater. The band broadened my horizons and showed me that metal could be more dynamic and more complex than I could ever imagine. Like Dream Theater, Native Construct is a band that met at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. That's really where the similarities end, Native Construct is a terrific trio that have presented a very interesting debut album.

The albums opens with Mute, setting the tone for the rest of the tracks. It begins strong, and then the dramatic vocals begin. Before becoming cliche, the song shifts gears into a relaxed tempo. The vocal harmonies begin. The guitar hooks feel oddly reminiscent of Queen, that and the vocal harmonies. Every note and every movement had purpose. It mixed light and heavy without being jarring, and it just flies by. I found myself looping this track just to find everything it had to offer.

We then transition into The Spark of the Archon. This track is more dour than the first, but still serves as an example of the band's technical skill. It has some great transitions between smooth, soft sequences, and big bombastic bits. It offers enough variety and style to help set it apart. The inclusion of piano and orchestral elements is also a nice touch. The third track, Passage, starts off with an eery music box that is then built upon as more instruments enter the mix. Then the song takes a turn for the unexpected, mixing a drum line beat with guitar harmonies. The band isn't afraid to try new things, and all expectations are shattered by an awesome saxophone solo halfway through the song. This song was one of the reasons why I wanted to write this review. It was great, a textbook example of progressive metal done right, a great feat for a new band.

The fourth track, Your Familiar Face, isn't as great. It's slower, simpler, and kind of a let down compared to the past few tracks. It carries on in the edgy mood, and it wasn't as catchy as the rest. Come Hell or High Water is similar to the first few tracks. After the break that was the fourth song, this track features a violin. Its ominous and moody with a waltz tempo before cascading back into the metal before the two minute mark. The complexity and the bizarre nature of the song felt right to me. Up to this point, I haven't talked about the lyrical nature of the songs. The words are like poetry and only serve to enhance the experience. In this song, for example, a murder coming at the peak of the song's twisted nature.

Chromatic Lights is the shortest track of the album, coming in just over two minutes, it serves as an intermission before the longest track of the album. There's this light static background that continues the digital motiff that has been in the background of previous songs. I usually dislike intermission songs. They try to help give the album a better flow, but I'd prefer it if it was tacked onto the previous or next track. It feels weird paying for a song that exists solely to buffer two other songs. As Chromatic Lights ends, it flows right into Chromatic Aberration. The beginning of this track seems to have some Dream Theater influences, before coming into its own. Here the digital and technical themes of the album reach their climax. This song has the right mix of madness and mechanics in both lyrical and instrumental forms. Like many progressive metal classics, this song has its own movements and phases. It ends with a bang, providing a satisfying conclusion.

So far I've only given my positive impressions of the album. Despite the positives, this debut isn't flawless. The lyrics, while elegant, aren't great, but that's my only real complain. I thoroughly enjoyed the album, and it will be definitely be in my top ten discussion. If you're a fan of progressive metal, or you're curious about the genre this isn't a bad place to start! Native Constructs has a strong debut here, and here's hoping that the second album can improve on this great start.

I enjoyed 6 of the 7 tracks on Quiet World, so I give the album a 6 / 7.

Posted in: WSOU Exclusive, Metal, Album Review