INTROSPECT

"Introspect" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Denver, Colorado based progressive metal act The Quiet Room. The album was released through Dominions Records in September 1998. The band was founded in 1992 and released two full-length studio albums before they disbanded in 2002.

The band play what I would characterize as traditional 90s progressive metal. Lots of tempo and time signature changes, excellent instrumental work, where the guitars and the keyboards are equally dominant in the soundscape, and a skilled high pitched lead vocalist. It´s definitely the musicianship that´s the greatest asset on the album, because both the sound production and especially the songwriting are a bit lacking to my ears. The former is acceptable, but lacks power (especially the guitars and the keyboards) while the latter is a bit more critical. In particular the vocal melodies/vocal lines are rather unremarkable. Sometimes to a point where it seems like lead vocalist Chadd Castor (who would leave the band after this release) is desperately seeking a melodic hook to hold on to. As a consequence he sometimes sounds strained and uncomfortable. I´m sometimes reminded of the first couple of Sieges Even albums which featured the same flaw.

...when that is said, "Introspect" isn´t a bad release by any means. It´s just that the album has the potential to be better and when that potential isn´t fulfilled it´s bound to be at least a slight disappointment. However we´re still presented with stellar instrumental performances and intriguing compositional ideas (although the tracks aren´t always put together in the most appropriate manner) enough to warrant a 3 star (60%) rating.

'Introspect' is the 1998 debut by American progressive metal group The Quiet Room. I came across this album on eBay back in its heyday (do people still shop on there?), when searches would often have it come up, being advertised by sellers as similar to prog metal pioneers Fates Warning. That was enough to pique my interest, and to be fair, the similarities in their sound are uncanny.

However, the one resemblance they don't share is quality. Following the typical prog metal blueprint of ambitious song structures with extended musical passages and wailing, high-pitched vocals, The Quiet Room don't really offer anything that hasn't been done better by someone else.

The musicianship is fantastic, and these guys are all more than capable at playing their instruments, but sadly not so much at song writing. Everything seems pretty jarred and disjointed. Oftentimes songs wonder off into aimless territory, twisting and turning in ways that lose my interest instead of engaging me. It's a shame, because the album starts off pretty strong, with opening tracks 'A Different Scene' and 'Grudge' being respectable enough, but anything after struggles to keep my attention longer than a couple of minutes.

No doubt progressive metal was still mostly an underground subgenre at this point, and with only a handful of bands breaking into the mainstream, The Quiet Room are one of many lost causes that were destined to become obscure, forgotten hopefuls.

I'll just come right out and say that this is very standard run-of-the-mill prog metal. There's nothing here that makes this band stand out from all of the other prog metal bands out there. There's very little in the way of strong melody or complexity. There's maybe a few longer instrumental passages or other moments that are good but really nothing mind-blowing and they aren't enough to make this album better than average. There's also the problem with the singer sounding a bit like Geoff Tate from Queensryche although he's not a clone or a copycat necessarily. My guess would be that a lot of prog metal singers have taken his overall vocal approach to singing.

I'm not an expert on prog metal in general but I think it's safe to say there are far better (not to mention far more original) bands out there playing this style. This is actually not a bad prog metal album, but it's not a particularly good one either. So unless you are really into the sound of early Queensryche, or maybe even Dream Theater, or need to have practically every prog metal album in your collection, then this may not be for you. For hardcore prog metal fans only.