QUIET WORLD

Impressive avant prog metal vaudeville from Berklee College of Music students. (One can watch YouTube videos of the boys playing/recording their tracks from their dormrooms!)

1. "Mute" (6:21) opens just like a Devy Townsend piece--something from one of his more comedic entertainment classics like Ziltoid--but then at 1:35 the more theatric, QUEEN-cabaret-like stuff begins--some of Myles Yang's guitar sound choices even sound like a modern Brian May playing some of the guitar parts. At 2:58 vocalist Robert Edens launches into a very engaging multi-track vocal "chant"-like passage which is joined by a gradually ever-expanding field of jazzy orchestral instruments. By the end of the fifth minute the music has blossomed into a kind of Golden Age of Broadway 1950s grandiosity but then at 5:15 growl vocals, metal machine gun bass drumming and multiple electric guitars (some of which still sound Brian May-ish) explode into the track to finish the song with some modern youthful force. Very interesting and often amazing song. A top three song for me. (9.25/10)

2. "The Spark Of The Archon" (8:50) more retro-prog metal schmaltz. The combination of stop-and-go, quick-changing heavy metal structure and sound with classic jazz and Broadway melody making and stylings is quite unusual and remarkable; there are very few artists that come to mind when trying to compare this music-making style (one of which is Devin Townsend). This song does not have so much variation as the opener but continues to carve out quite an unique path for itself--especially with its melodramatic final minute. It is also filled with occasional moments of breathtaking genius, beauty, and emotion. (17.75/20)

3. "Passage" (8:07) toy piano and bassoon open this before oboe (and, later, bowed double bass) joins in to form a weave that sounds more Present/Univers Zero. After 90 seconds of this introductory overture, vocalist Robert Edens joins in, singing in a style more befitting the 1920s or 1930s. But then, around 2:05 the big band music expands with some (more) Brian May like guitar and militaristic drumming with the keyboard orchestration before crescendoing in some more metallic bursts. The music settles back into a most unusual jazz-metal sound palette as the vocalist and other instruments trade solos--until, that is, a harp bridge at 5:05 into a (13.5/15)

4. "Your Familiar Face" (4:11) A more poppy, QUEEN-like song, only, with all of the sharp edges, twists and turns of more modern metal music. I just love the multi-track vocal chanting that the band uses over the European jazzy soundscapes. My favorite song on the album. (9.25/10)

5. "Come Hell Or High Water" (5:54) a rapid-fire, twisting and turning metal song that reminds me of the stylings and humor of MR. BUNGLE and HUMBLE GRUMBLE. Man! Myles sure loves that Brian May sound! (8.875/10)

6. "Chromatic Lights" (2:14) bass and two guitars weaving ostinato melodies like a classical chamber trio. Is the crackling in the sound an attempt to throw back to the recorded music of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli? (4.3333/5)

7. "Chromatic Aberration" (12:28) quite a suite! Opening with the melody lines of the previous song, only rendered unto keyboard, the song travels on a what feels like a hero's quest journey: encountering and surmounting many obstacles as one would working one's way through a video game. This could very well be the soundtrack to the "mind game" that Andrew Wiggin is subjected to on his laptop during his "down time" at the Battle School training program in both the book and film of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game--the one in which he has to pass/defeat the giant and then the Formic queen protecting her egg. (22.25/25)

Total Time 48:05

The question is: Are these guys joking or will we hear more (and better) stuff like this from them in the future? The quirky changes and total mood shifts mid song--multiple times--makes one wonder what the goals/aims of these shifts are? It's almost as if multiple personalities are each given their turn at presenting the song's message. Interesting but often a bit jarring, unsettling (though never so much as in an UneXpect song). The overriding sentiment is, however, that this album's music is certainly memorable.

After years of living with this album, revisiting it several times (and feeling haunted by its very memorable and unique music), I've come to the conclusion that there is the music is steeped in some deep and complexly varied musical histories coming from each of its creators: a lot of knowledge of classical, Broadway/stage, ethnic, and, of course, metal traditions was necessary to create this very mature and complex (and theatric) music. Mega kudos to Robert, Max, and Myles, wherever you are. I think you created with your college dormroom album some kind of feat of wonder--perhaps even a masterpiece; one for the ages.

BTW: bassist Max Harchick is AMAZING!

91.01 on the Fishscales = A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of intricately nuanced theatric prog metal; highly recommended for all prog lover's--an experience you will not soon forget.

I'll be short here, quoating someone who describing the music, album Quiet world of american band Native Construct in the best way possible:

"Producer: What genre's your album?

Band: All of them

Producer: Sold, anything else?

Band: Yeah, we also made a disney movie

Producer: you guys are the hottest band in the progressive movement, keep it up!"

In the end sorry for other reviewers but for me two stars is the best I can give, maybe 2.5 in places. I simply can't find anything captivating here and above all, most of the reviewers are in ave when hearing this album, not for me at all, to much everything and nothing at all in the end.

When I originally listened to this album years ago, I absolutely loved it, it sounds like BTBAM but with a more melodic, dramatic focus, with just as many genre changes as albums such as Colors. As time has gone on however, the appeal of creating an album that attempts to do everything has become less and less appealing, and the actual compositions are what I find to be the most important aspects. Unfortunately, this is ultimately where Quiet World falls short, with many of the tracks either feeling bland, or being so ridiculously dramatic that they end up sounding pretty stupid, like a bad Disney song. All the elements of BTBAM can be ofund here, but I personally find that none of it is executed anywhere near as well.

The album starts off with one of its best songs, Mute, one of the 2 songs that I can wholeheartedly enjoy, in this case it's due to the wonderful energy put behind it, being able to effectively blend heavier elements, such as the intense drumming, with a vocal melody strongly reminiscient of Queen, before further settling down into a cool, jazzy section. Overall this song just has a good structure, being on the softer side, but knowing when to become more intense, even though it can feel a bit cheesy and dull during the middle section, there's enough here to be somewhat enjoyable. The Spark of the Archon has been a song that I could never enjoy, I just feel as if nothing about it really stands out, the melodies being incredibly mundane, the vocal patterns being impossible to remember, being really off sounding, even the climactic chorus is a borefest. At least with most of the other tracks here, there was an element of fun or entertaining dramatic parts, but this one just has nothing going for it at all. Passage is definitely a better song, more effectively using the quirky elements of their music style, and having some incredibly fun vocals throughout, although I think that the song also sounds somewhat empty in other parts. Despite this, the song has a really fun sax solo as well, so it's got some merit for sure, along with the more coherent and memorable nature of it, despite the fact that it feels lacking in any kind of real impact, more like an exercise in genre cramming. Your Familiar Face is a fairly simple, yet infectious song that takes on an almost solely big band/jazz sound, only occasionally deviating from this. The one moment here that I do truly love is when everything becomes a bit darker sounding and the vocals begin to sound quite similar to Mike Patton, albeit without the insane vocal range to accompany it. Come Hell Or High Water is the other song that I do find highly enjoyable, containing an incredible melody, sounding like a twisted waltz as we're exploring the mind of the main character of this concept album. This actually reminds me a lot of The Dear Hunter, just with some death metal growls at times, although they sound ok here, unlike the other times they're implemented where it just all feels incredibly unnecessary. The one moment of this song that I cannot stand is where Robert Edens begins singing comically high at what seems like the emotional climax of the song, removing all impact and tone that was being set up and completely derailing everything, I still like this song though, despite this egregious part. Here's where the album just all of a sudden takes a massive nosedive, despite already being a mixed bag at best beforehand, as while Chromatic Lights is a nice little interlude, the 12 minute epic, Chromatic Aberration is a complete mess. While I find it cool how the band attempts to use the music to guide the story along more than lyrics, the song just meanders so much, drifting through so many uninteresting transitions into more parts of the song that just don't work. It has the same issues as Spark Of The Archon, except 20X worse, especially given the fact that this includes so many elements of metalcore that just fall flat. The worst part of this is how heavily the outro relies on these heavier sections that just straight up suck, making everything end not with a bang, but a whimper.

While Quiet World occasionally reveals some charm and decently written musical passages, I find this album to largely not connect with me, most dramatic moments sounding very artificial and flat most of the time, and many attempts at experimentation feeling hackneyed, it's not as interesting or original as one may think to be changing tone every 20 seconds, and there are many bands that do this infinitely better, such as Between The Buied and Me, Mr Bungle and Unexpect. This album just fails to do much other than bore me, although I can't quite rate it 1 star, as there are a couple of songs, or at least parts of them, which have a lot of potential and that I really enjoy, but in any case, I'm not a fan of most of this.

Best songs: Mute, Come Hell or High Water

Weakest songs: The Spark of the Archon, Chromatic Aberration

Verdict: Despite trying to be interesting and fun, the majority of Quiet World does neither of these things to any kind of effect, taking the virtuosity and often quirky nature of prog, but forgetting to include the most vital aspect, good songwriting. There are a couple of decent songs here, but the album is nothing special.

Whiz Kids.

This album, to me, is a diabolical stew of musical prowess, a « watch me dive, Dad! » album. These guys should be super proud of their work 'cuz this album is the cat's pajamas for many. But will you like it?

Personally, this kind of super showing off is not my cuppa tea. Too much, too loud, too fast. Think of Andromeda and A.C.T. but electroshockingly fast and even brutal at times. I like my TV loud, my beer cold and my prog a little more softie. This being said, these young pups are nothing short of masters at what they do. I mean they are REALLY good. They swift with ease from Muse to Experimental Jazz to growls to majestic soars of angelic themes.

Where will the technical craze plummet? How good can you get in a lifespan? 'Cuz if you want to top these guys you will have to work harder than Hercules toiling with his 12 Tasks!!