The Quiet Room

In a Herculean marketing push, Metal Blade is striving to renew faith in the once great American metal scene. These albums all share similar qualities: 80's style album covers, a fair amount of cheese, and some serious chops. Most releases are good, but the sound is pretty familiar. Needless to say, I was pretty prejudiced when I threw in Introspect, which is even more of a testament to the success of this album. Professionalism abounds here, displaying the amount of time and thought that went into this release. Songs are dynamic, complicated without excess, and run the metal spectrum. Being a six piece band allows natural layering of melody, which is highlighted by excellent production. Drumming is intricate, yet not too busy, which appeals to those tired of bassdrumitis yet apprehensive of the thought of a Portnoy clone. The sound definitely draws from Fates Warning and Dream Theater (the vocalist sounds quite a bit like Ray Alder), yet The Quiet Room manange to inject their own persona into each track. My only complaint would be the end of the disc, which is a sharp "cut", cleaving the last song, what a tease! Hats off to a talented bunch of creatives who value quality over quantity.
8 out of 10