Native Construct: Indefinite Hiatus

I really liked their debut album from 2015, Quiet World. But this does not exactly come as a shock given the slowness of their 2nd album.



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Hey folks,

It's finally time for us to give a definitive update on the status of Native Construct. *tl;dr at the end*

First, I want to acknowledge how long it's taken us to do this. Our intention was to make sure everything was 100% certain and worked out behind the scenes before making any official statements, and the timeline on that got way out of hand. You were all left hanging and wondering and speculating for far too long, and I honestly feel awful about that. Maybe we should have been more open about what was going on with us in real time. It's still hard to know what the optimal approach would have been, but this has definitely been a learning experience.

Anyway, I'm telling you today that the rumors are true: Native Construct is on an indefinite hiatus.

I know this isn't the news many of you wanted to hear, and I know this may be surprising considering all the teasing we had been doing for the second album. For whomever may be interested, I'll try to explain as clearly as possible how we arrived here.

We made the first Native Construct album while we were in college, when life was much simpler. Since then, we graduated and entered the real world. We started the second album during a time of great uncertainty in all our lives. We originally intended to dedicate most of our time and energy to NC #2, but it turns out that was pretty naive. To put it lightly, Native Construct was never a cash-cow for us. As recent college graduates, we were facing the realities of needing to pay the bills, start developing reliable careers, build savings, etc. As Native Construct got pushed lower and lower on the list of priorities, we gradually came to the realization that dedicating our lives to this band was a bad move, nor was it what we wanted.

We changed a lot as people and as musicians during these transitional years, and to be honest, most of us became less interested in metal music. The material we were working on for the second album is completely different from Quiet World. It sounds like a different band. So, another factor in the decision to put NC to bed was the realization that we were trying to fit a square peg into a round hole by pulling such a dramatic left turn with the musical direction of this project.

The good news is that we've all found other things to focus on for the time being, and are doing well! In case anyone's interested, I'll give a brief description of what all the band members are up to:

-Poh Hock is teaching guitar, and has a killer solo album coming out TOMORROW (March 8 ). You can also hear more of his shredz with a band called Replacire.
-Max is working in the game industry as a sound designer.
-Rob is also pursuing a career in sound design, along with private vocal instruction. You can keep up with him on his (WIP) website here: rwedens.wixsite.com/website
-Jake was drumming all over the world on a cruise ship, and just recently moved to LA to continue his career as a drummer, playing with various artists. @jakedickdrums on Instagram if you wanna keep up with him.
-I, Myles, am focusing on teaching music theory/composition in private lessons and as a YouTuber: MusicWithMyles.com. I'll be putting out original music in the future, too (some of this unreleased NC #2 stuff may even see the light of day in some form).

Anywhoosles...I just want to talk for a sec about how wild of a ride this has been for us. It would have been completely crazy for anyone to expect the amount of love we were to receive after putting out one little album recorded in my bedroom. The whole Native Construct phenomenon has been just astonishing. Truly. We've gotten to meet and work with some awesome people, tour with some of our favorite bands, and see tons of cities across North America. And most importantly, we've gotten to hear from countless strangers who have found some genuine joy in our music. It's an incredible thing. We'll never forget all the love you nerds have given us. To anyone who has ever listened to one of our tunes, worked with us, or supported us in any way: we love you, and we thank you.

ttfn
-NC

tl;dr: the band's dead, everything is fine, thx 4 the memories <3 span="">

Ideology - Ideology (2015-2016)

This is a long-awaited debut album from this local Minnesota Progressive Metal band whose drummer, Charlie Engen, I've known and seen do these amazing performances at recitals the last few years.

Musically, this is very much in the vein of what I've been hoping to get from Painted in Exile or even like Native Construct last year. Progressive extreme Metal, with well-thought-out, flowing compositions that showcase chops and melody.

Between the Buried and Me fans very likely will love this.

I'll try and add more in here and/or YouTube, etc among other spots soon. But I'm really happy for Charlie and these guys for finally getting this released.

And they should play a show with other local bands like Gracepoint perhaps? Brice Plays Drums or any other of the excellent progressive bands in my hometown.  

Facebook 

https://ideologyband.bandcamp.com/


1. Oxygen (feat. Hedras Ramos) 09:34
2. Synergy 01:39
3. Inhale (Attritionmen) 07:31
4. Exhale (Patefaction) 05:54
5. Circuitry 01:36
6. Bliss 05:56
7. Hazard 01:16
8. Eyes Up! 05:21

Painted in Exile: Indiegogo

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/painted-in-exile-new-full-length-album-2016--3#/



The video more or less explains everything. I am still optimistic about what this band will do, even after everything that's happened with lineup changes (member's leaving, and returning in the case of their singer Rob Richards) and just how many years its been since I first got into them, 2009?

I can't help though think about  Native Construct and how they got signed to Metal Blade records, and this band has been around longer I recall, but were not signed to them nor a label like Summerian or Relapse.

But maybe putting this album out how they will could be for the best.

I'll try and bump this as their progress on the campaign happens.

That Drummer Guy: Native Construct Interview at PPUSA

Good interview from That Drummer Guy at ProgPowerUSA. It sounds like they really impressed a lot of people there last weekend. Probably as much as a reason I want to see their show with Between the Buried and Me at The Skyway Theatre on the Monday before Thanksgiving, November 23rd.

2014-2015 Midseason Ratings List/Countdown

2014-2015 has seen a lot of records come out I've enjoyed, although not many I'm addicted to. The 1 though that I can claim that, came out of nowhere, and won and continues to win me over.

But I am happy a lot of these records have come out finally, as it seems every year/season there's albums I and many others look forward to, but often get pushed back. And in some cases, they do come out, and just end up being underwhelming for whatever reason.

However, I do think many times the 1st half of the season/year ends up having something come out and it gets shelved and forgotten until the end of the season or even years later, and then does win many over. In a sense, I almost enjoy that more; thus, I actually look to some of the lesser listened to albums as having potential to go up at a later time.

And of course, like 2013-2014 with iamthemorning and Dream the Electric Sleep, I did sleep on them and then got won over at the end. But part of that is not even knowing about them or their new album. So, there's certainly a good chance a few records have come out that I am totally unaware of that I will end up loving come the beginning of November.

That all being said, I do think the 1st half of 2014-2015 has been pretty strong, and there are a handful of big records to look forward to in the 2nd Half, namely Mike Vennart, The Dear Hunter and of course Kaddisfly. So, the Countdown in November I would not be surprised may look a fair amount different. But the #1 record on this countdown certainly will not be easy to beat.

3-stars or less


Umphrey's McGee - The London Session

Good, mostly older tunes re-recorded at Abbey Road Studios. A bit like the Pain of Salvation record from 2013-2014 Falling Home.


Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

I enjoy this still, but I'm not sure if their style has passed me by or something in that I don't love this like their debut and am kind of finding it somewhat undesirable to listen to them now. Maybe it's me and their style of prog metal (especially with so much of the mix using the blast beats).


Tuxedo - Tuxedo

Fun sideproject from Mayer, doing music a little closer to Chromeo than his solo band, with the electronic and dancey nature.


Hardcore Crayons- Zozzled


Caravan of Thieves - Kiss Kiss

Dave Kerzner - New World
Pink Floyd - The Endless River
Thomas Giles - Modern Noise
Susanne Sundfør - Ten Love Songs
Steve Hackett - Wolflight
Public Service Broadcasting - The Race for Space
The Decemberists - What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World
Danny Cavanagh - Memory and Meaning
Daniel Johns - Aerial Love [EP]
Author - Of Brighter Days
Josh Rouse - The Embers of Time
Lost Lander - Medallion
Demians - Mercury
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - 'Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress'
Vola - Inmazes
Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell

3.5-stars

Nordic Giants - A Séance of Dark Delusions

I've only gone through this a couple of times, but I already am enjoying it much like I did the 2 EPs Build Seas and Dismantle Suns, which I heard previously.

They made another winner track with samples and atmosphere with "Evolve or Parish."

A lot of great female vocal parts with textures, piano, strings, etc.

Mercies - Blue Against Green

Dreamy and catchy. Maybe even more consistent in terms of the dreamy Barbershop chanting, compared to the excellent debut Three Thoussand Days from 2011.



Punch Brothers - The Phosphorescent Blues

Another record from this band that features no really boring parts, and a few unexpected moments. The opening 10+ minute piece "Familiarity" along with tracks like "I Blew it Off" to the closing piece "Little Lights" with it's soaring strings and choir vocals, stand out certainly.

This band continue to surprise me when I underestimate them.


Archive - Restriction

Another solid record from Archive, and much of the continuation in quality from 2014's Axiom soundtrack. A lot of dark, electronic moments, which is not new, but seems to usually work well for them.

The melancholy soaring ballad "Black and Blue" is probably my favorite cut at this point.


Native Construct - Quiet World

This is a debut record from some Berklee college of Music kids, released on Metal Blade records. It is well written prog metal that certainly channels the likes of Between the Buried and Me, Pain of Salvation and even Mr. Bungle at points. They are schizophrenic enough, but still manage to allow the compositions to breathe.

I'm not sure if they should be given credit for combining influences well, or just using influences to write interesting songs.


Steven Wilson - Hand.Cannot.Erase

A good follow up to The Raven That Refused to Sing. The concept or story part of this record does seem to be maybe the biggest focus, and maybe one reason I haven't fallen in love with this album exactly. But the music itself, sounds like Steven Wilson really, mixing progressive rock, with textured, atmosphere at points.

The title track and "Happy Returns" and its quite sad/melancholic nature, are my favorites or the songs I probably think about this record the most for. Many reviews have mentioned their love of songs like "Home Invasion" and especially "Ancestral" which I can follow, but the dynamic shifts in tone almost come across as forced with those. Yet, I do still enjoy parts of them and the other sections of this album.



Signal-to-Noise - I Won't Let the World Become a Prison

This kind of came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite records thus far in 2014-2015. It is more or less written and recorded/performed all by Chicago musician Michael Downing of the band Single Channel Stereo.

I really enjoy a lot of the songs on here's (simple in some ways) yet very unusual melodic nature. The use of piano certainly works well, along with a lot of echoing tones and textures. Even the lyrics seem relate-able and tell interesting stories.

In a lot of ways less being more.

Favorite tracks: Universal, Biologic, Firebox, Presque Vu, Something to Say


Thurisaz - The Pulse of Mourning

It has been a few years since their last LP The Cimmerian Years, but I gotta say, this album has refreshed my memory about why I loved this band. They use textures and melodic death metal in a cool way. This album seems to feature a lot of strings and new instrumentation, and very tastefully, along with some samples which adds to the atmosphere.

I have no idea how many people, even in the Metal scene know about this album or even this band, but they certainly deserve a more visible following than I notice. A bit like Archive I suppose among progressive rock fans. They are still around, doing their thing with I'm sure their loyal fans, but for some reason they have yet to really breakthrough to a wider audience.

Maybe by the end of the year, this album could do that for them.

Favorites: In All Rememberance, One Final Step, Pattetrns of Life, Tanagram,


The Barnum Meserve - The Barnum Meserve

Great debut record from the heavy rock band that uses chamber instruments very tastefully. Trumpet, strings, piano, all blend nicely with vocals that are quite unique sounding. The Barnum Meserve's singer really uses a lot of emotion and force in his vibrato. And tone-wise, I'm unfamiliar with another singer who sounds like him really.

Very promising debut record that has been a few years in the making; so much so, there's 2 more albums coming in the near future, possibly over the next few years.

If I chose 1 standout track, "Take Shelter" would make sense at this point. Very epic.


Shiina Ringo - Hi Izuru Tokoro

This may be a compilation or many of her older b-sides re-recorded, but I don't care really as I am enjoying this as much as anything from Shiina's career (both solo and Tokyo Jihen).


Madam Officer - Madam Officer [EP]

Great debut EP, mixed incredibly well. Sound wise, the dreamy nature of the tracks remind me a lot of Warpaint or fellow Portland, Oregon band Genders.



Tigran Hamasayan - Mockroot

Very impressive  instrumental Jazz-Rock, which the couple of times I've listened to this album, I have enjoyed it, so much so, I may be sleeping on it more than I'm afraid to admit. Very impressive writing and musicianship.

4-stars


Hotel of the Laughing Tree- New World Sundown
A good follow-up to both the amazing debut album Terror and Everything After and the 2 Mammoth Skin EPs. More song-oriented and subtle, yet each track offers something and flows well into the next.

Favorites: Aging Archimedes, The Generals Girl, Temple Arms, Stray, Crook in the Gold, Brussels


Mew - + -
Another long awaited LP from a band last heard from in 2009. This album I enjoy more or less all of, but have come to conclude early-on, other than "Rows" there's not any statement/classic tracks thus far. But "Rows" gets both dreamy and trippy as it goes along, I look forward to it each time.

"Clinging to a Bad Dream" "My Complications" "The Night Believer" (feat Kimbra) "Satellites" and "Cross the River on Your Own" I do enjoy and seem to get a little more each time I hear them.

I guess I love this band as much as I do, I can't feel unhappy or even disappointed in this album, even as long as its been. A little like No More Stories I suppose, in it's more greater than the sum of its parts. At least for now, I guess we'll see come this Fall and years that follow how well it holds up.


Subterranean Masquerade - The Great Bazaar
A wonderful comeback after a decade since their only full-length LP. This new record is very polished progressive metal that features middle eastern instrumentation, great piano arrangements, and saxophone, along with Paul Kuhr's both clean and guttural vocals, as well as some other vocalists, namely Kobi from Orphaned Land.

Tour Diary and Blanket of Longing are among my favorites.


Timbre - Sun and Moon

A 110 minute double LP singer/songwriter and harp virtuoso Timbre labored over for over 4 years. There's a lot of brilliant work on this album, and I'll admit, in a lot of ways, it reminds me of something like The River Empires record from 2010. I guess time may have the work on this to standout even more, both just from a ambition standpoint, and just some of her and the best music that has been made bringing Classical music together with modern folk/pop/rock.

The "Sun" disc, I can hardly find any part of to skip, save for maybe a small portion of the track "I am in the Garden," but even that track has already grown on me.

Otherwise, from the proggy "The Nightgirl" to the happy  "Song of the Sun" to tracks like "Singing and Singing" and "Chicago Pier" I keep enjoying that 1st half of this album more. The Moon disc, the oboe+harp-driven "As the Night" remains my favorite piece. The choral or acapella? compositions "Sunset" and "Sanctus" I am coming to acceptt as part of the sound of this album, but ultimately, I'm not sure if I will ever find I'll listen to regularly. The other tracks "St.Cecilia" and especially the closing 17-minute live epic "Day Boy" I have found repeated listening has helped and allowed me to appreciate this record more.

The concept? I may want to spend the rest of this season trying to take-in and enjoy more about, but otherwise, I'm pretty sure Sun and Moon will measure up favorably to many others, come early November.

5-stars



1. Small Leaks, Sink Ships - Face Yourself and Remove Your Sandals

Classic experience for me of a record coming out of nowhere, no knowledge of its release or even much of the band's (recent) activity. This album won me over the more I listened to it. It's very cohesive, mesmerizing, diverse, creative. I mean I love the moods throughout, from the opening track "Power Outage" to the closing epic "The Mind is its own Place" I never want to skip any part of it.

"Building Blocks" and "Midnight Jin" remain my favorite tracks, but there's parts of every track I find standout.

And I also can say it's the 1st clear cut 5-star record I've heard in over 2 years. Based on that and many other things, I'm not sure if any of the anticipated 2nd half releases will be able to challenge it for my favorite this season (but I'd love that to happen).


haven't heard (among many others I'm sure):
Brian Wilson - No Pier Pressure
Tangled Thoughts of Leaving - Yield to Despair


2nd Half Anticipation (as of the 1st week of May 2015)

Titles:
Faith No More - Sol Invictus
Other Lives - Rituals
The Helio Sequence - The Helio Sequence
God is an Astronaut - Helios | Erebus
Daniel Johns - Talk
Mike Vennart - The Demon Joke
Refused - Freedom
The Velvet Teen - All Is Illusory
Muse - Drones
Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic
Everything Everything - Get to Heaven
Kaddisfly - Horses Galloping on Sailboats
The Dear Hunter - Act IV: Reprise in Rebirth
The Bird and the Bee - Recreational Love

and of course many others with titles but not much in terms of a time frame of release yet, or no titles but still a reasonable chance of a release (like Fjokra, or Mutemath among many others).

I may post a new Anticipation topic in the next month or 2 when more of the details come for so many others not on the list above.

Native Construct - Quiet World (2014-2015)

I'm unclear how good this album is/will be as it's not released yet anyway, dropping next Tuesday April 21st I noticed.

But the video below with "Mute" definitely holds some optimism. Props to a friend of mine  named Jason on Facebook and Mike Portnoy's forum for recommending this song/band to me.

This is a 3-piece band as the info below shows, comprised of musicians who met at Berklee College of Music. Style-wise, it is progressive metal, that I suppose isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, but I do like the textures and symphonic elements. This doesn't sound like progressive metal trying to be Dream Theater really, but more just highly influenced by Between the Buried and Me and perhaps Mr.Bungle and some others (both are mentioned in the comments and some other places online).

I guess I hear this track "Mute" as sounding rather refined and the use of strings working quite well. In just checking out the 1 track on their Bandcamp Page from 2012 (embedded at the bottom), they clearly have an interest in using textures and strings? (even if they are just programmed). That along with composition could allow my feelings about this band stand out among so many "prog metal" bands who may be heavily influenced by BTBAM (or Dream Theater I suppose).

I guess if there's a band who I am most reminded of in that using that influence and doing cool thins with it, it'd probably be Painted in Exile, who, after that great EP in the late 2000's, have been rather quiet (1 new track recently), so perhaps Native Construct will bring that kind of thing in more quantity (at least they are signed to Metal Blade).

PiE and I suppose I am reminded a little of that newest The Contortionist album/style.

Perhaps Native Construct could do a tour with either Painted in Exile or more likely, The Contortionist?

I guess we'll see, but this album should be something cool to look forward to next week, post-Record Store Day even.

Purchase Link



1. Mute
2. The Spark of the Archon
3. Passage
4. Your Familiar Face
5. Come Hell or High Water
6. Chromatic Lights
7. Chromatic Aberration



https://www.facebook.com/NativeConstruct?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/NConstructBand

http://www.metalblade.com/nativeconstruct/



Robert Edens: Vocals
Myles Yang: Guitar
Max Harchik: Bass

Native Construct is the product of collaboration between several students that began in 2011 at the storied Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Fueled by a desire to breathe new life into the modern metal genre, Native Construct artfully blends a wide spectrum of compositional influences, ranging from classical all the way to prog metal and musical theatre. The result is a wonderfully unique sonic texture, made up of extended-range guitars, theatrical vocals, and a full complement of symphonic instrumentation. Guitarist and composer Myles Yang's passion for innovation, coupled with his extensive academic study of arranging and compositional techniques, makes Native Construct a truly distinctive up-and-coming metal act.

In 2014, the band's music caught the ear of Brian Slagel at Metal Blade Records, and led to a recording contract and a worldwide release of the band's debut album, Quiet World. The album promises to be a rich, vibrant, and aurally engaging musical experience. While following a musically programmatic approach to its storytelling, the album demonstrates a fascinating unification of numerous musical styles and provides an emotional journey through the vast and imaginative world Native Construct have envisioned.

Quiet World was largely self-produced and written between 2011 and 2013 in between the individual band members' studies at the Berklee College of Music. What began as jam sessions simply for fun eventually turned into a full-fledged musical endeavor. All tracking and programming was done at the band's home studios in Boston, MA, with the exception of vocals, which were recorded with Jamie King at The Basement Studios in Winston-Salem, NC. The album was mixed by Rich Mouser at The Mouse House Studio in Los Angeles, CA, and mastered by Jamie King.

A brief listen to Quiet World is enough to make it apparent that there is a concept, here. Though it's best to let the band explain the album in their own words: "Quiet World is about a guy who loves a girl. The guy is a bit of an odd and eccentric person - an outcast. He's also a mute, and a little unstable, as it turns out. The girl doesn't return his feelings, but he can't bring himself to let go. As his unrequited passion for her devolves into obsession and eventual resentment, his mind begins to slip further and further away. He convinces himself that he can't be loved because of his condition and abnormalities. So he decides to create for himself a new, fantastic world of which he has complete control - a world where there are no oddballs or outcasts. A world where everyone is surrounded by people who are just like themselves: a much quieter world.

"It's at this point that the first track of the album, "Mute," begins. And it turns out that many of the subjects of his new world are not as content living this way as he is. In the second track we see a new character, the Archon, rise up and unite his people in the clouds with the once distant people in the sea. He leads an opposition to "Sinister Silence," as the people come to call him. The rest of the album unfolds with events within the "Quiet World" and manifestations of the enduring struggle between the Archon and Sinister Silence. The lone exception is track number four, "Your Familiar Face," which steps out of this world for a moment to give a closer look at the events prior to the first track and the tragedy of Sinister Silence."

What is impressive about Native Construct is not necessarily an involved concept on a debut record, it's that they wrote, produced, and recorded the album while balancing school work and on a college student budget. It's the epitome of "self produced." And what Native Construct wants fans to know is that "the composition process for this album was intensely meticulous from top to bottom. Each note, each lyric, each twist and each turn were arrived at with the utmost care. As such, we were able to weave rich, often subtle layers of meaning into the music and text. We're very excited for you all to experience the result of our efforts!"