UMUR "Reconceive" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Denver, Colorado based progressive metal act The Quiet Room. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in April 2000. The band was founded in 1992 and released two full-length studio albums before they disbanded in 2002. Since the release of "Introspect (1998)" there have been quite a few lineup changes as lead vocalist Chadd Castor has been replaced by Pete Jewell, bassist Josh Luebbers is replaced by Rob Munshower, and drummer Mike Rice is replaced by Graeme Wood. The remaining members from the lineup who recorded the debut are George Glasco (guitars), Jason Boudreau (guitars), and Jeff Janeozko (keyboards). So that´s 50% of the members who have been replaced since the last album.

The lineup changes have resulted in quite a different sound to the rather traditional progressive metal sound of "Introspect (1998)", and it´s especially due to the vocal style of Pete Jewell. The instrumental part of the music is a combination of traditional keyboard laden 90s progressive metal combined with harder edged riffs and rhythms (delivered with relatively complex tempo- and time signature changes). There´s an occassional tribal/alternative vibe about the music (listen to "Choke on Me" for an example of this), but it´s just an element of the overall sound. As mentioned it´s in the vocal department, that "Reconceive" stands out the most though. Jewell is quite the versatile singer and can do both clean and more gruff vocals. He predominantly performs the latter though, which makes "Reconceive" quite a different sounding progressive metal release. He doesn´t growl or do anything too extreme, but he has a raw shouting delivery, which is quite atypical for a progressive metal release.

The musicianship is generally on a high level, and the album is also relatively well produced (the guitar tone could have been more pleasant and the guitars could also have packed a bit more punch), so "Reconceive" is overall a pretty good quality album. I´m not sure the most conservative progressive metal listener will find this in his/her taste, but if you enjoy your progressive metal with a groove laden and alternative element, this might be the thing for you. Personally I find "Reconceive" an interesting yet not perfect release, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

martindavey87 ‘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.

UMUR "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.