Review: Chronicles - The Forest - The Progressive Subway

Style: progressive metal, avant-garde metal, metalcore, symphonic metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Native Construct, The Dear Hunter, Between the Buried and Me, Protest the Hero
Review by: Josh
Country: Utah, United States
Release date: 30 August, 2019

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This review was originally published in the August 2019 edition of The Progressive Subway.]

If you like Native Construct, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll like this. It’s got the piano and strings, the wide range of styles, the powerful vocals, and the high concept, and utilizes all of these elements in a similar way to the aforementioned band (RIP). I’d argue that they pull off their concept better than NC. From the start, they hook the listener on the album’s plot, a rarity with concept albums. The opening track, “Synopsis,” is just that, a synopsis of the album’s storyline. The soaring vocals have the listener paying attention as they introduce characters, giving the listener grounds to follow the plot, then concluding with the line “In this tale he dies,” before diving into two and a half minutes of symphonic instrumentals. This raises tons of questions for even an inattentive listener. From there, if they dive into the concept, they’ll find it quite a rewarding tale.

As for the music itself, it’s incredibly engaging. The singer sounds like James LaBrie with the range of Tilian Pearson, which turns out to be a surprisingly good combination. He’s more engaging than LaBrie, and hits some soaring, cinematic high notes that his Dream Theater parallel never could. His harshes, though, leave something to be desired. His highs are serviceable, but his low screams come across as weak, sounding like thin deathcore lows. Overall, though, he’s a quality vocalist. The guitar work on this album is great, too, and it’s varied enough that it never gets old or feels repetitive. Guitarist David Lyon alternates between low-end djent-influenced riffs and upbeat, major-key lead lines. I’m well aware that djent doesn’t have the best reputation, but Lyon keeps it groovy while never resorting to mindless chugging. His virtuosic solos, though, are his strongest appeal. He plays incredibly fast on these without ever coming across as excessive, a common pitfall within the genre. In addition, he shows a willingness to step out of genre lines and experiment, such as with the jazz solo section on Patriarch.

Unfortunately all this excellence is muddled by the mix. The vocals never feel as full as they should be, and overall the album sounds thin. Despite this, The Forest is a great, unique album that deserves your attention.

Recommended tracks: Vanished, Torment, Through the Forest, Patriarch
You may also like: Embrace of Disharmony, Clement Belio, Edge of Reality, Others by No One
Final verdict: 8/10