Double Review: The World is Quiet Here – Zon

Style: Progressive Metalcore. Progressive Death Metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Between the Buried and Me, Slice the Cake, Native Construct, The Human Abstract
Review by: Zach and Cooper
Country: US-WI
Release date: 27 January 2023

Sebastian:

Hey y’all, this is probably one of the latest reviews we’ve done not a part of our “Missed Album” or “Lost in Time” series, however, there is reason for that. Firstly, when this album came out, we were actually more or less split as a community on whether this album was a hit or miss. And subsequently, we fought a bit over who got to pick this up to review. For those who are fans of this underground prog artist, I think you’ll appreciate Zach and Cooper as ambassadors of each stance on this controversial release.

Zach:

To the dismay of my fellow reviewer and second brain cell, Andy, I am a music lover first and a music reviewer second. Being a fan means saying “HOOMYGODTHISALBUMCHANGEDMYLIFEAAAA”. Meanwhile, being a reviewer is being ok with imperfection, no matter how much you like something. But, like many people, I’m not perfect. We are all not born with perfect judgment and perfect insight on an album that we listen to a min of three times before reviewing. There are scores I’ve regretted and scores that have improved with time.

Then there are some reviews where I have no idea what to do.

If you see that release date, then you can see this falls into the third category. See, my brain is split when I first listen to something review-worthy. I like it, I hate it, or it’s ok. Zon surfaced something in me that I really can’t quite parse as dislike, more as an intense disappointment. I tried to get my thoughts on paper, and nothing was coming out right. I’d delete, I’d try again, I’d delete, I’d try again. And eventually, I got so discouraged that I gave up and listened to the new Ne Obliviscaris for forty-eight straight hours. But it’s my civic duty as a reviewer to put these thoughts down, no matter how wonky or disjointed they may be. So, let’s get imperfect here.

The World is Quiet Here is a Subway favorite, and if you’re a longtime reader you need no introduction. Their album Prologue is one of our few 10/10s, and while I disagree with the perfect score, there is no doubt in my mind that it’s an amazing album. It scratched the itch of Native Construct and was a perfect time-killer in between BTBAM albums. To say I was hyped for Zon is an understatement.

Then, years passed. Nothing happened. Not even a tiny update on where along the timeline Zon was, just some pop-ins from the band on their socials to say “it’s coming!”. Eventually, I thought it went the way of the aforementioned Native Construct or Necrophagist’s 3^rd effort. And then, just like my 2022 AOTY pick, An Abstract Illusion’s Woe, a single dropped out of nowhere. In a sheer amount of hype boiling over all at once, I decided against listening. Their albums all flow like a giant song anyway, so it’ll be amazing in the context of whatever masterpiece they cook up next.

The formula was perfect. ‘Argo Navis: Solar’ starts on the acoustic rhythm Prologue left off on, leaving my eyes wide and my body ready for what could only be a 2023 AOTY contender. The first thing I noticed on Zon was the brickwalled production. Prologue was spacious, leaving every instrument some breathing room and their time to shine. Zon sounds incredibly harsh to my ears on multiple different headphones and speakers. But I’ve given good scores to albums with horrible production before. Some of my favorite albums are brickwalled to hell, so I can ignore that much.

However, what can’t be ignored is the new vocalist. Lou Kelly replaces Tyler Kotlz on vocal duties, the only member of the band that’s changed in between this and Prologue. And I hate to say it, but he drags this album down major points for me. He has fantastic harshes, but insists on putting these weird acapella vocals in songs that makes me scratch my head. He clearly has a massive range, reaching the lows of the late, great Peter Steele and delivering an amazing high screech on ‘Heliacal Vessels I: The Mother of No Kin’. But unlike the vampiric king of goth, he sounds shaky. His clean vocals sound deflated at most points–sometimes passable–but a large majority of the time, he falls flat.

Kelly isn’t my only issue with Zon though. So many moments stood out on Prologue instrumentally, and on my tenth or so listen, absolutely none have stood out from Zon. Not a single riff is sticking, and no section made the hairs of my back stand on end like they should have. So many sections almost work, but they’re changed out too quickly for the next section.

I can say something for Zon: I wasn’t sure I was going to get this done because this album is an enigma to me. There is so much I want to like, and I just don’t. I can’t be okay with imperfection when it far outweighs any kind of enjoyment to be had. As I finish this, the chorus line of ‘Heliacal Vessels II: In the Unity of the Lake’ is playing. I wish I could reach my hands to the sky and sing to the heavens an amazing chorus line that chills me to the bone. But all I do is sit here at my desk, eyes bleary, waiting for something to click. And I’ll just keep waiting.

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Recommended tracks: Heliacal Vessel I and II, Aphelion
You may also like: Rototypical, Dyssidia, Omnerod
Final verdict: 4/10

Cooper:

Of all the various intersections of styles and sub-genres that fall beneath the progressive metal umbrella, there is not one so commonly divisive as the intersection between progressive death metal and metalcore. To some, this intersection marks the pinnacle of progressive metal – if not music as a whole – with releases like Between the Buried and Me’s Colors, Slice the Cake’s Odyssey to the West, and The Human Abstract’s Digital Veil (and I’d personally add Alustrium’s A Monument to Silence). To others, though, these same albums and the sub-genre they fall under are at best nothing special and at worst harbingers of the end of metal as we know it. All that is to say that progressive death metal/metalcore releases tend to be quite controversial. So when I learned that Zach was planning on reviewing The World is Quiet Here’s new record – a record that I had found immensely enjoyable – in a negative light, I knew that I had to step up with a dissenting opinion and preserve the divisiveness the sub-genre is known for.

With Zon, TWiQH unveils Lou Kelly as their new vocalist, replacing Tyler Koltz who sang on the band’s debut Prologue. I must admit when I first heard this news, I was worried; a sophomore release that manages to live up to a critically acclaimed debut is already a tough ask for most bands out there, but in combination with a vocalist switch, the feat is nigh impossible. Miraculously, though, any trepidations I had about Kelly were unwarranted because, as early as the sub-two-minute intro track “Argo Navis: Solar,” he unveils both startlingly operatic cleans and a wide range of guttural vocal styles, the combination of which is very much likely to please fans of Prologue. For others, though, this will be where Zon loses them. To put it simply, Kelly’s cleans are some of the most unique in the entire prog scene; they are low – as in Peter Steele low – yet they are just as flamboyant and daring as the sopranos of power metal. Over the course of Zon, Kelly unabashedly employs his voice to its utmost extent, and for many this will be a negative. I, however, love it because it feels like I’m listening to a man test the limits of his body much in the same way guitarists often test themselves through shredding or drummers test themselves through blast beats.

Beyond the vocals, Zon is not as unique, sitting comfortably in the space already carved out by the genre giants. Riffs shift, evolve/devolve, and return to form in quite satisfying ways, but I can’t help but shake the feeling like I’ve heard much of this before, especially during moments like the intro to “Heliacal Vessels I” which sounds lifted straight from Odyssey to the West or minute 4:15 of the same song where the ostinato riffage and xylophones would fit perfectly in any BTBAM song. Clearly, TWiQH is wearing their influences on their sleeves, which I usually would commend, but in a few cases like the ones I’ve already listed some listener’s may find the line between reference and replication blurred. Fortunately, these moments are rare and outnumbered by several jaw-dropping moments such as minute 7:40 of “Heliacal Vessels II,” the emotionally palpable “Aphelion” in its entirety, and the utterly unique buildup of “Moonlighter.” When Zon is doing it right, it rivals even the greatest this genre has to offer.

I have thus far been careful in my language to prevent my enthusiasm for this album from bubbling over into overgeneralizations about its place in the progressive metal scene as a whole. While my personal enjoyment of Zon has only grown since I first heard it, meaning I now feel it is one of the best releases from this subgenre ever despite – and maybe perhaps because of – its referential attitude towards the subgenre’s prior releases, I know that a large portion of the progressive metal scene will not share this sentiment. Additionally, the unique vocals create another caveat in one’s potential enjoyment operating in the same way as the issue of the album’s subgenre. Fortunately for me, I fall on the positive side of both of these issues, and therefore I can’t help but recommend The World is Quiet Here’s Zon.

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Recommended Tracks: Ossuary, Heliacal Vessels: I & II, Aphelion
You may also like: Others by No One, Xehanort, Alustrium
Final Verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Label: Silent Pendulum Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

The World is Quiet Here is:
– Lou Kelly (vocals)
– Isaac Stoltzer-Gary (guitar)
– Ethan Felhofer (guitar, vocals)
– Tyler Dworak (bass)
– David Lamb (drums)