RECONCEIVE

"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 Since the release of "Introspect (1998)" there have been quite a few lineup changes as lead vocalist Chadd Castor has been replaced by Pete Jewell, bassist Josh Luebbers Luebbers is replaced by Rob Munshower, and drummer Mike Rice is replaced by Graeme Wood.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 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 gr gruff vocals. He predominantly performs the latter though, which makes "Reconceive" quite a different sounding pr progressive metal release. He doesn't growl or do anything too extreme, but he has a raw shouting delivery, which is quite at 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.