“The world is nothing”, it is announced in the introductory part of this four part concept album about a boy’s childhood anguished development. The creator of this progressive rock work is Brent Vallefuoco, the 17 year old guitarist of a US band Xanthochroid.
For me the introductory section was the best part. Strange sounds emerge, partly of an industrial origin and partly from nature. There is a heavy and steady prog beat. The heaviness guarantees a good wall of sound. The singer’s flattened voice matches the sinister and dark nature of it. The metal melody is good and lively, the build-up is good and there’s even some sympho-electronic ambiance. As we head into the “Family” section, I found it a bit dry. The flattened vocals take on a new angle in a rather sultry rendition called, appropriately enough, “The Sullen Suburbia”. A plus point is that this band isn’t frightened to go anywhere it wants. Concept’ albums do tend to do this, I find, as they swing from one emotion to another, and this is no exception. I couldn’t however determine where this one was going. I’m not sure if it had 50 shades of grey but if I were to define a colour to capture this album, that would be it. The metal part of it is ok, but I was finding the rest off tune.
As we headed to “Family Reunion” my response to this album was mixed. I don’t like the vocals. Instrumentally the developments are interesting. Old and new styles of Prog combine. The swaying undercurrent of darkness is conveyed in the dreamy style of the Beatles, Pink Floyd or Astra and as it picks up, the metal largesse recalls Opeth. “The Prison”, which follows, captures the sense of alienation. Musically it’s got the feel of country rock, a bit retro, but I was starting to lose track of this now as it drifts on. “The Tribe” is in the next section “School”. It’s getting stranger. The indistinct sound of children playing, or are they arguing, can be heard as an old-fashioned, partly tuned piano plays. The sound of those children creeps over into “The Righteous Rebellion”. An acoustic guitar now plays and there is an air of melancholy about it. Whistling sounds emerge. A now breezy acoustic line belies the fairly sombre and at times baffling theme. Actually, it’s rather dreary. I’m not getting it. This one is called “The Sullen Fortress” so maybe that’s it – this is the representation of grey, ordinary life. Why? The acoustically-driven instrumental “Displacement” follows. The classic acoustic line is pleasant but it’s not ground-breaking and is rather drab. “Goodbye, Mother” should have intensity as the final major track but it doesn’t. Quiet and muffled vocals and the overall pitch convey lethargy and dissatisfaction but it’s hard to match this with palatable music, and I wouldn’t say that Mr Vallefuoco is successful here. The track intensifies a little but like most of this album, it lacks shape. It doesn’t help that the singer-come-creator hasn’t got the vocal range. This rather unsatisfactory experience fades out quiet with the soft tones of the piano.
I did wonder if the theme for this album was wrong but came to the conclusion that the problem is the emotional pitch. Poor vocals and a lack of intensity or interest value to arouse the listener add up to the fact that “The Prison, Pt 1” is dull. I understand that Godbless Thee, Mooseheart is an ongoing project. If that’s the case, there’s work to be done.
(4 / 10 Andrew Doherty)
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