Next to None "A Light in the Dark"

[Counselor of Prog]

Anybody else heard of these guys? Four teenagers, featuring MP's son Max on drums.  Their debut album ALitD available 6-30.  Check em out!

[rumborak]

They are quite known here actually (not surprisingly).
I don't think i will personally connect with it from the samples i have heard, but i will check out a stream if there is one.

BTW, always found it a bit peculiar that they got signed with Inside Out. That label usually sticks to the big guns of prog.

[ErHaO]

To be honest, it is way better than I imagined (only heard that Fortune Cookie thing before). Not precisely my cup of tea (vocals), but I think it is solid. Interesting to see where they go from here considering their age.

This is what I listened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCoZoC_WD74

And offcourse it has MP in it as well 

They are quite known here actually (not surprisingly).
I don't think i will personally connect with it from the samples i have heard, but i will check out a stream if there is one.

BTW, always found it a bit peculiar that they got signed with Inside Out. That label usually sticks to the big guns of prog.

Well, MP obviously has the drive to give his best in the production/promotion of the album (which helps the band a lot I think) and it can be good for a label to have a promising young band.

[Elite]

I honestly wonder how much of a 'promising young band' this would be, if not for Portnoy's son on the drums. This whole album being released on Inside Out reeks of being an inside job and that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[lonestar]

Why? It's a solid business decision for I/O, the album is sure to do a fixed amount of sales due to the Portnoy relationship.

[Madman Shepherd]

Inside job?  That stuff happens all the time.  When someone is more visible like Portnoy, it allows for people to be critical.  One thing to consider though, I doubt they got a very good contract.  Look no further than Dominici.  First of all, I LOVE Dominici's albums.  I think the 3rd part of the O3 Trilogy was a masterpiece.  But he did not get a great record deal from what I know.  It was all self recorded at his band's recording space.  The only tour he did was opening a few dates for Dream theater in europe. 

Look at Next to None.  It is recorded in Portnoy's home and even the promo video looks like it was recorded at his house.  I bet they got a small amount of money and the guarantee that they would distribute it which is about the least you can do. 

As for the band, Max and the keyboardist really impress me.  Guitarist and bassist don't.  Not my cup of tea but they have the potential to have a respectable market presence.  I can't see them ever making it huge though. 

[goo-goo]

As for the band, Max and the keyboardist really impress me.  Guitarist and bassist don't.  Not my cup of tea but they have the potential to have a respectable market presence.  I can't see them ever making it huge though.

Yeah, but I think those days are over in general, specially in the prog genre. Rush and DT being the last "big stage" bands around. I don't see any of the new established bands playing big stages and arenas anymore.

[Nick]

As for the band, Max and the keyboardist really impress me.  Guitarist and bassist don't.  Not my cup of tea but they have the potential to have a respectable market presence.  I can't see them ever making it huge though. 

I saw a little bit of a set on Progressive Nation, and the full show opening for Haken. My general impression right now is that in general they do have a lot of talent, and I really am interested in hearing the new album and seeing how the band grows. That said I do have some gripes. The biggest one being the vocals. The keyboardist is still young, and you can certainly tell that in his vocals. Not saying he is terrible, but his voice needs to mature a bit for sure. Also, I'm not one to enjoy many growlie vocals to begin with, but when a 16 or 17 year old is doing it, it just comes across as laughable to me. Just screams crappy local emo band, as that's where I see such things the most.

Other than that, the only songwriting thing I noticed in the live shows was that every song seemed to have a big crazy ending. Don't know if it will be that way in the studio or not though.

[Zook]

I see a fate similar to Black Tide's but I could be wrong.

[rumborak]

As for the band, Max and the keyboardist really impress me.  Guitarist and bassist don't.  Not my cup of tea but they have the potential to have a respectable market presence.  I can't see them ever making it huge though.

Yeah, but I think those days are over in general, specially in the prog genre. Rush and DT being the last "big stage" bands around. I don't see any of the new established bands playing big stages and arenas anymore.

I think that depends on whether they bring something new to the table. If they're just gonna get a ticket at the entrance and line themselves up behind all those dime-a-dozen prog metal acts, then yes, they will stay very small. If they however tread new ground, there's no telling.
Now, I have no illusions that some teens will reinvent a genre. But the danger of wanting to go big too early, and thus falling into cookie-cutter music is very much there, and could preempt some actual growth on their side. That's really the danger I see here. There is something as peaking too early, where your one shot at public exposure is with a half-baked product, and afterwards your name is "spent".

[Carlo Hardcore]

Anybody else listen to the whole album? It's pretty good!

[ariich]

Yeah, I got my promo a few days ago, but only had a chance for a couple of listens so far. Overal impression is - not bad, potentially definitely, but not that great either. For 16 year olds, it's undoubtedly mighty impressive. Instrumentally the band are really good and very tight, and they come up with some nice ideas. Not a big fan of the vocals, for the reasons Nick already pointed out above. Think some of the song-writing is a little scrappy as well, but that's understandable for their age.

I'll have a full review done in a week or so.

[mikemangioy]

Well, this record is pretty good indeed.
It really sounds like a debut, and it really sounds like their (*my) age, and I was fearin' something overproduced, but nope. Good stuff.

[rumborak]

I'm on a long train ride, so I listened to the whole thing just now.

My  first comment is, I'm surprised how many people are bothered by the vocals. I don't have any problems with tthem at all.
My impression is, the sonic quality is what you would expect from an Inside-Out signed act. I'm actually consciously trying to factor that out, since I think a lot of people can't separate one from the other. And to be perfectly honest, if this album had been recorded the way most bands in their age bracket get recorded (friend of a friend has Cubase and some mics), I think the reviews would be much less favorable.

Regarding the meat of the album, it's esentially an amalgamate of the members' favorite bands. Some DT, some screamo, some NuMetal. Can't fault them for that, that's what's hot for them, it's what they listen to.
My issue with the album is, when i subtract all of those obvious hommages, I find there's very little remaining. I'm searching for a different angle, some unique ideas that tie those things together, but to my ear there aren't any.
My summary would be, maybe now that they got their debut out, and they will have done some subsequent shows for it, they can start focusing on what comes after. Many famous bands' debut album bears little resemblance to their breakthrough album, let's hope that's true for them as well.

EDIT: And maybe try to find a dedicated lead guitarist.

[Nick]

Wow, completely forgot to pre-order this apparently. Typically I put my order on amazon a month in advance and just smile when it shows up at my door on release day. Ordered it now, so I'll give it a listen on Friday.

I know Rumby won't exactly go soft on these guys, and so given your comments on the vocals I am optimistic that the studio version will be better than the live experience.

[KevShmev]

From what I have heard of this, these kids can definitely play, but writing good, coherent songs is not their friend yet.  I don't remember one melody from anything I listened to by them.  Granted, busy prog metal is not my thing (DT is an anomaly in that regard), so this is not my cup of tea anyway.

[rumborak]

I know Rumby won't exactly go soft on these guys, and so given your comments on the vocals I am optimistic that the studio version will be better than the live experience.

Well, let me put it this way: if you can listen to Yes, Neal Morse and Rush, the vocals shouldn't be a problem. If you listen to DT, Symphony X and Iron Maiden, they might.
I mean, I definitely *do* acknowledge that the singer's lack of overt skill (i.e. no vibrato, no soaring heights) puts the focus much more on how the vocals work with (and against) the rest of the music. Which however isn't necessarily their strongest suit.

Granted, busy prog metal is not my thing (DT is an anomaly in that regard), so this is not my cup of tea anyway.

Actually, the prog influence is barely there, and where it appease it feels shoe-horned in. If i had to put percentages to it, Screamo and NuMetal make up  95% of ths album.

BTW, the album suffers from a serious slump in the middle. I think they would have been better off replacing those middle songs with their "bonus tracks". Particularly their half-instrumental track "Lost" and "Social Anxiety" (guess who's doing backings vocals) are total stinkers.

[JRundquist]

Just in case anyone is curious. I'm talking to Max tomorrow afternoon via phone interview to discuss everything Next To None.

I'll do my best not to ask the questions that everyone else has asked him.

As I'm doing a lot of interviews from home now in my new studio, I will have this up the second that I get it EQ'ed and saved; and I'll have it here of course.

[JRundquist]

Alright everybody! Check out my interview with Max and Thomas of Next To None!

In this interview, we cover everything you need to know about this up and coming Progressive Metal band and a whole lot more! It was a complete honor to make this happen. Check it out!

https://youtu.be/5H2ZH7MCRCQ

[Carlo Hardcore]

Nice job JR. They seem like nice kids and very humble. Max talks about recording and gigging like he has done it for 20 years. I don't think they even realize what they have done with this album. I'm not saying they will make it big because of the limits of this genre but they definitely broke ground and altered the course of their lives. I couldn't believe the singer/keyboard player mentioned Angra, Redemption and European Power Metal as influences in addition to modern hardcore bands. Pretty cool.

[Zook]

I made it through the first song although there were multiple occasions I wanted to turn it off, but I barely made it halfway through the second song. No thanks.

[Carlo Hardcore]

Haha to each his own! I actually LIKE screaming vocals. I think it adds another dimension. I remember the first time I heard Underoath how horrified I was, but then it grew on me. You might want to skip to Control. The proggy instrumental stuff is at the back of the album for some reason.

[rumborak]

I would actually say that when they try to do proggy stuff, they are at their weakest. My recommendations for them would be stay away from it, and just focus on the screamo/numetal stuff, as that seems to be their common ground.

Whether this is going somewhere, my personal guess would be no. And I think MP's push for them to record so early will have been integral in that. I think they should have done some demo CD/EP, self-produced, first and then, when they matured more and have a really strong set of songs, get a record deal (on their own) and release that. I think with this album they blew their load too soon (so to speak), and I think they will find that working against them in the long run.
I mean, as a point of comparison, DT spent a lot of years recording demos, and while WDADU sounds like ass production-wise, everybody immediately identified the diamond in the rough. With these guys it's the exact opposite: the production is pro level, but the songs aren't anywhere near that.

[Zook]

I predict they'll have it somewhat like Black Tide did, except without the fame. You wont see them on a late night show, but they'll play some festivals, get some recognition, but then fade away. Like Black Tide, they're just a gimmick. "Young kids play like pros", and that they do, but they can't write for shit. And it wasn't the screaming that turned me off so much as it was the lack of a decent melody. The chorus of the first song was dreadful.

[ariich]

I'll have a full review done in a week or so.

And by "week" I meant "month" apparently. But here it is belatedly: https://www.ladyobscure.com/albums/next-to-none-a-light-in-the-dark/