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Rating: Next To None officially formed about 6 years ago north of Philadelphia, PA, from the meeting between Thomas (keyboard and vocals) and the trio of childhood friends Max (drums), Ryland (guitar), and Kris (bass). Like many bands, they spent a few years covering their favorite bands before deciding to write their own music.
Before a brief overview of the album, it's necessary to understand what you're getting into, as this is a band unknown to most. Among the favorite bands of this Pennsylvania quartet are Dream Theater, Slipknot, and Lamb of God, influences discernible throughout the album, but the most interesting thing is that drummer Max has "prog-royal" blood; his last name is Portnoy and he is the son of the legendary Mike. The production stays in the family and is entrusted to Portnoy senior, so without listening to the album, it's evident that you're facing a sound that will remind you of Dream Theater. At this point, wasting time noticing who this band resembles more is superfluous; it's better to focus on the music and be amazed by the fact that the members of the band are between 15 and 16 years old and wrote all the songs between 2013 and the beginning of 2014.
From the very first notes of the opener “Edge of Sanity,” we immediately notice the clear Dream Theater-like influences, but also an interesting duality of clean and scream vocals, which we will often find throughout the entire album. The central jam, although reminiscent of things we've heard before, in my opinion, outlines the general trend of the album and highlights the skills of these 4 geniuses. The next track, “You are not me,” stays on the same tracks but with heavier and more aggressive riffing, and the initial feeling of "already heard" repeats itself. But one should not be discouraged because the album is vibrant and fresh, mixing the more intricate passages of prog metal in “Control,” a stunning 10 minutes for such a young band with a beautiful guitar-keyboard duet in the central bridge, and at times more melodic in what the author considers the gem of the album, the ballad “A Lonely Walk,” which also includes guest appearances by Bumblefoot from Guns N Roses and Neal Morse. In the rest of the tracks, however, we find compositions that never stray too far from their prog roots, but often feature an alternation of clean singing, controlled screams, and more metalcore and thrash-oriented riffs that enrich the sound with non-innovative but still modern and captivating elements.
What surprises me the most, besides the musical technique, are the lyrics and the presence of a mini concept created by Thomas that spans 6 of the 9 tracks (specifically tracks I, II, IV, V, VIII, and IX) which speak of a man with a dual personality, possibly a serial killer, who struggles with his two selves, and which denotes a level of sophistication in the lyrics that is far more mature than their age. When I think about what I could have written at that age, all I can think of are the A-Team, the Power Rangers, and Super Mario Bros, so hats off.
The album should be evaluated without considering the age (hence my rating) and we are faced with well-crafted and well-played songs, but it's certainly not the album of the year and doesn't represent a true innovation, despite combining elements that are not usually present in classic prog. Furthermore, the lack of a clear and cohesive stylistic/musical vision within the band is evident; I expect more homogeneous works in the future from the foundations of the tracks. However, considering their age, everything is more than understandable, and even though a prominent flaw is found in the vocals, we are still facing sixteen-year-olds who require the natural maturation that only age can bring; we also had a kid's voice when we were sixteen.
Since comparisons will be made anyway, let's think that dad Mike was already 19 during the recordings of the Majesty demos, so in my opinion, one can only applaud what Next To None managed to record at only 14-15 years of age!
In conclusion, “A Light in the Dark” is an album to be listened to without prejudice and, regardless of the clear influences whether intentional or not, before judging this work the question to ask is: how many bands of sixteen-year-olds would be able to compose a similar album? It's not essential but I still recommend it to those who love the genre, without complaining by expecting better guitar solos than Petrucci, bass lines like Myung's, or similar things. Without a doubt, however, this is one of the best or even the best debut album you could expect in this musical genre from such a young group and perhaps represents the embryo of the genre's evolution for the coming decades.
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