(Progressive Metal) [CD] Natural Science - This Side Of Paradise - 2004, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Natural Science are a band from the Netherlands, and this is their first full-length release. I must admit that, from the (to my mind) rather uninspiring CD artwork and the rather cliched album title I wasn't necessarily expecting too much from this disc, but thankfully this was a pleasant surprise.

We're certainly in the realms of prog metal here, with the main points of reference being (surprise, surprise) Dream Theater (especially the earlier, When Dream And Day Unite era of the band), Rush (unsurprising given the band's name!) and Threshold, the latter influence showing itself in the combination of chunky, heavy riffs overlain with effective keyboard melodies. Sticking with the Threshold influence, I could imagine Damian Wilson delivering many of the vocals here. Actual vocalist Roy Wassink certainly lacks Wilson's range and power, and occasionally he seems to waver out of tune, but he does have an appealing, fairly rich voice which suits the music (especially the heavier stuff) well. Whilst the accompanying musicianship is uniformly good, bassist Vincent Wassink deserves a special mention, coming up with some flowing, sometimes almost funky bass-lines which really add to the band's sonic palette. Keyboardist Patrick Groot Nuelend, meanwhile, employs both delicate piano melodies and vast layers of symphonic keys depending on what the song requires.

The album kicks off very strongly with the forceful On My Own, which clearly illustrates the band's ability to come up with well structured songs, heavy on melody and capped with memorable choruses. Pace and mood changes are always well handled, and whilst there are many instrumental sections these are generally short and to the point, and are high on melody and atmosphere.

This is probably the strongest track on the album in my opinion, but that's not to say the quality takes a nosedive. In fact, each of the six individual songs contained here are pretty strong; the likes of For Better Days power along almost effortlessly, Just Before Dawn exhibits a symphonic sweep and some, er, enigmatic lyrics ('the chair is on the grass, the chair is on the lawn, the chair is just a love affair' indeed!), whilst the title track is a powerful ballad which provides a nice contrast with the generally heavier nature of the rest of the material., and Match Made Up features an excellent instrumental closing section which is the equal of anything on here.

The centrepiece of the album is the four-song suite May You Live In Interesting Times. Clearly going for the 'prog epic', at times this is perhaps a bit over-ambitious, some of the links seem a little forced and Roy Wassink's voice is really stretched beyond its natural limits on parts, but there are again some fine moments here, and the emotional grand finale Novska is a powerful closing statement.

Overall then, this is a good debut release – not without its flaws, but progressive metal fans should certainly find much to their liking here. Armed with material of this calibre, Natural Science should get some record label attention sooner rather than later.

DPRP Reviews

Roy Wassink - voice and other assorted noises
Geert Hell - guitars
Patrick Groot Nuelend - piano and synthesizers
Vincent Wassink - bass
Ralph Ebbers - drums