It’s difficult to do prog-metal right, and it’s fair to say that to many, prog-metal is difficult to like whether done right or not. ‘The Deity’, the debut album from Stoke-On-Trent’s Construct, demonstrates exactly how problematic this struggle can be.

Catchiness, conventional song structure and familiarity have never been characteristics of prog-metal, resulting in the esoteric nature of it as a sub-genre. Ask a stranger in the street to name a prog-metal band and they would struggle. But access points come in many forms, and bands at the top find theirs in the true depth and creativity of their work. Something Construct are to be found sorely lacking in here.

It’s over a fifteen-minute wait before the first real impact is felt. The pounding ‘Justify The Means’ providing respite from the boring soloing on opener ‘When Conscience Calls’ and ‘The Molecular Level’’s dreary vocal melodies.

The snaking riffs of ‘Coalescence’ are crying out to be thrown into an irregular time signature or otherwise developed. But this lack of willingness to venture from their one-dimensional comfort zone is very much Construct’s problem.

There are signs of life in the title track’s lively central guitar lick, although these are quickly extinguished courtesy of another deadwood chorus. The one memorable melody is to be found in ‘Whole Again’, but even here Callum Howie’s voice is colourless, overly produced and drowned in more landfill guitars which abrasively dominate the mix.

‘Forgotten’ is the eleventh and final track, and that title might be an apt summary of what could fast become of ‘The Deity’. In order to be a successful prog-metal act, Construct require much greater scope for innovation, invention and imagination. Sadly this particular deity is very much a false God.

2/5

‘The Deity’ by Construct is released on 4th February.

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Words by Peter Stewart (@PeteStew_)