Band:
The Gabriel Construct
Album:
Interior City
Member:
Gabriel Lucas Riccio – Vocals, Keyboards
Session Members:
Travis Orbin – Drums
Tom Murphy – Bass
David Stivelman – Guitar
Soren Larson – Saxophone
Sophia Uddin – Violin
Production:
1-8, 10 engineered by Garrett Davis at West Main Recording, Salisbury, MD, with assistance from Joseph Hill, January-August 2012 except piano tracked by Garrett Davis at Gull Works Studios, Salisbury, MD, January 9-13, 2012. 9 recorded and mixed by Gabriel Riccio in Eden, MD.
Track list:
1 – Arrival in a Distant Land
2 – Ranting Prophet
3 – Fear of Humanity
4 – My Alien Father
5 – Retreat Underground
6 – Subway Dwellers
7 – Defense Highway
8 – Inner Sanctum
9 – Languishing in Lower Chakras
10 – Curing Somatization
Review:
The Gabriel Construct is the rock solo project of Gabriel Lucas Riccio. ‘Interior City’ is his debut album that mixes rock, metal, and jazz influences to create an over-the-top metal/jazz sound plus many extras. If you are a fan of rock and roll and believe rock music can’t be classified or “put in a box” then this may be worth a listen. ‘Interior City’ is very exploratory and at times may feel more like a lesson in music versus a rock album.
The full album is over seventy minutes long, leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment and possible exhaustion. I assume Riccio felt the same way, this is no “small” album and you can tell a lot of time, thought, and creativity was part of the process. The supporting artists were obviously hand picked by Gabriel, and fit the concept of ‘Interior City.’ The tracks “Arrival in a Distant Land” and “Subway Dwellers” are probably as close to mainstream type melodies you will find (which is to say, not very close). “Defense Highway”, “Ranting Prophet”, and “Inner Sanctum” are clear examples of songs telling a story, moving from progressive rock to classical to funk, sometimes within a minute.
If great concepts and schizophrenic layering is your thing, you may love this album. The album is difficult and I believe that is the intent: to push the listener (as well as the artist himself). ‘Interior City’ is a challenging listen that is a fascinating listen even if Riccio’s style doesn’t fit the norm.
Websites:
Official website: http://thegabrielconstruct.com/
Bandcamp: http://thegabrielconstruct.bandcamp.com/
CD Baby: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/TheGabrielConstruct
Facebook: http://facebook.com/thegabrielconstruct
David S. Grant is a writer for Mancave Playbabes. Check out his writing at pulpscribbler.com. Follow on twitter: @david_s_grant.