Review Summary: A wonderful and forgotten emo gem.
Navio Forge is by no means a big name in music; they played just two shows in their hometown of Gilman St., California and pressed a very, very scarce amount of copies of their LP
As We Quietly Burn A Hole Into..., which was self-released as is. At the time (and pretty much to this day) emotional hardcore was in no great demand so this isn't exactly surprising. What is surprising is that a band such as Navio Forge, who does not even register on most any musical fan's radar, wrote material of such an impossibly high calibur for their circumstances. When I heard them initially, I was wondering why this wasn't a milestone in emo, mentioned by every fan of this type of music; the simple answer is that the material in question is in scant amount and the band didn't last long enough to make a huge impression, which is clearly a shame given a listen to their lone record.
As We Quietly Burn A Hole Into... in my mind seems like one of the great representations of emotional hardcore; everything presented within its near half-hour running time feels heartfelt, most noticeably in the desperate, wild vocals but also in the arrangements and instrumental work. Aside from the definitely strong presence of vocalist Sean Lynwood, the clearly noticeable work seems to come from Aaron Arroyo's amazing bass work throughout. The drummer and guitarist are more than adequate at their roles as well, yet Arroyo and Lynwood seemingly are the foundation of Navio; they are what make the ideas important.
While both of them stand out noticeably, Navio shines when it all comes together and simply becomes an
experience, which thankfully happens in every track present. The band has an amazing flair for dynamics... they know when to linger on an instrument line, when to draw something out and when to hit you straight in the gut, and they utulize that knowledge to full effect. This is present throughout the album; the start of "Hate Machine" is a perfect lead-in, a rhythmic pounding of low, dissonant bursts driving the entire thing; in "Manufactured Images" Lynwood's moody conjecturing peels away into screaming and back again while the band moves from sullen to driving on a dime; in "Weaponizing" another founding bass line slowly builds to a hoarse, anthemic repeated cry of "stop". The finale "Haloed Eyes" is easily the pinnacle of the record: from Lynwood's scathing cries of "cripple me" and "never move" and his harried and lost wailing that closes the track, to the amazing bass melody that seems to be thrumming over the rest of the band instead of under them, this track is perfect.
The only real negative aspect of this record is obviously the production. Being self-released by a band of such limited resources, one wouldn't expect perfection from such a record's mixing, and the album doesn't hold you to those expectations. The overall sound is able to be ignored with a good dose of volume and an open mind, but the way "Manufactured" is noticeably louder than every other track and "Weaponizing"'s "stop" break fades to a quieter volume even though the song continues undeterred solidify the fact that there is a lot to be desired from the production on a record of such great material. With that in mind, it is still very easy to hear a tremendous amount of talent and promise in Navio Forge's
As We Quietly Burn A Hole Into..., and it is almost painful to hear such a good record from such a musical non-entity. However, the mere fact that such an unknown band can have an effect on at least a few listeners after more than a decade says everything about their efforts, however small.
