If the name Blotted Science doesn't mean anything to you, the names Ron Jarzombek (guitar-Watchtower, Spastik Ink), Alex Webster (bass-Cannibal Corpse), & Charlie Zeleny (drums-Behold the Arctopus) certainly should. The Machinations of Dementia is the brand new release from this new instrumental metal/fusion trio, and it's a barnstormer from start to finish. If you've heard the latest release Skullgrid from Zeleny's main band Behold the Arctopus, that's a pretty good reference point for what to expect on this blistering assault. Thing is, Blotted Science are a tad more melodic, yet equally as impressive as far as virtuoso instrumental skills go. Jarzombek has always been a guitar genius, his history with pioneering technical extreme metal band Watchtower and metal-fusion act Spastik Ink solid proof of his abilities, and he leads the charge here, taking herculean bassist Webster and dynamo Zeleny through 16 tracks of absolutely jaw dropping insanity that will appeal to any fan of technical metal, fusion, or complex & aggressive progressive rock.
Going into the individual songs here is almost pointless, as you can pick just about any of them and dissect their individual parts, but the process would take days. This is complex material folks, as tunes like "Activation Synthesis Theory", "Synaptic Plasticity", "R.E.M.", and "Adenosine Breakdown" take you on one mind-boggling journey after another, taking influences such as King Crimson, Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, Meshuggah, Athiest, and the players main & previous bands, throwing it all up in the air, and seeing which way things fall. The key though is that while there is chops aplenty throughout this CD, the songs are memorable and the melodies quite catchy. The presence of Webster no doubt helped make this album heavier than it might have originally been intended, as his background with Cannibal Corpse was probably a kick in the ass for Jarzombek to really beef up the crunch factor a bit.
The Machinations of Dementia just impresses on so many levels. As far as instrumental progressive metal goes, things don't get much better than this.
Track Listing
1 Synaptic Plasticity
2 Laser Lobotomy
3 Brain Fingerprinting
4 Oscillation Cycles
5 Activation Synthesis Theory
6 R.E.M.
7 Night Terror
8 Bleeding In The Brain
9 Vegetation
10 Narcolepsy
11 E.E.G. Tracings
12 Sleep Deprivation
13 The Insomniac
14 Amnesia
15 Adenosine Breakdown
16 Adenosine Buildup
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
