One of metal’s most underrated guitarists delivers another tech fest
It’s a fair guess that the name Blotted Science means sod all to most metal heads. I know that I’d not heard of it until the CD landed on my desk. After a short period of hunting around for information on the group, when I saw that the band’s mastermind is guitar extremist Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower), I instantly knew that it would be a wild ride. Factor in the involvement of Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster and Behold…The Arctopus drummer Charlie Zeleny and it’s a damn sure bet that this trio are all about a musical cacophony that has the predictability of a tornado and the intensity to boot.
It’s the thumping beginning and small runs that usher in Synaptic Plasticity that lead the way into this full on tech fest. Prog/tech/fusion/metal fans – if there is such a combo – will be in pure heaven with this trio’s awesome display of not only their own abilities on their chosen instruments, but just how bloody well prog has been fused with metal, jazz and rock. Effects a plenty dominate Jarzombek’s frantic fret work in Laser Lobotomy, whilst the trio’s musical chemistry shines to the point of being almost blinding on the tapping Brain Fingerprinting, the furious Oscillation Cycles, the chaotic duo of Activation Synthesis Theory and R.E.M. and the rhythmic and spacey Night Terror.
There is no really significant break from it all, so listeners really will either love or hate this. I guess after the bludgeoning Bleeding In The Brain, the gentle Vegetation is about as close to a break that you’ll get. It’s brief, and over in the blink of an eye and before you know it, the sludgey Narcolepsy is in your face. The tempo is upped with the busy E.E.G. Tracings before the brief Sleep Deprivation slows things right down once more. From here on in though, there is no relief. The Insomniac and the brutal Amnesia continue this relentless aural assault before it all wraps up with the busy duo of Adenosine Breakdown and Adenosine Buildup.
There’s little doubt that this kind of instrumental display is draining to the listener. Not only are the songs themselves full on, but the technical prowess, the mayhem, and the ordered chaos of it all are sure to be too much for some. For those with a strong resolve and a passion for this kind of of metal that is clearly pushing some boundaries of both prog and metal, then Blotted Science’s latest effort is an absolutely essential part of your musical diet.
(Eclecticelectric)
