BLOTTED SCIENCE

Technical metal jam sessions are a dime a dozen at this time in the 21st century with countless examples of instrumental wankery showcasing the virtuosic abilities of the musician's involved like an Olympic training session in the hope of winning a gold medal however without a lead vocalist to offer some kind of emotional connection to the extreme freneticism that can result, many of these bands tend to forget that someone else out there is supposed to be listening to what their crafting and much of it seems to exist in a self-made bubble. Luckily that isn't always the case.

Once in a while a team of seasoned masters congregate to create bona fide craftsmanship and artisan amperage which results in a ridiculous fun listen although the music churns out some of the most demanding technical passages allowed by law. BLOTTED SCIENCE was a short lived act but in its short existence cranked out one killer full length album followed by another shorter length EP. This trio was formed in San Antonio, TX by Watchtower and Spastic Ink shredder Ron Jarzombek, one of modern metal's most innovative guitar masters who helped push progressive metal into the limelight with Watchtower's 1989 extravaganza 'Control And Resistance' as well as going on to play with Gordian Knot and Spastic Ink amongst others.

In order to make this a band album and not just a guitar demo for the next tech death metal band, Jarzombek solicited the help of two other seasoned instrument abusers to bring BLOTTED SCIENCE into existence. Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster fit in perfectly and after Hate Eternal's Derek Roddy and Lamb of God's Chris Adler opted out, the slot of drum skin abuser in chief was handed to Charlie Zeleny of Behold'. The Arctopus. With a trio of music mangling maniacs in tandem, it was guaranteed that this would be a wild ride and on the sole full-length album THE MACHINATIONS OF DEMENTIA, the listener is guaranteed to enter a frenetic time signature rich tech extreme metal with an incessant flow of angular rhythms, staccato stop / start outbursts whizzing by at faster than the speed of light tempos.

While many instrumental tech albums are steeped in neoclassical riff attacks, THE MACHINATIONS OF DEMENTIA succeeds in its varied structures that are based on the jittery complexities of jazz underpinnings while dressed up in ridiculously fast guitar rampage of thrash, death and progressive metal riff attacks while the bass and drumming antics exist in their own independent realities but are dialed into create a uniform symbiotic effect. While similar to bands like Animals As Leaders and Liquid Tension Experiment, BLOTTED SCIENCE mastered the art of keeping the tracks engaging with accessible hooks and unexpected twists and turns that manage to remain innovative throughout the album's run however at a near hour of playing time, it does become enervating to absorb such frenetic wankery.

A classic in the world of jazz-fusion meets tech metal, THE MACHINATIONS OF DEMENTIA remains a favorite for those who love prog induced high octane metal that doesn't wimp out for one moment despite incorporating softer passages that break the monotony of the one-dimensionality that instrumental tech metal can often offer. BLOTTED SCIENCE dished out an amazing delivery of tracks on this one. Jazz metal tracks laced with math rock, progressive rock and hints of death, thrash and even classical elements, MACHINATIONS is a stellar release worthy of the high praise it has received over the years and stands the test of time that it has so far been released and a much more engaging instrumental experience than many similar albums of its ilk. Perhaps not quite the masterpiece it's made out to be, it's nonetheless an excellent example of three top tier performers working in tandem to create a behemoth of bountiful bombast.

A massive metal attack in 57 minutes. Blotted Science prove that even non-progressive bands can have high instrumental chops and reach a high level of music complexity.

This trio has impressive rhythmic abilities rivaling most of the progressive metal bands. Stylistically closest to progressive metal with frequent very heavy guitar riffs and constant rhythm changes, these are main weapons of this power trio. The music is powerful and overwhelming; after some time, it begins to be somewhat homogenous since only 3 instrumensts are present. Excursions into instrumental black or black metal are open.

Recommended for fans of technical metal that do not miss emotions and variety in music. For other large group of proggers, go look for more representative prog-metal releases.

Back in 2007, Blotted Science put out their first LP. The band, however, was not a bunch of newcomers to the tech metal scene, but were actually 3 musicians from other tech/prog metal bands. Ron Jarzombek from Watchtower and Spastic Ink and Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse decided to start a new project that would take tech/prog metal to another level. They recruited Charles Zeleny, a session drummer, and released the LP "The Machinations of Dementia". Nothing new came of this band after this release until 2011, when this EP was released. A new drummer has been recruited in Hannes Grossman who had collaborated with Jarzombek in another project "Terrestrial Exiled". The result is this 7 track EP of very hard and heavy instrumental metal which was re-released on vinyl in 2013.

The first 3 tracks are mostly speed metal with countless time signature changes that will blow you away. The guitar parts are full of quick arpeggios and scales with the bass following along doing it's own thing, more than just a support to the guitar, but a bridge between the guitar and the rapid fire drums. Everything about this is prog tech metal. Themes are very difficult to pick out until you become more familiar with the music, so the payoff there, or the appreciation, don't really grab a hold of you until you listen to it several times. Before that, it is easy to feel lost and confused in this ever changing landscape of heaviness. There are a few breaks in there where you can catch your breath, but don't expect these more quieter breaks to last very long. There are times, especially in "Cretaceous Chasm" that you will swear that Jarzombek is playing a keyboard because of the clarity and phrasing of the notes, not to mention the speed of the notes flying by, around and over your head. The nice thing about all of this, is it's not ruined by growling or shouted vocals. This is completely instrumental. And ideas, melodies, key and time signatures change so fast that your mind won't comprehend it at first.

The last 4 tracks are actually movements of a longer work called "A Sting Operation". The overall work is around 9 minutes long, so each individual section doesn't go over 3 minutes. The style of the preceding tracks continue on these tracks, but in shorter form, as there are noticeable breaks between the movements. This actually makes the sound easier to wrap your head around, and you will pick out those subtle mood shifts between tracks.

Overall, this can seem like a bunch of chaos in the first few listening's, but it will start to make more sense as you hear it more. Typically, I'm not a big fan of Tech Metal, because it tends to lose emotion and songs can start to sound too much alike. This particular release however, is just the right length at over 24 minutes total. This makes it surprisingly more accessible, but there will be many that won't even be able to handle even that short length of time. No doubt that the players involved are talented and they even add dynamics to the various short subsections of the tracks, making things much more interesting. This, however, is not an album that I listen to a lot, because it's just not my taste. Sure I love hard and heavy music, but the technical aspects can tend to sound too much alike after so many minutes. But the good thing about this album is, I find it more accessible given it's shorter length and it might even work towards helping newcomers to this style of music to appreciate it more. I know it influences me to want to understand it better.

I'm torn as to whether I give this 4 or 5 stars. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. This genre of music is not for everyone. As such I have a hard time giving it a 5 star rating which indicates that it is an album for the ages - "one every prog fan should hear". However, for this genre of music... it is definitely worthy of 5 stars.

As much as I love metal, I find it almost seems tainted by the vocals a lot of the time. I find myself enduring the vocals, waiting for the instrumental sections to start in again. Then along comes a solution: Blotted Science. Without the growly, grunty vocals that many of us aren't overly fond of, this debut album proves to me that instrumental death metal can be beautiful just as much as it can be intense.

I'm not going to give a track by track analysis, but standout tracks to me were: Synaptic Plasticity and Laser Lobotomy: great overall tracks to get a feel for the band, give a great picture of what to expect from the rest of the album. Activation Synthesis Theory. Where to begin.... this is an epic track from start to finish. One of, if not my all-time favourite from Blotted Science. Bleeding in the Brain, Narcolepsy, and Sleep Deprivation -> leading into The Insomniac are more amazing tracks on this album. Amnesia alsodisplays an incredible bass solo, but afterwards gets a little bit too intense for me.

Amazing debut album, can;t wait to hear the next one by these guys.

"The Animation Of Entomology" is an EP release by US technical/progressive metal act Blotted Science. The EP was released through Eclectic Electric in October 2011. The band´s debut full-length studio album "The Machinations of Dementia (2007)" was generally met with critical acclaim and the two mainmen behind the project, guitarist Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower, Spastic Ink) and bassist Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) opted to work together again. Drummer Charlie Zeleny (Behold... the Arctopus) has been replaced by Hannes Grossmann (Necrophagist, Obscura).

Regardless of the change on the drummer position, the music on the EP continues down the same instrumental technical/progressive extreme metal path as the music on "The Machinations of Dementia (2007)". It´s completely "over the top", adventurous and at times bizarre. Just as we´d expect from these guys. The rythms are insanely complex and Ron Jarzombek´s guitar playing virtuosic and inventive. Fast runs, odd time signatures, breaks, jazzy notes and other impossible to play tricks. "The Animation Of Entomology" is a 7 track, 24:47 minutes musical experience that´ll keep you on your toes all the way through the playing time. It´s challenging and probably doesn´t stick the first couple of listens, but it´s the kind of release where patience is rewarded.

"The Animation Of Entomology" is a release for fans of the most technical metal out there. Expect to be amazed, challenged, and maybe confused about the direction of the tracks. I wouldn´t call it mindless noodling though as there are recognisable themes and hooks in the tracks. They just aren´t found right away. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

The metal shredding on "The Machinations of Dimentia" is akin to having your head lobotomised with a surgical drill. The intensity of the sound is mind numbing, and you will love every minute of it if you are a technical metal addict. Every track is technically precise and full of surprising twists and turns. The bass is jack hammer pounding at times as distorted riffs grind powerfully through the brain. It is little wonder the music is this brutal coming from the hands of extreme bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Obscura and Hate Eternal.

Tracks such as 'Synaptic Plasticity', 'EEG Tracings', 'Activation Synthesis Theory' and 'The Insomniac' absolutely annihilate with power shredding and some of the most incredible lead guitar work on the planet. Every track has astonishing dextrous guitars, drum blast beats and hammer smashed basslines. The furious attack of stop start riffs may be too extreme for some but what really draws me to this Meshuggah like band is the fact that they are devoid of any vocals. There are none so there is no interference with the mind blowing metal. Too often great bands are ruined in my opinion by screamo or gravel gargling vocals and when these are removed the band is simply brilliant.

There are moments that allow the music to breathe such as the dreamy guitar picking on 'Adenosine Breakdown' and even jazz nuances abound on this track, before it revs into high gear and spirals wildly out of control. The screeches of guitar distortion are joined by delirious off beat signatures and polymeters. The axe man is a master of rhythmic precision and very complex patterns, none other than guitarist extraordinaire Ron Jarzombek, and he is joined by Alex Webster on bass and Charlie Zeleny on drums. Together they are a glorious force of killer metal.

'Amnesia' begins with incredible bass that is as good as I have heard, and then manic frenetic lead screams over a breakneck speed riff. This is intense wall to wall shredding and blast beats. Everything is going at warp speed and it makes the heart race quicker as the grinding pounds. 'Laser Lobotomy'features Slayer-esque lead work and riffing throughout, as fast as you would need, and yet maintains some Steve Vai type lead breaks and absolutely flawless technical rhythms.

This is one album to get hold of for shred heads and is definitely some of the most technical metal I have ever heard. Skull crushing metal from beginning to end with relentless brutality, but there is a market for this and without vocals it is all the better. Not for the faint hearted but an important album for the development of extreme metal.

Speed kills!

Sudden outbursts of blast beats and manic lead breaks with astonishing time changes are the stuff of dreams when it comes to technical metal. It is extreme, aggressive, weird, and downright inventive throughout. It is a form of Math metal in many ways, very technical complex time changes, and speed picking lead soloing. 'Ingesting Blattaria' simply is stunning speedy technical thrash. Undoubtedly the band love to stun a listener with incredible time sig metrics and rather odd structures in the tracks.

'Cretaceous Chasm' continues this blast of technical prowess with one time sig shift after another. It begins with doomy metal crawls and then a 'flight of the bumblebee' lead break. It is recognisable as the familiar bumblebee tune but it is varied enough to be innovative. Alex Webster's bassline is a heartbeat and the percussion of Hannes Grossmann is extraordinary. Ron Jarzombek's metal distorted guitar and lead breaks are a quintessential drawcard. Did I mention no vocals. There are none whatsoever and yet one might expect a death metal growl to come over at any second. I am grateful o the absence of this as I can concentrate on the incredibly speedy metal signatures.

'Vermicular Asphyxiation' is an apt title or a death metal band, and it begins with violin effects on guitars, and sweeping keyboard sounds. Amazing how these sounds are generated by one artist. Jarzombek is incredible. This is a slower song but no less adventurous. The time sigs are unbelievable. Soon it launched into a chugging low riff and speedy lead guitar sweeps. A new time sig locks in and more lead guitar as another sig clashes in and the tempo is incredibly fast, like a nest of hornets just buzzing furiously. Hence the wonderful album cover art. The illustration on the cover is the insect world's answer to "Kill 'Em All". The next epic in 4 phases is in contrast to the insect infestation on the cover.

'A Sting Operation ? I Human Barbequed', 'II Cessation Sanitation', 'III Seeing Dead People' and 'IV Omitting Eyes'. The epic that lasts for about 9 minutes when heard in its entirety begins with buzzing bee guitar, and incredible percussion speedblasts, double kicking frenetically. It is slowed into a steady pace with consistent lead guitar arpeggios. The pace really slows into what sounds like keyboard but its phased guitar. Grossmann's percussion is technical brilliance speeding up and maintaining rhythm sporadically. There is a freak out of metal and then a welcome break into quieter acoustics. Then more breakneck speed metal and weird time changes to finish it. My ears need a break now but its only short and such a rush of energy it is astounding.

This is an awesome extreme tech metal album, a short EP but just so good. I urge all metal fans to get hold of this dynamic killer EP.

'The Animation Of Entomology' - Blotted Science (9/10)

It's finally here.

In 2007, musical 'mad scientist' Ron Jarzombek and legendary death metal act Cannibal Corpse's bassist Alex Webster came together to release 'The Machinations Of Dementia' under the name Blotted Science. Taking in the best elements of both musicians, the music was viciously technical, heavy, and ultimately one of the most brilliantly complex metal albums ever made. Despite the overwhelming critical support and acclaim that Blotted Science received in 2007, I wasn't even sure that this project would see any future releases. After all, after virtually perfecting a sound at their first try, where was there to go? All the same, Blotted Science has come back again, this time in the form of a twenty-four minute long EP. Although it may sound like traveled ground for some, there's no denying that the band has done it again; Blotted Science have crafted another masterpiece of tech metal.

As I described the debut, Blotted Science's sound is essentially technical death metal, without the growls that seem to turn off so many prospective listeners. In any case, while Blotted Science may lack the defining feature of death metal, they remain heavy as hell, with guitars blazing, bass pummeling, and the drums firing as precisely as an atomic clock. While there may not be lyrics here, Blotted Science also tends to have albums based on a theme. With 'The Machinations Of Dementia', Jarzombek and company built this music on the foundation of brain disorders, titling their songs after brain disorders and gearing the music to revolve around what feelings they might evoke. On their second run-through, Blotted Science maintain their cold, mechanically oriented themes, this time dealing with the nature of bugs, and all of the different unsettling things they do. The album cover is crawling with them, and while I thought that the subject of brain dysfunction worked perfectly for Blotted's music, this new subject mirrors the music perfectly.

Over the course of seven tracks (four of which are bound together in a mini-epic), Blotted Science's number one goal seems to be to make their listener's heads explode in amazement. Sure, plenty of guitarists can shred and some even have a deep knowledge of theory. Still, I am hard-pressed to think of another band that is able to play together with such complexity as Blotted Science. The music is highly aggressive, with 'Ingesting Blattaria' opening up the album with a barrage of nearly incomprehensible tech-heaviness that soon breaks up into an incessant fusion of technical death metal riffs, sci-fi lead solos, and a surprising depth of atmosphere that lets the horror-styled undertones of the music get inside your head. Jarzombek and Webster are an absolutely devastating pair, whose respective styles compliment each other greatly. New to the band is drummer Hannes Grossmann, who brings a subtle jazz flourish to the band; I would say the intense and dynamic drumming here is even better than Charlie Zeleny's performance on the debut.

Despite a change in apparent subject from brain disorders to bugs that cause them, , the actual music of Blotted Science has barely changed, if at all. As much as I am blown away by what Blotted Science do with 'The Animation Of Entomology', there are no creative leaps here beyond what the band did on 'Machinations'. For this, I cannot quite consider it the classic that the band's debut is, even if Blotted Science have some even greater moments here. One thing I could mention that seems to set 'Animation' apart from its predecessor is that the mellower moments here are integrated a little more cohesively into the music that on 'Machinations', where the brutal tech metal and schizoid jazz explorations where largely kept separate from each other. While I may have been a little disappointed at first that Blotted Science's second album was only twenty four minutes long, this does work for the exhausting style of the band. I would not consider 'The Animation Of Entomology' necessarily to be an improvement in what Blotted Science has done, and certainly not a development. All the same, the depth in the composition is very consistent, and as impressive as it ever has been. While I thought their debut was a virtually impossible achievement, Blotted Science have gone out and done it twice.

Blotted Scince is a technical progressive metal band from USA, featuring well known musicians from this zone, mostly from extreme bands, like Ron Jarzombek , the brain of the band coming from Watchtower and Spastilc Ink, bassist from death metal band Cannibal Corpse - Alex Webster and on drums the excellent Chris Adler from Nile and Hate Eternal. So, what do we expect from the album named The machinations of dementia, and implicit from the music, well, technical to extreme , instrumetal album all, with powerfull arrangements, bursting guitars, with some here and there fusion elements added, make from this album a total winner to my ears. What I don't like at some point, is that the album is to long, and here and there to much the same playing, but nevertheless great in the end. I like the album, but I don't considered to be a masterpiece of the genre, realy, I know more eleborated albums in same vein, more diverse and intristing. The musicianship is excellent of course, because all are professional musicians with years behind in musical bussines, musicaly speaking the album is very jazzy sometimes combined with very technical progressive metal parts, pleasent most of the time, but not groundbreaking, at least for me. It took me a lots of spins 'till I fully get the album entirely. Similar bands, Canvas Solaris, Behold... The Arctopus. 3.5, maybe rounded to 4 this time only.

'The Machinations Of Dementia' - Blotted Science (10/10)

To put it simply, this is the most accomplished technical metal release ever created.

While the genre of technical progressive metal has gotten a bad name in the eyes of some for it's typically overindulgent and mindless showboating and lack of substantial depth, there will always be bands, or albums that really excel and break through the barriers of convention to deliver something that really blows the doors away. While the metal world is full of greatly talented, skilled and even genius musicians, I will admit that there have been only a handful of albums that have impressed me so much on a musical level in instrumental metal, and arguably none that have blown me away as much on a technical level as Blotted Science does however. While this is not going to be the order of the day for everyone, 'The Machinations Of Dementia' is easily one of the greatest instrumental albums ever made.

Essentially the brainchild of virtuoso guitarist Ron Jarzombek (of Watchtower/Spastic Ink fame), Blotted Science was created out of the urge to make a progressive metal supergroup of some of the most talented and skilled musicians in the scene. What might come as a bit of a shock to the progressive side of the prog metal scene is that the bassist chosen to be part of this project is Alex Webster, of Cannibal Corpse. While Cannibal Corpse isn't exactly known for their penchant of thought-provoking themes and music, they are indeed talented musicians and Alex Webster's frantic bass work steals the show here. With a presence much greater here than on most other albums, the technical bass display adds a dimension to the music that really compliments Jarzombek's left-of-center guitar playing. Add in some near-obsessive mathematical drumming from Charlie Zeleny (of Behold... The Arctopus) and Blotted Science comes together to produce something that is nearly unparelleled in terms of it's complexity and chaos.

Although the music is entirely instrumental, the concept of mental illness and psychology flows throughout the album, as is conveyed through the song titles. As with all great concept pieces, the music reflects the nature of the subject matter; frenetic work, crushing heaviness and mathematically impossible polyrhythms give 'Machinations' a very unsettling and disturbing feel to it. While there are a few tracks that stand out on their own as individual songs ('Laser Lobotomy,' 'Night Terror') the album generally flows together as a long piece. While such complexity and technicality can be overwhelming over the course of fifty-odd minutes, the high level of compositional quality and experimentation lies throughout.

Possibly best described as an 'instrumental technical death metal' album, Blotted Science gets very heavy amongst the technicality. 'The Machinations Of Dementia' is an insanely complex and immersive listen. Any fans of progressive metal should find something to love here, but make no mistake; you'll be exhausted by the end of it.