Blotted Science
We were recently contacted by Lisa from Hold Tight PR about Blotted Science, the brainchild of guitarist Ron Jarzombek. Joining forces with none other than Mr Alex Webster of Cannibal Corpse fame, and Hannes Grossmann on drums – these guys are out to raise the bar for extreme progressive instrumental metal! Due to release their most intense and complex work titled ‘The Animation of Entomology on the 28th of November, this is a band who you need to be keeping an eye out for! Themselves describing the album as ‘a cross between Cannibal Corpse, Spastic Ink and a Bugs Bunny cartoon’, and writing tracks which sync up with movies (Cretaceous Chasm to King Kong, Vermicular Asphyxiation to Slither)– this promises to be something pretty damned special (or weird!).
Opening with Ingesting Blattaria, everything kicks off all at once! Pounding drums, slamming bass lines and roving guitar lines all combine to create a sound which is both insanely heavy yet also melodic from the outset. Ranging from the obscenely heavy through to far more melodic bass driven sections, this is a track which is sure to make you sit up and listen. What really grabs you is the intricacy of the guitar lines contrasted with the dark sludgy bass lines, it’s like beauty vs beast at times whilst the drums always continue to change beat, pounding away gradually at your soul. A complete step away from Cannibal Corpse, Websters bass on this track is quite simply stunning, matching perfectly the guitar lines from Jarzombek and the drums of Grossman. Whilst there are no vocals on the track, they’re not missed in the slightest – plus I would like to see anyone put lyrics to music this advanced, it simply doesn’t need them. What an opening to an album and an introduction to a band, and at 5.50 in length, this is a hell of an achievement!
Cretaceous Chasm follows on at number 2, opening soft yet ominous through clean guitar lines before shifting into a dark and sludgy melee of those awesome bass lines and roving guitar lines. The prog edge to the music really comes through here at first as well, sounding almost like an evil twin of Dream Theater which has taken their music and presented it under a far more evil guise. Blisteringly heavy drums underpin everything as the track progresses, keeping the bass dark and the guitars fast – you’re left without a shadow of a doubt that this is a group who function incredibly well as an entire unit. Vermicular Asphyxiation follows on, once again creating the ominous opening to the track whilst somehow soothing you at the same time – there’s a lot to take in going on here! Dark from the outset, there’s echoes of Pantera in the music here, it’s the way the solo is underpinned by soft almost Spanish style guitar lines. Once again moving back towards the more prog side of the music, the syncopated beat keeps the track alive and jumping, all the time returning to those rolling drums and roving guitar lines to make sure that you’re still connected with the band. What I really like on this track though is the mix that the band have achieved, every single instrument of the band can be heard here so you can fully appreciate everything, closing as it began and once again leaving you questioning why you haven’t heard this yet!
A Sting Operation – I – Human Barbequed follows on, the first part of 4 this track opens with more of those intricate guitar lines before fading in the drums and bass to let the track take form. Syncopated once again, this track at first doesn’t seem to match the theme of the others so far, this is until the full force of the band is unleashed upon you. Once again keeping every element right there, every element working together and creating a sound big enough to crush your skull, this track is another triumph from the bands arsenal. Acting almost as a lead in to Part II, the soaring lead lines truly steal the show here whilst the drums beat their way into the follow on, Cessation Sanitation. This is another track which at first seems calm and soothing, luring you in and daring you to turn that volume up higher. Rolling drums echo around in the back ground supported by the solid bass line, the guitar all the time roving around the neck to keep you there and listening. Turning up the distortion just before half way through, make sure you check out the sound of the bass on this track, it’s something pretty damned special to behold. Combine that with the drums and what you’ve got is a rhythm section that knows no bounds, it’s a constant assault on your ear drums!
Part III, Seeing Dead People, is the penultimate track from this 4 track odyssey and once again, doesn’t disappoint. Opening with those soothing guitars before kicking into a staccato section based around the guitar, then kicking into a dark and almost thrash like section of rolling drums and slamming guitars, there’s so many different influences here that you genuinely won’t know where to listen first. Quite possibly my personal favourite track from the album, this is one which is always evolving, always changing and always catching you off guard. As Part IV, Omitting Eyes, closes proceedings on both the track and the album, you’re left without a shadow of a doubt that this has set the bar incredibly high from here onwards. The musical ability demonstrated on this track alone is enough to make most musicians sit and cry to themselves over their lack of ability, I know my guitars will now be shunned until they can replicate this sound! Finishing as it opened, this album is one hell of an achievement, and all I can really say to finish is wow!
Blotted Science have produced an album here which has put them firmly on my radar, I know that from here onwards I’ll be looking to check out their upcoming releases so I know what’s coming (something I can’t wait to find out!). Their musical style surpasses prog instrumental metal and transcends to a higher level, it’s music which achieves what only the best can, an emotional change in those who listen to it. Sure at times you’ll question what the hell is going on, but sit back, crank the volume up and really listen to everything going on, you will not be disappointed!
To find out more about Blotted Science, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Opening with Ingesting Blattaria, everything kicks off all at once! Pounding drums, slamming bass lines and roving guitar lines all combine to create a sound which is both insanely heavy yet also melodic from the outset. Ranging from the obscenely heavy through to far more melodic bass driven sections, this is a track which is sure to make you sit up and listen. What really grabs you is the intricacy of the guitar lines contrasted with the dark sludgy bass lines, it’s like beauty vs beast at times whilst the drums always continue to change beat, pounding away gradually at your soul. A complete step away from Cannibal Corpse, Websters bass on this track is quite simply stunning, matching perfectly the guitar lines from Jarzombek and the drums of Grossman. Whilst there are no vocals on the track, they’re not missed in the slightest – plus I would like to see anyone put lyrics to music this advanced, it simply doesn’t need them. What an opening to an album and an introduction to a band, and at 5.50 in length, this is a hell of an achievement!
Cretaceous Chasm follows on at number 2, opening soft yet ominous through clean guitar lines before shifting into a dark and sludgy melee of those awesome bass lines and roving guitar lines. The prog edge to the music really comes through here at first as well, sounding almost like an evil twin of Dream Theater which has taken their music and presented it under a far more evil guise. Blisteringly heavy drums underpin everything as the track progresses, keeping the bass dark and the guitars fast – you’re left without a shadow of a doubt that this is a group who function incredibly well as an entire unit. Vermicular Asphyxiation follows on, once again creating the ominous opening to the track whilst somehow soothing you at the same time – there’s a lot to take in going on here! Dark from the outset, there’s echoes of Pantera in the music here, it’s the way the solo is underpinned by soft almost Spanish style guitar lines. Once again moving back towards the more prog side of the music, the syncopated beat keeps the track alive and jumping, all the time returning to those rolling drums and roving guitar lines to make sure that you’re still connected with the band. What I really like on this track though is the mix that the band have achieved, every single instrument of the band can be heard here so you can fully appreciate everything, closing as it began and once again leaving you questioning why you haven’t heard this yet!
A Sting Operation – I – Human Barbequed follows on, the first part of 4 this track opens with more of those intricate guitar lines before fading in the drums and bass to let the track take form. Syncopated once again, this track at first doesn’t seem to match the theme of the others so far, this is until the full force of the band is unleashed upon you. Once again keeping every element right there, every element working together and creating a sound big enough to crush your skull, this track is another triumph from the bands arsenal. Acting almost as a lead in to Part II, the soaring lead lines truly steal the show here whilst the drums beat their way into the follow on, Cessation Sanitation. This is another track which at first seems calm and soothing, luring you in and daring you to turn that volume up higher. Rolling drums echo around in the back ground supported by the solid bass line, the guitar all the time roving around the neck to keep you there and listening. Turning up the distortion just before half way through, make sure you check out the sound of the bass on this track, it’s something pretty damned special to behold. Combine that with the drums and what you’ve got is a rhythm section that knows no bounds, it’s a constant assault on your ear drums!
Part III, Seeing Dead People, is the penultimate track from this 4 track odyssey and once again, doesn’t disappoint. Opening with those soothing guitars before kicking into a staccato section based around the guitar, then kicking into a dark and almost thrash like section of rolling drums and slamming guitars, there’s so many different influences here that you genuinely won’t know where to listen first. Quite possibly my personal favourite track from the album, this is one which is always evolving, always changing and always catching you off guard. As Part IV, Omitting Eyes, closes proceedings on both the track and the album, you’re left without a shadow of a doubt that this has set the bar incredibly high from here onwards. The musical ability demonstrated on this track alone is enough to make most musicians sit and cry to themselves over their lack of ability, I know my guitars will now be shunned until they can replicate this sound! Finishing as it opened, this album is one hell of an achievement, and all I can really say to finish is wow!
Blotted Science have produced an album here which has put them firmly on my radar, I know that from here onwards I’ll be looking to check out their upcoming releases so I know what’s coming (something I can’t wait to find out!). Their musical style surpasses prog instrumental metal and transcends to a higher level, it’s music which achieves what only the best can, an emotional change in those who listen to it. Sure at times you’ll question what the hell is going on, but sit back, crank the volume up and really listen to everything going on, you will not be disappointed!
To find out more about Blotted Science, check out their Facebook page HERE.