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Band:Blotted Science Album:The Machinations of Dementia Record Company:Unsigned Writer: Eric "CFH" Johnson Media: "Laser Lobotomy" Click Album Cover To Buy Now

The Machinations of Dementia serves as the debut album for progressive metal band Blotted Science. The band consists of guitarist Ron Jarzombek from Spastic Ink, bassist Alex Webster from Cannibal Corpse and drummer Charlie Zeleny from Behold… the Arctopus.

Well, this is the first instrumental album I have listened to all the way through in four years since my obsession with progressive metal, and virtuoso musicians who could outplay anyone in their sleep whether they could write a decent song or not, ended. With that out of the way, I must say that Blotted Science does an amazing job of not pulling the same shit that the aforementioned bands and musicians tend to pull: Record "songs" that sound like endless hours of wanking, or go into the dreaded "auto-pilot prog mode." From here, I’m going to do something I don’t usually do in a review: Assess the album song by song, simply because it’s the best approach I can think of in order to make sure that those who are interested in TMoD, and haven’t listened to it, will be able to distinguish one moment from another as quickly as possible with little effort.

Okay, TMoD begins with “Synaptic Plasticity” and “Laser Lobotomy,” which showcase the same qualities that many of the disc’s tracks possess: Good riffs, grooves and solos. Above all else, they do rather well in terms of not going into “APPM,” but unfortunately they don't do much to stand out beyond that. Then, top highlight candidate, “Brain Fingerprinting,” which is a flat-out amazing song regardless of distinction, takes it turn. It’s followed by “Oscillation Cycles,” which starts just one second after it ends, and does something that’s rather unusual in prog metal: Exhibit a slew of ideas in what can be called a legitimate song in the brief span of 1:37. “Activation Synthesis Theory” comes next, and displays what just may be TMoD’s most off the wall time changes. It’s also the most multi-faceted song on the album, as it should be since it has eight minutes to work with. However, even though “AST” doesn’t go into “APPM,” and shows that Blotted Science isn’t a half-assed band that can’t recognize its own recycled riffs/ideas, it still marks the point where everything starts to blend together for those who aren’t die-hard prog fans. Why? Simply because the album is all instrumental, and it doesn’t contain long enough breaks between some songs. Such breaks would help listeners greatly in terms of distinguishing the songs from each other without having to pay ridiculously close attention to where one ends and another begins. From there, “R.E.M.” does a rather nice job of depicting a tumultuous dream. Then, “Night Terror,” the second of the three top highlight candidates, unleashes some wicked thrashy segments, which I presume hearken back to Ron Jarzombek’s days in 80’s progressive thrash band Watchtower? “Bleeding in the Brain” comes next, and features what just may be the disc’s most shred worthy solo, in an album chock-full of guitar solos, from 2:31 to 3:13. “Vegetation” serves as a brief breather, or transition, to the next track, “Narcolepsy,” which is another of the previously mentioned tracks that don’t go into “APPM,” but don’t do anything to really stand out either. Once “Narcolepsy,” the tenth track out of sixteen, concludes, “Amnesia” turns out to be the lone remaining standout track. Specifically, the song begins with a solo that demonstrates Alex Webster’s prowess on the bass, then it kicks into badass thrash mode for one hell of a minute and a half. It's also the album's third, and final, top highlight candidate.

Also worth mentioning is the CD’s liner notes, which provide a detailed, technical and pretty damn interesting explanation for every song title.

All things considered, prog fans will most likely consider TMoD to be a masterpiece while metal fans who respect the genre, but aren’t in love with it, may very well think of it as ideal background music.

Band:Blotted Science Album:The Machinations of Dementia Record Company:Unsigned Writer: Eric "CFH" Johnson Media: "Laser Lobotomy" Click Album Cover To Buy Now

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