Being an instrumental metal band is a tricky endeavor. Animals as Leaders aside, most bands are incapable of writing an instrumental record that keeps listeners glued to their earphones. Instrumentals demand enormous commitment on behalf of the listener – you must appreciate the amount of musicianship in each song and the melodies must be interesting enough to substitute for a vocalist – meaning that ‘hooks’, ordinarily considered pretty challenging to write, must be sufficiently novel to gather curiosity from an already restrictive fan base.

Blotted Science achieved this in spades, and very much like – although more extreme – Machinations of Dementia, this record is inconceivably technical. There is not a single 4/4 beat here, and given all the guitar layers I am fairly confident this music is almost impossible to play live. Unlike Animals as Leaders or Liquid Tension Experiment, who set out to write songs oriented around the instruments – Jarzombek wrote the entire record to fit with sci-fi horror films. This undoubtedly plays a role in how unpredictable each song is, and highlights a key feature of this band – Blotted Science isn’t out to write melodic music with hooks, they’re out to push the limits of what’s considered audibly comprehensive

Another subtractive effect to being an instrumental band is writing songs that are distinguishable, a drawback this record does not suffer from. Au contraire, every track is instantly recognizable – from slower, heavier tracks like ‘Cretaceous Chasm’ to the arpeggio madness you’ll find on ‘A Sting Operation’. Somewhat surprisingly, the record is fairly short, leaving less room for fillers.

In conclusion, there are plenty of bands that have shaken up the scene recently. Conquering Dystopia and Animals as Leaders come to mind as being pioneers of this metal sub-genre. However, I see no reason why Blotted Science cannot be considered just as good as their virtuosic counterparts – there is no doubt that this band has truly pushed the limits of what is considered technically conceivable in the world of rock music.

Edited by: Ahmed S. Khalil

This is not hyperbole, this record is modern death metal at its finest. First of all, the guitar tone is crushing; 8-string guitars, sounds less like Meshuggah imitations and more like what they were intended to be, instruments of destruction. Although this is a “progressive” metal record, the riffs and lead lines are technically straightforward, making this even more interesting. – The composition is less about being virtuosic and more about how the songwriting. Additionally, the fact that the bassist was audible was icing on the cake, and although the drums weren’t really played by an actual person – they’re written exquisitely. Death metal drummers suffer a severe ailment, they don’t actually know how to play a beat and let the music breathe, a subtractive effect this record does not suffer from.

It is easy to write a modern death metal record – play fast, cleanly and tune low. BCI have not fallen into this trap of compromising lack of writing ability with shred, and thus this record is in no rush to impress, but rather takes it’s time flirtatiously. Sure, there are blast beats and double bass layers all over, but the true power of this EP is the emotion. The interesting part is that although this band was a 3-piece, only one man, Andy Thomas, wrote the entire album. Thomas is as eccentric and interesting a guy as I’ve ever met, sublimely talented, well-spoken individual. This record is a very personal reflection of this character, a person who by his own admission thrives on pain.

There are just two drawbacks I can think of. First, although the guitar solos on this album are somewhat well phrased, they’re fairly average and short. I’m not as interested in playing fast as I am hearing good phrasing, but this record has neither fast solos nor particularly good phrasing. The leads just exist, although they’re pretty cool, it doesn’t add much to the record. Secondly, the EP is a little too short, although this is a minor point because it was intended to be this way.

In conclusion, this record is an extreme metal gem filled with incredible surprises. Although it is only four songs long, the diversity and shifting dynamics will leave listeners with multiple surprises on several levels. In the history of this genre there have been several startup bands who, on the virtue of a single release, have been catapulted into extreme metal greatness – Opeths’ Orchid, Emperors’ In The Nightside Eclipse, Niles’ Black Seeds of Vengeance – it is foreseeable that Black Crown Initiate’s Song Of The Crippled Bull soon joins this exclusive list of overachievers.

Edited by: Ahmed S. Khalil