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Review Summary: Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) + Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower) + Charlie Zeleny (Behold... the Arctopus) = Much more than the sum of their parts. What do you get when you take Alex Webster ( Cannibal Corpse), Ron Jarzombek ( Watchtower, Spastic Ink), and Charlie Zeleny ( Behold… the Arctopus) and stick them all into one instrumental band? If you’re someone like me you’d probably assume that they’re not going to equal the sum of their parts, and if you’re someone like me, you’d be wrong. You get the heaviness of Cannibal Corpse without the vocals, the random musical themes and motifs of Spastic Ink without the eccentricity and from Charlie you get the solid and raw percussion of Behold… the Arctopus without all the chaos.
I’m not generally a fan of instrumental albums because regardless of how much I like them, I just never seem to feel like listening to them for very long. It mostly has to do with the fact that I can only put up with so much random musical masturbation before I have to find something with a little more substance and form, but this album has found a way to keep my attention; riffs. Based on guitarist Ron Jarzombek’s past outputs, you could be forgiven for thinking that he might not be aware that there are strings located on the upper portion of his guitar capable of creating things other then solos, but on this album he has finally discovered them, and like a baby that just found his penis, now that the discovery has been made he’s not going to let go.
The riffs on this album aren’t some bluesy or classy self-indulgent jam-band crap (I’m talking to you Liquid Tension Experiment), they’re raw, aggressive, heavy as hell and they form the basis of every song on the album. It’s these riffs that are going to allow people like me who generally don’t warm to instrumental albums to truly be able to enjoy this one. These huge riffs give the album the flow and feeling of structure that someone like me generally needs to be able to stay interested. For those that love the musicianship that instrumental albums afford, there is still plenty of that too. The solos, melodies, and just out-of-your-head sounds that are created by Ron are still phenomenal, and they’re made to sound even better due to a very capable rhythm section.
Before Kill I wouldn’t have counted myself as a fan of Cannibal Corpse at all, and due to that, I admit to being a little surprised when I learned that bass player Alex Webster was on this album, but one listen and I now understand why he’s here. His playing is far more capable and varied then I would have ever given him credit for. He is able to lay down a fat rhythmic bottom end when the riffs call for an extra push just as well as he is able to expertly mimic Ron’s dexterous solos and melodies throughout the album. You can listen to any song for proof of this, but no where is it more apparent then on the one minute transitional track, “R.E.M” which solidified my new found respect for him as a musician.
After having this for close to six months, I can safely say that this is by far my favorite instrumental CD that I’ve ever heard, and it is also one of my favorite albums in general. It features some of the heaviest riffs to ever be placed on an instrumental album, and the playing of drummer, Charlie Zeleny, while not specifically talked about earlier cannot be overlooked due to the creative nature of his efforts featuring everything from blast beats to random off-time percussion, as well as a near constant barrage of double bass. When you add the surprising (to me) capabilities of bass player, Alex Webster, you have an album that will grab hold of you and keep your attention right down to the last few seconds of the album. In fact, the only reason that this doesn’t receive a five is because the first few months I had the album the songs tended to sound a bit too similar, but that became less of a problem once I became more familiar with each individual track.
| other reviews of this album |
Sp1cyMart1n1Man (5)
A great metal CD that is a must for anyone with a taste for progressive metal....
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Album Rating: 4.5
There are quite a few songs to check out on their Myspace page:
www.myspace.com/blottedscience
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I was checking out this band yesterday and found that there weren't any reviews. I like the stuff it says you recommend so I'm gonna get this soon.This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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I read about this a few weeks ago. kinda cool but i dont know if i'll ever get into it. They are very skilled.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
great review .Ive had this about 5 months and was beginning to wonder if anyone else was bothering with it.
I was equally surprised by Webster ,I really didn't think he could be as good as he is on this album.
This Message Edited On 03.06.08
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
sorry sticky finger syndrome!
This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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Why is Jarzombek's name not first in the summary and in the intro? He's exponentially more talented than anyone else in this project, it's his project and he wrote it all. So yeah.
Great review though, great length. I'd argue that Jarzombek has shown he's more than capable of laying down rhythm sections in the past, mostly with Watchtower, but given how unlistenable Watchtower was (thanks to their rotation of awful vocalists) I see where you're coming from, hah.
I, for some reason, haven't gotten this yet. But, I've heard most of it and I don't think the Skullgrid recommendation is apt. Why? Because Behold... is an absolute disaster and Zeleny, to my knowledge, mostly fed off drum parts that were already conceived by Adler and Roddy (the first two drummers slated with this project).
My only complaint with the review is that you didnt mention Jarzombek's new tone method, the writing style he based this record off of.This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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Good review. I voted. I've heard really good things about this, but I don't know if I would like it. I guess I'll check out the myspace.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Why is Jarzombek's name not first in the summary and in the intro? He's exponentially more talented than anyone else in this project, it's his project and he wrote it all. So yeah.
Great review though, great length. I'd argue that Jarzombek has shown he's more than capable of laying down rhythm sections in the past, mostly with Watchtower, but given how unlistenable Watchtower was (thanks to their rotation of awful vocalists) I see where you're coming from, hah.
I, for some reason, haven't gotten this yet. But, I've heard most of it and I don't think the Skullgrid recommendation is apt. Why? Because Behold... is an absolute disaster and Zeleny, to my knowledge, mostly fed off drum parts that were already conceived by Adler and Roddy (the first two drummers slated with this project).
My only complaint with the review is that you didnt mention Jarzombek's new tone method, the writing style he based this record off of. Ron's name wasn't mentioned first only because I expect great things from him but was really surprised by Alex Webster, so for some reason his name always springs to mind first when I think of this band.
I agree that he showed off some good rhythm playing skills in Watchtower, but due to thin productions, his riffing was never really at the forefront like it is here, and you're right due to the bad vocals that's mainly what people like me remember (although I'm still waiting for "Mathematics" anyway).
I wouldn't go so far to call Skullgrid a disaster, but the recommendation was due to their drummer playing here, and also because it's similarly heavy to this... but this is infinitely better. You're also right about him using most the drum parts that were already written, but I didn't want to directly call him out for that since it's not important to the actual music since he reproduced it well (but that is why he's only mentioned, really, at the end of the review).
As far as the new tone method, I don't have the music background to try to touch on that so I figured I'd leave it alone as opposed to sounding like I was talking out my ass about something I had very little clue about. This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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Oh no I know how it goes with talking about modes you arent really aware of (just wait for my Sculptured review), I just think it's worth mentioning because I know it's already influenced people with it's unique methods. Fortress for example featured a lot of Jarzombek's circular tone mumbo jumbo.
I wasn't entirely serious about you not putting Ron's name first don't worry.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
good review
i listened to their songs on myspace and i have to say i was blown away. honestly though it's hard for me to really keep interest with no vocals but this is some badass musicianship
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Pretty much everything he said. Great review.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I just think it's worth mentioning because I know it's already influenced people with it's unique methods. Fortress for example featured a lot of Jarzombek's circular tone mumbo jumbo. Now that you mention it, I will have to try to listen for that influence the next time I listen to Fortress (which will be soon since I listen to it often)...i listened to their songs on myspace and i have to say i was blown away. honestly though it's hard for me to really keep interest with no vocals but this is some badass musicianship It's usually hard for me to keep interested in instrumental music too (at least Metal-based), but this has been able to.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
i'll keep listening and give it a try.
i give myself an A for effort
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Despite the lack of vocal this album feels like a concept piece all the way through ,every song adding something to the story....of course that may very well have been in my head alone but wth This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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This looks really good. Will check this out.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Man, all I need was a few 30 second clips from a few tracks on amazon and I bought the digital DL right then and there, this is awesome stuff. Great review as well Willie 
Ironically, I never much cared for the harsh vocals of metal at large; they hardly ever bother me, but I never really though they added anything to the music (sometimes they do). Maybe it's just that I've grown so used to them, but this album does sound a little off sometimes without any vocals at all. That being said, I think in time it will really grow on me as I can much more easily focus on the masterful instrumentation.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
You get the heaviness of Cannibal Corpse without the vocals, the random musical themes and motifs of Spastic Ink without the eccentricity and from Charlie you get the solid and raw percussion of Behold… the Arctopus without all the chaos.
This sounds very promising.
Excellent review by the way. You never fail at convincing me to spend all my money on music. This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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This is or was really cheap at theomegaorder, just fyi to everyone.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I order from them all the time so that is good news to me!
These guys are good!
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
It's a good album, as anything written by Jarzombek. But to me is just like a heavy Watchtower. I enjoy some parts, other parts strike me as generic.This Message Edited On 03.06.08
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