Scientist – 1010II0101
Release Date: August 5th, 2016
Review By: Nathan Eden
The band monikered Scientist gets referred to as experimental, almost by default, and when they release their second album whose title alone may be described as both “palindromic” and “binary”, well, we’re already halfway there.
This set owes as much to the sedimentary feedback holding the eleven tracks together as it does to early Mastodon-styled riffery. It’s sludge metal but not as we know it. The slimy riffs are there to compliment the Scott Kelly-ish vocals, but each exists within an ISIS-like journey, giving and taking, flowing, bubbling and spewing its way to exhilaration via sections of a delirious post-metal landscape.
One thing these guys seem to do best is pile one riff on top of another. It adds complexity that affords the listener the opportunity to delve into what he or she is hearing and become immersed in the music. Perhaps this is something gone wanting among contemporaries, and it could be that this is the reason 1010II0101 feels so fresh and honest in its comfortable murkiness.
The evidence is on display from the very beginning during opener ‘Singularity’; all elements of the band so voluminous while standing alongside twittering harmonics. The ten minutes of ‘Siege Capture Control’ showcases everything Scientist have to offer – almost. The bands poised pummel comes with a knack and an awareness of the right dose of melody.
Further on, tracks like ‘Gravity Well’ and ‘Physician Heal Thyself’ adhere to nobody’s rules, breaking up the crunch, sludge and doom with a jazzy respite that wears its purpose on its sleeve with confidence.
10100II00101 houses an element of familiarity within a rewardingly expansive sludge experiment. The real charm and joy are, however, that Scientist has managed to achieve it while retaining a heart of what many of us have been craving: honesty.
