Review: “The Savant on Ketamine” by I don’t do drugs, I am drugs

Taking their name from the Salvador Dali quote “I don’t do drugs, I am drugs.” (as opposed to the Machine Gun Kelly quote “I am Weed“) a new project from Cyclops Cataract multi instrumentalist Scott Hogg and Trailight vocalist Omer Cordell has risen from the black depths, seeming to appear from out of nowhere. Shedding some light on the mystery, both are critically acclaimed musicians in their own right, Cordell from the depths of British Columbia and known for creations in Progressive Metal and Rock who also holds the honour of having performed on the Devin Townsend album “The Puzzle“. Townsend also appeared on the Trailight album “Mirrors” by way of return. The flipside of that coin is Hogg, the songwriter, guitarist, bass player and tinkler of the keyboard ivories in this project, who has EP “Swallow the World” and album “The Bestiary” in Progressive Blackened Death Metal to his name…

…so what makes a pair of musicians from either side of the Atlantic Ocean find each other before writing and recording a collection of songs and what do those songs sound like? If you were expecting something in the melodic register then opening cut “The Savant on Ketamine” is going to feel like a blow to the head from a falling brick because it’s opening strains are straight out of the brutal range. However after a caustic first verse in which Cordell demonstrates some searing unclean vocal abilities and some chunky Death Metal riffs, the duo begin to transcend genres. Some tasteful cleans that offer up fleeting Mike Patton vibes with their slightly unhinged lyrical foray are accompanied by Progressive Metal riffs during a mid section that prise open the third eye of the mind with a crowbar. The final third then returns to evil albeit with fleeting psychedelic leaning moments from the keys. The riffs are slick and punchy with a certain weight of groove to them which ensures this is one is perhaps a little less trippy an offering as you might think. “The terrible paradox of self awareness” finds the pairing joined by Romain Jenx of Omnerod as a guest vocalist and if System Of A Down did Progressive Death Metal, it would sound like this. Warm and yet disturbing at the same time the music ebbs and flows in waves with orchestral embellishments and quirky sounds emerging from the darkness with each repeated listen. There is an epic majesty and beauty about parts of this as well, despite moments sounding like a psycho circle induced nightmare and that may leave you awestruck.

It has to be said that Cordell has a phenomenal vocal range so the depraved uncleans of the first verse of “Nevada Séance” are blown away like cobwebs by the following clean passage. How he manages to seamlessly move between the contrasting styles is as mind blowing as the complexities of the sonic creations of Hogg, who himself deserves a lot of credit for this as he creates another spellbinding space odyssey of a soundscape. By the end of this one it feels like he has all the capabilities to write soundtracks for blockbuster movies because there are cinematic qualities to this which wouldn’t feel out of place on the big screen. Scraping the primordial ooze from the skulls of their victims “The Non-conformist” offers up some brutal moments of spine juddering riffage and caustic vocals, the contrasting sing-a-long moments touched by ethnic madness in enthralling and captivating fashion. The brutal roar of “Time doesn’t heal!” is a real gut punch moment and you can picture in your minds eye Obscura mastermind Steffen Kummerer or Scott Carstairs from Fallujah enjoying every section of this because its an extension of the playbook that they preach from with an incredible life of its own. Full of eclectic joy and eccentric wonder, this journey into madness is one that is nothing short of stunning [9/10]

Track Listing

1. The Savant on Ketamine
2. The terrible paradox of self awareness (ft. Romain Jenx of Omnerod)
3. Nevada Séance
4. The Non-conformist

“The Savant on Ketamine” by I don’t do drugs, I am drugs was released on 21st January 2024 and is available over at bandcamp.