Review: “Self Titled” by I don’t do drugs, I am drugs

A year after the arrival of debut EP “The Savant on Ketamine” which saw Cyclops Cataract multi instrumentalist Scott Hogg and Trailight vocalist Omer Cordell enter into a blood pact and create a band named after the Salvador Dali quote “I don’t do drugs, I am drugs.” a debut album is the last thing we expected. Especially with Cyclops Cataract themselves giving us a critically acclaimed sophomore album in “Imperial Might” at the tail end of 2024. What we failed to factor in is of course just how prolific a musician Scott Hogg is. An Avant-garde affair in Progressive Death Metal, this self titled record is centred around the theme of the fragility of forests. It can be beautiful and it can be cruel with each song exploring what lies beneath the forest canopy. The album is dedicated to Scott’s nature loving friend, Iain who sadly passed away in 2023 and finds BP Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem on vocals in place of Cordell…

Powerful instrumental opening refrain “Dreich” ensures that I don’t do drugs, I am drugs fulfils the cliché that is sounding as if they never left the studio after recording “The Savant on Ketamine“, heavy riffs battering the brains shorelines like the waves on a stormy night. Eerie 1980’s style John Carpenter film score synths build up to those with a touch of orchestration adding to the cinematic qualities in Avant-garde Progressive Death Metal to give a special scene setting moment. Lyrically “Nemophilist” feels like the title track of the album, a reference to the woodland loving friend who was often found in such places. A cut that perfectly balances the heavy and melodic on a knife edge, this one feels like something that Devin Townsend would ink because it has that epic majesty about it. If anyone had any doubts about how BP Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem would fare as a vocalist for this project, those fires are quickly put out by his stunning performance. He nails the emotive nature of the lyrical narrative, getting the balance perfect.

Roaring into life with a scream the chugging guitars of “Pulsing Larvae” sound like they’ve been stripped from a Cyclops Cataract destined demo and put to another purpose before they fade out into a wonderful psychedelic funk. As with each of the prior convictions of the project there is so much going on within each cut sonically that it takes multiple listens for the brain to hear everything, something that gives the record a wonderful longevity. A twin guitar layer in the mid section allows for some stunning fleeting ethnic inspired sounds, the variety in the material an integral part of what makes it so magnificent and as if that wasn’t enough there is also a melodic thirty second ending that is a stunning palette cleanser. Another chapter where the Devin Townsend influence is felt is “Biome of Decay“, the distinctive Strapping Young Lad style guitars and vocal performance a glorious throwback to the kind of thing those legends of the game created in their finest hour. The nature filled lyrical narrative is brilliantly different, the way in which BP Kirkevaag has embraced it meaning you will find yourself screaming lines like “Watch the forest burn!” within the first couple of spins.

Fireflies light the way to “The Tree that died in it’s sleep“, a song with gloriously melodic passages laden with rich and enticing synths. Naturally they make way for moments of abrasive riffs, the ebb and flow between the two aspects an absolute joy. There is a supreme confidence in the strength of these cryptic writings which shines through in the verve and swagger of the performances, this one in particular reaching a fleeting vicious moment before settling back down again. Darker and richer than the finest of coffee blends, “Mxyomatosis” offers more intensity, the thunderous drums making it sound huge. More on the Death Metal side of things, the guitars slice and dice in a beautifully mesmerising eclectic and eccentric soundscape the sublime solo giving it a grand finale of epic proportions. If anything this one cuts short and could have easily gone on for another verse and chorus, such is the way it shimmers in the moonlight.

A melancholic acoustic number that brings Alice In Chains or Nick Cave to mind might be the last thing you might expect but in “Coniferous” the duo have created something that works wonderfully well. Choral melodies give an ethereal quality to the later stages as Hogg pushes the boundaries of what he’s know for that much further but as ever, everything he touches turns to gold. A brutal opening verse to “Murmuration” ensures it hits like a wrecking ball on a building site before transcending into something reminiscent of Pink Floyd with a dream like quality. To give you whiplash the duo flip back to the opening style for another weighty passage before fading once again to what sounds like a moment of mandolin and the beauty of it all is how Hogg has made these elements fit together when arguably they shouldn’t. The pulse is racing and the hairs are standing up on the back of your neck, you’re unsure what is going to happen next and then comes the sounds of the forest canopy in a way that reminds of the tree of life sequences in Avatar. This is a truly special piece of work of breath taking beauty needs to be heard to be believed [9/10]

Track Listing

1. Dreich
2. Nemophilist
3. Pulsing Larvae
4. Biome of Decay
5. The Tree that died in it’s sleep
6. Mxyomatosis
7. Coniferous
8. Murmuration

“Self Titled” by I don’t do drugs, I am drugs is out 27th January 2025 and is available over at bandcamp