Spastic Ink
Ink Compatible

November 2004
Released: 2004, Eclectric Electric
Rating: 1.0/5
Reviewer: Lord of the Wasteland

Oh…my…God is this AWFUL! Every thing that is reviled about prog metal is in full effect here. Overlong, winding wankfests, ridiculous lyrics and over-the-top vocals make this one for the garbage can. The surprising thing is the lineup behind it: Ron Jarzombek (Watchtower), Bobby Jarzombek (Iced Earth, Riot, Halford), Daniel McMaster (Watchtower, Dangerous Toys) and a string of guest musicians including Marty Friedman (Megadeth), Jens Johnasson (Stratovarius), Ray Riendeau (Halford) and others. With a roll call like that, INK COMPATIBLE should be a ripping slab of ungodly metal, right? WRONG! The musicianship is phenomenal but what these guys do with it goes nowhere fast and devolves into a jazz fusion/prog experiment that will test more patients than a Third World doctor. What you get is a concept album about computer problems with spoken word pieces about broken hard drives, fax machine feedback and…oh, just skip it.