Blake, Jason: The Compromise Rationale

Jason Blake is better known as member of the Chicago-based progressive metal trio Aziola Cry, in which he oversees both traditional guitars and Warr guitars, a twelve-string instrument that incorporates guitar and bass lines simultaneously. The Rational Compromise is part II to his solo-project trilogy called Ternary Instinct. In the mentioned trilogy, Blake blends ambient and progressive metal music, using odd tie signatures and sounds that are atypical for this type of music.

The almost 45 minutes long record is dark, moody, and very atmospheric, almost like heavy meditation instrumental music… a place where the artist vents a lot of creative madness and shows off his Warr guitar playing skills, producing a vast variety of different sounds and textures. Even though he is the only performer, the music sounds rich and profound, having simple and melodic soloing looming on top of multiple sound layers that seem to be lingering in the background in a never-ending loop.

Complexity aside, at first listen The Compromise Rationale sounds kind of flat and even boring, and its natural obscurity does not help in feeling otherwise, but after multiple attentive listens it does reveal the level of detailed composition and hard work engraved by the artist. As good as curiosity can be, listening to his album was a unique experience, certainly not one that I will crave to repeat, but something different that helped feed my musical knowledge and acceptance. Cheers.

Track list:
1. A Certain Balance (6:08)
2. Euphoria with Repercussions (6:56)
3. Deforming Reality (6:14)
4. Practical methods of Gratification (8:20)
5. The Compromise Rationale (6:00)
6. Secondary Influences (5:05)
7. A Moral Impasse (3:55)

Added: June 26th 2023
Reviewer: Jose Antonio Marmol
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
Hits: 550
Language: english

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