The only way to really describe this album is by saying that it is weird, and that it has obviously been influenced by Mike Patton in some of his more way out outfits. Oh, and it has been influenced by Throbbing Gristle, and noise, and prog, um and tech metal and loads of other stuff. Did I say it was weird? Bionatops is the brainchild of Joseph Spiller (ex-System Divide, Caricature, The Binary Code, Too Late The Hero), the act serving as a way to keep himself free of having writer’s block, and to break the tension of writing ‘serious’ music within his other acts. While the music is designed to be thematically lighthearted and fun, the songs are still crafted with serious musicianship that doesn't rely on editing tricks. Spiller, who records all guitars, bass, vocals, and other instrumentation, is joined by Jeff Willet (ex-Black Crown Initiate) who adds the drums and percussion to the attack. It may be designed to be fun, but mostly it comes across as, you guessed it, weird.
This is their debut album, and the PR Company describes it as “an incredibly unique sound, with progressive and technical metal elements merging with spastic alternative rock”. They missed out “weird”. Apparently this is a family friendly album about a lovable schizophrenic southerner that tells tales of his life that may or may not be true while interacting with other voices in his head that might not even be in his head. Spiller worked on this while simultaneously writing the new album for his other band, Caricature, which took five years to complete and will also see release this year. I found the album incredibly compelling, and something I have been drawn back to time and again, even though I can’t explain why with any confidence at all. Did I say it was weird?
