The story behind Fleshwrought is a rather interesting one; the music on Dementia/Dyslexia less so. All this flesh has been wrought primarily at the hands of ex-Animosity drummer Navene Kopperweis (guitars, drums, bass) who began the project in 2003 with the aid of a 7-string guitar, a computer, and some recording software. Later on he hooked up with Job for a Cowboy vocalist Jonny Davy, the resulting collaboration Dementia/ Dyslexia, a decent, if rather redundant combination of Meshuggah’s angularity and otherworldly guitar lines and Beneath the Massacre’s syncopated chug.

With a couple of minor exceptions, the 10 tracks on offer here are short on variety and long on the aforementioned syncopated angularity and some occasionally compelling jazzy, often saxophone-sounding guitar melodies, ala Meshuggah. The stated influences you’ve read about in the press statements, particularly Squarepusher (if they were covering Necrophagist tunes) are fairly accurate, at least with regard to an extraterrestrial, bleep ‘n bloop filtering of tech-death. Organic it is not, but most wouldn’t expect an analog sound or arrangements that do much in the way of breathing. Davy’s low and high growls are most fitting, jutting and halting along with the stutters, chugs, and stomps. A couple of tracks stand out just a hair, namely “Weeping Hallucinations” with its jazz-swirl leads and electronic fourth-quarter interlude and “Self-Destructive Loathing” on which the mix of leads, cadence, and general melodic sense results in a relatively refreshing break from the pattern of the previous tracks.

Even then we’re talking less about detours and more about a tweaking of the edges and some minor compositional excursions. Those enamored with the lyrical side of the equation should take note of Jonny Davy’s summation about the tales told: “The record illustrates every human emotion and buildup response to the starting point of dementia, becoming utterly crazed and just all around unbalanced: Wallowing in depression, alcoholism, anger, frustration, to even self-destruction.” In that sense, all but the diehards may indeed find Dementia/Dyslexia to drive one to drink while frantically searching for the anti-anxiety meds after long sessions spent with the CD player stuck on “repeat.” Not bad by any means and given a certain mood periodically attention-getting, but the lasting-appeal is nil.

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