Style: mathcore, progressive metal, surf punk (mostly instrumental, mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Genghis Tron, John Zorn, Frank Zappa
Country: USA
Release date: 9 January 2025

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3rn3st Vinc3nt Wright fam0usly wr0t3 an 3ntir3 n0v3l with0ut using th3 l3tt3r “E”; as it turns 0ut, that’s 3asy if y0u’r3 writing a r3vi3w that p0k3s fun 0f F3rgatr0n. While impr3ssiv3, Wright wish3s h3 was tal3nt3d 3n0ugh t0 writ3 an 3ntir3 music r3vi3w which av0ids “E” and “O,” but my buddy F3rgatr0n and I ar3 th3 0nly auth0rs tal3nt3d 3n0ugh t0 pull that 0ff.

I seriously considered whether I wanted to write the rest of the review like that, but I ultimately decided not to, against my better judgment.

For better or for worse, fair or unfair, aesthetics, presentation, and first impressions have a big influence on how art is received. I try not to let things like album art or band names have too big of an impact on my expectations, but it’s impossible to avoid entirely. Solo hypertechnical mathcore/prog metal/surf punk (yes, you read that right) artist F3rgatr0n has a, for me, largely offputting, meme-y aesthetic. I found the guy because he was suggested on an Instagram reel for the song “Frozen in Carbonite,” clocking in at exactly 4:20 long and with 69 time signature changes. Elsewhere on the album, a song is endowed with the title “Ch0de Boi,” which has me cringing out of my skin. An artist should be allowed to have fun and embrace the meme, but do it too much, and I’m left wondering why I should take the artist seriously if they don’t take themselves seriously.

The thing about being a critic is that I feel an obligation to set at least some of these personal thoughts aside and try to approach the artist from their chosen paradigm. So even if I don’t like meme-y albums by virtue of being meme-y, I’d typically try to at least judge it compared to other meme-y albums—although still with my personal opinion thrown in, of course. Seemingly against the odds, F3rgatr0n is able to overcome the “ick” his first impression gave me, in large part because most of the album isn’t self aware, ironic comedy but is instead an exploration of a pretty interesting niche: “surfcore,” or more precisely, mathcore with a clean, surf rock-inspired guitar tone. The album is interspliced by immature, Zappa-ish humor, but it’s not the focus like I expected. 

If there’s one thing F3rgatr0n wants you to know, it’s that he’s a helluva guitar player. Yeah, the 69 time signature LOLZ song shows that off with essentially a series of banal scale exercises, but tracks like “Enthralled in Aquarius” show a guitarist who has some inspired solos in those fingers—the frantic ascension to the highest frets around a minute into the track has an intense directionality to it. Unfortunately, I find most of the compositions lacking such focus, and most of the skittering arpeggiations on the album are a bit gnatty because of the insistence of cleaner tones for the surf aesthetic. Granted, that style leads to highlight moments on occasion, but those are more limited to slower, riffier parts and not the intense mathcore—I find the clean guitar doesn’t handle the latter’s technical abuse well, leaving the whole thing to sound frail, and grow tedious quickly. While his guitar playing is undoubtedly technically insane, I think F3rgatr0n is a better bassist if anything, and the four string’s driving pops really hold down a sound that’s otherwise dominated by the irritating timbre. 

Compositionally, the “surfcore” schtick comes through clearly on several occasions, especially on “Bludge” and “america,” and as far as gimmicks go, I think F3rgatr0n found one that suits his playstyle well. But even within his meta, the record is far from perfect; for example, the surf rock/punk inspired vocals on “Ch0de Boi” and “Bludge” definitely don’t fit the quality of the instruments in their ragged, unrefined punkiness. I appreciate the former’s dig at Donald Trump, though. At the album’s best, F3rgatr0n is an intriguing blend of John Zorn-inspired jazz and Behold… the Arctopus-level technical acrobatics, such as on the shreddy, bass-led, horn-laden “E/Affect.” 

F3rgatr0n is a gifted technical player, and he shows he has the creativity to innovate and carve a niche in the prog metal world. Flashes of good songwriting habits pop up frequently but often disappear as quickly as the time signatures change. If F3rgatr0n were to dial in a less grating guitar tone for the speed at which he plays, drop a bit of the excessive meme-iness (the word “Ch0de” doesn’t belong in a song title), and really focus on writing riffs rather than the fretboard fellatio he’s currently got going on, he’s got the talent to write a competent album. But for now, I’m having trouble hopping on board with the vision.

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Recommended tracks: E/Affect, Enthralled in Aquarius
You may also like: Zu, Ni, Behold… the Arctopus, Sound Struggle
Final verdict: 4/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

Label: independent

F3rgatr0n is:
– Ian Ferguson (everything)