Do you like Gojira? Meshuggah? Alcest? Fallujah? Pallbearer? Converge? Mastodon? Acid Bath? Well, if you're like me, currently drooling over this all-star FFO lineup, get ready for Tennessee's own Conjurist, who believes he's right up our alley. Conjurist, better known as Blake Bailey, has released the project's first full-length album, "I am the Earth," also better known as a 40-something-minute genre melting pot. Apparently, death-doom, prog, techdeath, metalcore, and melodeath all came from Bailey himself, proving immediately that he has a shit-ton of ideas. The question is: are those ideas executed well?

I admittedly had to quality-check the mixing before fully listening to the album, as the cover, while charming, hinted at amateurship. Thankfully, Conjurist's unpredictability solidified the project as nothing but. I was perpetually crossing out my notes throughout my listening, as whatever I wrote down was rendered irrelevant thirty seconds later. If I noted that "Empires" was a black metal track, I'd be proven wrong when it swerves down the death metal realm, switching screeches for gutturals and blast beats for downtuned chugs. The big genres aren't the only ones Bailey plays with. Deathcore comes to life in "Psychopathogen" and "Niniveh," "straightforward" progressive metal flourishes in "Below Observatory," grunge (!?) appears in the closing track "The Unsettling," djent in "Skinwalker," and still, a million other styles (alternative metal, techdeath, BDM, stoner) seem to develop and dissipate with ease.

I'd critique this album's all-over-the-place attitude if the playing wasn't so... tight. If "I am the Earth" is what Blake Bailey sounds like solo, I could only imagine what he could do leading a full band. His vocals flow easily between aforementioned black and death metal styles, but also grungy cleans in "The Unsettling" and some brutally deep gurgles during "Solace of the Shaman." The guitars are consistently great, the drums are lovely, but sadly, the bass is buried. I can't hear it at all. I'm not distraught, but a little twang couldn't hurt, right?. The lyrics solidify the LP's eclecticism. From ancient Turkish underground city talk to getting "Hacked up into a hundred pieces," Conjurist really covers every topic.

To answer my question, YES! Blake Bailey's ideas are executed quite well in "I am the Earth." I could easily go into greater detail and analyze each song, but I feel like I've given you a smidgen of what Conjurist is all about, and that a personal listening experience will provide all the detail you need. You can stop drooling now.