EXENCE is a band that gets you pumped up and motivated when you listen to their music and that is mainly due to the awesome time syncopations and groovy riffs. "Tabula Rasa" made me bang my head whenever I listened to it. This whole album is pretty Rockin' and the only thing that held me back from really liking this record was the vocalist. The vocals on this album remind me a lot of the MESHUGGAH type being so one dimensional. They are always high pitched, hard on the ears, and they never deviate from that style. The only boring thing about this album is the vocal line. The guitar work was not boring at all. The Djent like rhythms and Prog riffs are very satisfying. The Djent aspects aren't overused on this record and they are spaced far enough apart that they don't get boring.

Each riff off "Tabila Rasa" stood out and had a unique feel to it making this a very entertaining record. The track "Pray To The Porcelain God" had multiple riffs and had me on the edge of my seat wondering where the next riff would take me. Not only is the construction of the riff important but so is the placement of said riff. (Let's see how many more times I can say "riff") Federico Puleri seemed to be very aware of this and it shows in his guitar arrangements. It's easy for the listener to tell that he took time in placing each individual riff in the section for which it was best suited. Because such care was poured into the song construction each track flows smoothly from one section to the next. The solo work was few and far between but still very good when he laid one down. It was nice to hear so much care put into the guitar one this record but that being said the guitar can be a little over powering at times drowning out the other instruments. The bass lines were actually pretty groovy when I could hear them. The sound and feel of the bass was smooth and soft, a very different feel for this type of music. The percussion was above par but not by much. The over powerful riffs didn't really leave much play room for the drums but when given a little bit of breathing room the drummer really had some nice moments. He was rock solid through all the neat time changes and his best work is probably exhibited on "Ego Of The Beast".

Honestly this is a pretty good album with just a little bit too much emphasis on the guitar and vocal sections. The vocals seemed too loud and lacked any kind of variety. The guitar sections shows lots and lots of talent but it washed out the other instruments. The bass was groovy if you could hear it and the drummer certainly had his moments. "Tabula Rasa" is a pretty solid Progressive Metal album and I highly recommend it.

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