Thank You Scientist

Thank You Scientist emerged from New Jersey as a progressive rock powerhouse whose vibrant palette fuses rock, jazz fusion, classical, metal, psychedelic, and pop elements. The group secured a place on the Bad Ink roster and issued their striking debut album, Maps of Non-Existent Places, in 2012. Bolstered by widespread critical praise, the seven-piece unit pressed forward with further sonic adventures on 2016's Stranger Heads Prevail and 2019's Terraformer while navigating several personnel shifts.

The band originated within the music program at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where guitarist Tom Monda, saxophonist Ellis Jasenovic, and trumpeter Andrew Digrius first connected. United by admiration for Frank Zappa, Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Beatles, and Harry Nilsson, the trio shaped the ensemble's expansive conceptual approach from those touchstones plus numerous additional eclectic sources. Vocalist Salvatore Marrano, bassist Greg Colacino, drummer Odin Alvarez, and violinist Ben Karas later joined, transforming Thank You Scientist into a formidable experimental outfit comfortable across multiple genres and eager to intermingle them freely. The group issued its self-released EP, The Perils of Time Travel, in 2011 before inking a deal with Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez's newly founded Evil Ink Records. Their 2012 debut, Maps of Non-Existent Places, earned strong reviews and registered on the Billboard Hard Rock and Heatseekers charts. Before the next record, bassist Colacino departed and Cody McCorry stepped in. Thank You Scientist's 2016 follow-up, Stranger Heads Prevail, achieved stronger commercial results than the first album by reaching the Billboard Top 200. After extensive touring the following year, the demands of constant road work prompted founding members Jasenovic, Digrius, and Alvarez to exit. New arrivals Sam Greenfield on saxophone, Joe Gullace on trumpet, and Joe Fadem on drums all appeared on the band's third album, Terraformer, released in June 2019.