GIANT SQUID

Aside from its obvious "Eastern" onlooking (successfully), somewhat reminiscent of TOOL, in beefy grandeur and in vocal style (from the get-go). The strings and the standard/traditional Rock instrumentation really interlock well together. It's very cohesive sonically. Bravo! The aforementioned Eastern influences and, as mentioned on their blog, Gypsy style moments give it a sort of (perhaps accidental) psychedelic feeling (not quite Raga Rock). It's very familiar (in a good way).

As good as it is (for the genre--if this isn't telling enough), I have to say, given the post-metal nature/slant of the album, it only does so much for me and I have no intention of listening further. [If I can try to explain it, most Progressive music is dynamic not only vertically, but also horizontally. It gives and it gives and it gives, and ideally it works out most everything possible from what the artist has at their creative disposal. Post-rock/-metal only moves in a vertical direction, mostly in its standardized loud-soft dynamic, and provides little in the way of compositional interest (in my language, that horizontal movement).]

If you are into this sort of thing, it's certainly worth checking out. It's definitely a different (worthwhile) approach to the medium.

The Sacramento, CA based GIANT SQUID first caught the world's attention with its debut "Metridium Field" in 2004 due to the fact it was produced by Billy Anderson of Neurosis, Melvins, Mr Bungle and High On Fire fame. This caught the attention of The End Records not only due to Anderson's involvement but because of the band's unique mix of sludgy doom metal, progressive rock, indie rock and psychedelia. The band was founded as far back as 2002 by Aaron John Gregory (guitar, lead vocals), Bryan Beeson (bass guitar), Bill Hughes (guitar), and Aurielle Zeitler (keyboards, vocals) after several members had played under the moniker Koi and Namor.

While "Metridium Field" was self-released, in order to get a record deal with The End Records, it was required to re-record that album and after that process was all said and done, the band released its label debut as METRIDIUM FIELDS two years later in 2006. The album hit a strong note in both the metal and prog communities as well as sparking interest from more adventurous indie rockers. With a playing time of almost an hour that includes eight tracks, METRIDIUM FIELDS hosted an impressive cast of musicians that included a few guests that played several interesting instruments as the panpipes, shenai, ocarina, Hammond organ and trumpet which gave the album a very interesting and unique sound indeed. Also unique to the band's sound was the inclusion of theremin, banjo and a variety of percussion.

While included in metal databases due to the ample amount of sludgy doom metal present, METRIDIUM FIELDS favors the prog end of the spectrum with lengthy sprawling epic sounding compositions that borrow a thing or two from the processional style of post-rock and then fortify the callithump of creativity with the aforementioned tones and timbres of the instruments at hand. Some of the tracks don't even sound like it's the same band especially when Aurielle Gregory is performing vocal duties such as on the near 10 minute "Versus The Siren" which focuses on an atmospheric ethereal surrealism over the otherwise groovy rock riffing sessions that make up the lion's share of METRIDIUM FIELDS.

Aaron Gregory provides most of the male vocals and sounds like he's indecisive in his direction. While Neurosis is a clear influence in his shouty declarations and vocal angst, at times he sounds like he wants to be a punk rocker and other times a quirky indie rock star but often comes across as someone who listened to a lot of retro prog especially the moments when the 70s organ attacks swell like inflammation of an arthritic princess with gout. Add the sound effects and vocal samples and it's clear rather quickly that GIANT SQUID strived to add as many disparate sounds, styles and emotive conveyances as possible without sacrificing the underlying post-rock cyclic rhythmic cycles that generate an hour's worth of playing time.

For all METRIDIUM FIELDS has going for it, i still fail to connect with this album on many levels as it seems that the overarching vision has been sacrificed in order to stuff in as many variations of sound, style and instrumentation as possible without going totally Mr Bungle on us. In other words, the ideas on this album just don't hang together as successfully as they should. The little experimental bout with weirdness in the form of "Eating Machine" that provides an intermission of sort just sounds completely out of place and while any given track sounds decent in its own right doesn't seem to fit in with a larger concept. Usually this doesn't bother me but when an underlying post-rock sentiment is expressed it seems like it's less forgiving when experimentation doesn't connect somehow. Overall METRIDIUM FIELDS is a decent label debut by GIANT SQUID but this is the kind of album i can appreciate but am more annoyed but how i think it should have been rather than accept it on its own terms. Oh well, they can't all be zingers for all of us and this one falls short of supreme zingatude.

3.5 but rounded down

Doom and sludge metal are both genres that while I love listening to, I find myself rarely doing so, usually because of the commitment I feel I have to put in to fully appreciate it, as it isn't really music for putting on in the background at any point. Giant Squid manages to bridge this gap extremely effectively on their debut album, Metridium Fields, by having a proggier edge to it, along with having an atmosphere that isn't quite as heavy and oppressive as regular doom metal. Furthermore, there are some elements of beauty, along with 2 vocalists that are both excellent, both performing incredibly passionately to further push this album in the direction of greatness.

Most of the songs here are built around 1 or 2 slow, distorted, sludgy riffs that repeat seemingly endlessly, often with some sort of unique characteristic, whether it be a saxophone solo, a shift into more powerful, emotional territory, or even a stylistic change into more exotic instruments and sounds. This provides the album with enough variety while still maintaining a distinct identity. The more important thing to keep in mind about this album, beyond atmosphere and all that, is that the riffs here are awesome each one having a certain repetitive groove, moving up and down in a way that makes ne think of a large, open ocean, waves reaching high before crashing back down. Along with being absolutely superb to headbang to, the riffs tend to be of the perfect tempo to be downright hypnotic, no matter how over the top the rest of the band gets, that consistency of the riffing ends up causing the listener to be mindlessly moving along to the music. These riffs often tend to avoid the trappings of being repeated to the point of boredom, as they tend to be the kind of special riffs that feel as if they could just go on forever and you wouldn't complain, at least that's how it felt to me. The best example of this is the 20 minute title track, which while I'vee seen a lot of people talk lowly about this for being so long and repetitive, but each tmie I listen to this song, each element just puts me in a trance, the incredible, slow moving riff and the sombre tones of the keyboard, with elements such as the saxophone and clarinet occasionally coming in to provide a bit of variety and further emotional impact, but ultimately, the draw of this song to me is just how hypnotic it is, all the way through, in a similar way to the way repetitive krautrock does.

The vocals throughout the album are also a major draw to me, the female ones being soft and delicate, and the slightly manic passion put into the male ones makes the vocalist sound almost identical to System of a Down's Serj Tankian, commendable for being able to have such a similar voice to what I consider to be an incredibly unique vocalist. If I have one issue with this album, it would be that the songs for the most part have an extremely similar structure, each belting out one crushing riff for a while, having a little bridge, and then either bringing out a new riff or continuing to repeat the old one. While this is fine, due to the execution of it being great, it does leave something to be desired, especially when there are songs such as Versus The SIren on this. Versus the Siren is definitely my favourite song on the album, and it's all to do with the structure of it, having 4 minutes od absolute beauty, with subtle, breathy male vocals being strewn throughout a beautiful performance from Aurielle Gregory. From here it escalates, introducing a more traditional metal riff, juxtaposed by one that would feel more at home in a 90s indie rock album, clashing against each other in spectacular fashion, with Aaron Gregory mournfully singing over this intense instrumental backing, before it all dies down, leaving nothing but isolated trumpet, bringing the song to a close.

I find this album overall to be surprisingly good, being able to have some more eclectic aspects to them while maintaining a heavy focus on the heavy, sludgy elements of their sound, The outstanding displays of passion are able to provide a counterbalance to what could have become an overwhelming and monotonous album. While there are times in which combining elements of prog with other genres leads to poor outcomes, as they can become too outrageous and messy for their own good, collapsing in on itself, this album manages to avoid such pitfalls, being an excellent middle ground.

Best tracks: Versus the Siren, Metridium Fields

Weakest tracks: Summit

Verdict: Combining the hard riffs of the slower, heavier genres of metal with the more eccentric qualities of prog leads to a great album in the end, and one that I could see fans of either genre finding some enjoyment out of, as long as they enjoyed repetition.

CENOTE - A deep natural well or sinkhole formed by the collapse of surface limestone which exposes the ground water underneath.

The title of Giant Squid's monstrous EP very much fits the suffocating onslaught of the music trapped within. On "Cenotes" the band strays from the variety of instrument and personnel experimentation of their previous effort, "The Ichthyologist", to a simplified version of what the four core members are capable of on their own. It does not disappoint. Each track, save for Figura Serpentinata, travels from the realm of heartfelt melody to an ocean of crushing riffs without altering the song structure. Predictable crescendos perhaps, but nonetheless exhilarating. If you can't bang your head to this album you simply have no pulse.

To be fair to the band I will also annoyingly complain that this album is an EP, not a full length LP as it is labeled on this site, and therefore excused for it's play time of only 35 minutes. And to quote one of the band members, it is "the mother(expletive) Voltron of EPs". Yes, yes it is. The guitar/cello interplay is sublime, backed by a punishing rhythm section and very much complimented by the male/female vocal blending which can be absolutely haunting at times.

Tongue Stones- Heavy, epic and formidable way to start the album with plenty of highs and lows. A lengthy song which begins softly, then gives birth to devastation and refuses to quit. Mating Scars- Similar in vein to it's predecessor: A long track with a beautiful intro that naturally dives into the deep end, comes back up for air and sinks again. Stunning vocals and nice tribal-esque breakdowns in this one. Snakehead- An upbeat Squid song with a funky middle-eastern feel that completely rocks, for lack of a better term. You'll find yourself waiting and waiting for the heavy riffs to take over, completely immersed by the time they do. Figura Serpentinata- Sort of a quickie for this band. Fast paced and relatively short, but captivating enough to leave a whet palate. Personally I am never ready for this song to end. Cenotes- I find the album's closer to be a reverse of formula for Giant Squid, starting fast and heavy and eventually morphing into a trailing trance-worthy fade to black. An exquisite outro to say the least.

Most music lovers will, at some point, discover a lesser known act whose lack of widespread popularity boggles the mind. For me, Giant Squid is that band. Granted, part of me enjoys the diamond in the rough obscurity, but I can say with pure honesty that I simply do not understand how, on a songwriting level, they have not made bigger waves in the gigantic metal community. They offer the perfect blend of complexity and simplicity without losing any hook. The artistic integrity of their music is, in my opinion, unchallengeable. As an LP this would get 4 stars, based on length and length alone, but this is an EP, and I've heard few EPs more deserving of 5 stars.

5 emphatic stars for Cenotes, only because there are no more to give.

Giant Squid - Cenotes

This was my first experience with Giant Squid. Besides the fact that they had a Cello player, and this was metal, I did not know what to expect. ? It was a nice surprise right from the first note.

This is a sort of prog. doom metal, with a thick Metal sound, but with a lot of input from other genres. The Cello plays a very vital role in the mix, very present all the time. The Guitar and the Cello duels are amazingly beautiful. And the vocals are very varied, from heavy rock styles too folk'ish vocals.

Stylish there are elements from Asian/Middel East music, and elements of classic inspired music mixed into the Metal power poundings.

Sometimes the tempo is fast sometimes almost frantic, at other times its very slow. The album is shots and compact, but that is not a bad thing. Quality prevails quantity.

A strog 4 stars, and for those who like their music to be this hard, I bet it could easy be a 5 star. This is metal, and you have to be into metal, to like it. If you do not like metal at all, the chance you will love this one is next to none.

This being the first album I heard from this American band, I did not know what to expect given the Post-Metal tag. The music here generally is not metal, it could almost fit in Eclectic. The most metal sounding parts are some of the guitar riffs. Even though this is not very metal, I can hear an influence from System Of A Down here. I haven't heard their first album yet so I don't know if it sounds any different. In addition to the guitars, bass, drums and keyboards, there is banjo and electric cello. Guest musicians play oboe, violin, flute and trumpet. There are guest female vocalists as well as the versatile singing of bandleader Aaron Gregory. The album was based on a concept of his.

Although the cover featured here is good, there is a better alternate cover showing a hand with a mouth and eyeballs on the end of the fingers. Cool looking. I have to admit this is one of those albums where I like it the more I hear it. The song titles are long with Latin subtitles (fake Latin?). "Panthalassa (Lampetra tridentata)" has a good marching snare drum. Nice trumpet in this song. The main heavy riff is not bad either. "Sutterville (Vibrio cholorae)" is a nice easy going light jazzy song. An effect is put on an overdubbed female vocal at one point, which is a nice contrast to the other vocals. Male and female wordless harmony vocals in the middle. Gets more 'rock' sounding near the end. Cricket noises to end it.

"Dead Man Slough (Pacifastacus Ieniusculus)" is a highlight. Love the guitar and Tom Waits-like vocals. Nice mix of electric guitar and banjo here. Good violin work. I like the break in the middle with the female vocals. We get a heavy riff near the end. "Sevengill (Notorynchus cepidianus)" has what sounds like a ship's horn blaring at the beginning, followed by guitar, vocals and drums. Basically a ballad. Nice flute during the 'chorus' part. Some great electric cello at one point. Gets louder and heavier near the end with some double-tracked female vocals. Ends with the sound of seagulls.

"Mormon Island (Alluvial Au)" is a slow-paced mellow song with no drums. Mostly female vocals, violin and electric cello. The song kind of drags on and brings the quality of the album down a bit. Nice banjo near the end, though. "Emerald Bay (Prionace glauca)" has the Tom Waits-style vocals again. The music is based around guitar strums. Some good electric cello in this song. "Rubicon Wall (Acipenser transmontanus)" has a cool riff that starts almost halfway; it comes back later. I like the vocals during that riff. This song changes quite a bit and is one of the more interesting songs on the album.

This is a great album which surpassed my expectations. I'll have to check out their first album some time. It's nice to see modern bands attempting to do something different. The results can always vary of course, but here things generally work out for the best. I don't know who to recommend this to, but it's recommendable. 4 stars.

Many Tentacled Monster Music

Giant Squid's ICTHYOLOGIST gets credit for one of the coolest album covers of 2009, with alternate images being even better. (The tentacled hand with a central mouth is nicely spooky.) This album was my introduction to the band, who had made a splash with their debut a few years earlier. ICTHYOLOGIST features numerous guest musicians, and the addition of Grayceon's Jackie Perez Gratz on cello and vocals as a full member. But the center of the sound is Aaron Gregory who provides a low crunchy guitar grind and whining strident vocals that are definitely reminiscent of System of a Down's Serj Tankian.

Giant Squid's music combines sludgy grooves with a slightly avant aesthetic and a variety of surprises on instrumentation to create a sound that would definitely qualify as "Art Metal." There are allusions to stage music, though almost always in a minor key or at least a dark tone. Gregory takes a few cues from Mr. Bungle and adopts some odd character voices a la Patton. He has some interesting vocal interplay with Gratz throughout the album, and Anneke van Giersbergen on "Sevengill." The male / female combo adds a nice texture that certainly pulls the music above virtually all grunted post-metal.

There are no bad tracks on the album, but "Panthalassa," "Throwing a Donner Party," "Mormon Island," and "Sevengill" stand out. "Donner Party" is probably the fastest song on the album, and is sorely needed among the overall draggy pace of the disc. Here Gregory's lyrics get so strained that they remind of the B-52's Fred Schneider. Nate Perkins' trumpet appears on the first two, and is a welcome element that adds a sense of lift as well. The last track mentioned actually evokes the deep sea and the monsters found there. Starting in a slow march, it develops to include a great cello solo line, a soaring vocal by Anneke, and Gregory yelling forth in agony.

As with all post-metal, the dragging-a-stone-though-mud pacing can get old after awhile. The Squid does as well as anyone to add enough interest to fight this, and might not even qualify as post-metal as a result. I imagine some really enjoy staying in this mode for this amount of time. But no matter how well rendered, being at the bottom of the dark, cold, lonely sea gets a little uncomfortable after a while. By the time we get to the final three tracks, I'm wore out. Also by the 8th track, I feel like the band has shown its whole hand. This certainly isn't a fatal drawback, by I'm certainly not going to put this album on repeat.

There is some really nice stuff on this album. If you like arty metal and are looking for something new, this is probably a good pickup. It's somewhere between a 3 and a 4 star album. However, related artist Grayceon is a bit better in my opinion and I just gave them a 4 star rating. And I'm not sure it would be an excellent part of "any prog rock collection." Prog metal maybe. It's possible I could bump up the rating in the future.

When I found this album around in prog archives, I thought I should give it try. It's not a bad album, but many times it falls down to a low level, especially in the second part of the album.

"The Ichthyologist" sounds a lot like, thanks to the fuzzy and heavy guitars and the desperate sounding vocals( many times it sounds like " System Of A Down", music from the bottom of an ancient ocean,or a deep, deep hole in the earth. The first track is the best one of the album, "Panthalassa". Absolutely love the guitars, so crude and violent, the drums really give the sensation of archaic. Even the second track is really good, longer than the first one, even this one is violent, aggressive in many points, calm in other. The two following tracks are very mellow, like all the second part of the album, and not really worth the mention for me.

"Throwing a donner party" is another great song, really worth the listen, with a catchy chorus, always being faithful to their more aggressive style.

The second part of the album is REALLY disappointing, I could barely finish the whole thing. Is it just me, or are Giant Squid not so good in writing ballads and mellow songs? Anyway, I didn't like it at all, in one word: Boring!

In conclusion it's a good album, with nice ideas, but even bad ones. I know they could have done a much better work.

Metridium Fields is the debut album of the US band Giant Squid, a highly original gathering whose name brings both Giant Sand and Gentle Giant to mind. The music isn't really similar to those bands, but nevertheless it shares the rough and tattered desert vibe from Giant Sand and the highly eclectic mix of styles from Gentle Giant.

While the record easily impressed me at first, the attraction didn't last. The immediate attraction came from the unique sound of the album, created by mixing the brutal post-metal of Neurosis with more gentle indie rock touches, with the jazzy vibe of King Crimson's Islands album and a free experimental attitude. So it has all the ingredients to deliver an explosive cocktail. But?

The reason why I grew tired of the album is because it misses passion. No matter how intense the vocalist tries to deliver, the musicians leg a few leagues behind. At no point on this album do I hear anything interesting from the musicians. Especially the heavy guitars never go beyond stereotype Black Sabbath riffing. Also the drums are pretty basic. The soft guitars and accompanying instruments work better, but at its heavy moments this album is craving for a streak of fire.

Metridium Fields is a promising album but not one I kept playing a lot. Giant Squid returned with another album 3 years later (The Ichthyologist), where they brushed up the flaws of the debut and where their songwriting and sound works a lot more convincingly. I suggest you start there.

Anything goes!

That must be the main slogan used by the artists here to fully explore their creativity. The result is a mesmerizing album that explores all areas between the diverse extremes of post-hardcore, eclectic prog and ethereal pop music. I admit, sometimes it's difficult to follow what they are up to. It's a concept album based on a graphic novel from front man Aaron John Gregory. The album takes you from one scene to another and you are bound to tumble from one surprise into another.

It sure takes a couple of listens to fully grasp the range of styles on parade here. Aaron Gregory has a versatile voice with a range between Tom Waits gruffness to an expressive emotional wail that fans of Hammill and VDGG will probably appreciate. One moment you're in Isis atmospheres, then again in Neurosis walls of sound, next it's a gentle violin with the light female voices from Jackie Perez Gratz. Also Anneke Van Giersbergen performs on one track. (Well she's all over the place these days so that's no surprise.) She does a great performance on Sevengill, a bizarre duet with Aaron that is exemplary for this album's eccentricity.

The rich diversity of this album might be the very reason it has taken Giant Squid more then a year to get a record deal: it must be just impossible to market. It's certainly not metal. It has post-metal influences but most of the songs are very quiet and melancholic, almost folksy in a way. It's way too weird for hardcore youngsters, too ambitious for alternative rock fans and it's not prog in any traditional sense of the world. However it might appeal to prog audiences for its eclectic range of styles, the wide array of instruments (trumpet, oboe, flute, violin) and the concept album angle. We always like that don't we!?

We should certainly thank Translation Loss records for supporting a commercial release of this wonderful album (almost a year since it was finished and the band distributed a number of copies themselves). It's become a nice packaging with some inventive artwork, different from the sea star picture here. It's a mutated hand with eye-sockets as fingers now. Could have been a Gentle Giant artwork I'd say. It's no coincidence this band is called Giant Octopus isn't it?