METRIDIUM FIELDS

Certainly not a masterpiece, but this album shows Giant Squid is certainly capable of making one in the future. The name Giant Squid is perfect for this band. Their sound is a massive, heavy, brutal one that maintains an air of mystery and darkness, juxtaposed with delicate sections that showcase the band's more melodic side. The music tends to be slow, though it does speed up at times, which provides nice contrast, unlike many bands who stay slow throughout the whole record or on the other hand, those that never slow down. The slowness of the music tends to make the riffs sound that much more brutal, a good thing considering that the bands lyrical topics for the most part deal with the deep sea, and much of the vocal delivery is of a tormented, despondent nature. The band does show a sense of humour though, such as the short track Eating Machine. This album could deter those looking for traditional prog rock/metal, who seek complex times and loads of solos. The progressiveness of this album lies in it's experimentation with sounds/textures and the atmospheres it creates. It certainly is a unique sounding album, and they use quite a few instruments not exactly common in the metal world. My favourite particular instance of this is probably the trumpet parts in Versus the Siren. None of the playing is overly complex or virtuostic, but the players are competent and certainly make things more interesting than most metal bands nowadays. The vocal delivery is interesting as well. Giant Squid features two lead vocalists, a male and a female, but they manage to avoid the generic pitfalls that most metal bands with that setup fall into. The male vocals for the most part are of a more anguished/harsh nature whereas the female vocals tend to be soft and delicate. However, there are moments where the male voice is soft and the female screams, so they do change it up a bit. Like I said, certainly not a masterpiece, but a promising beginning for one of the more unique bands I've heard. I'm certainly looking forward to what the future holds for Giant Squid.