GIANT SQUID

Metridium Fields

The End
rating icon 7.5 / 10

Track listing:

01. Megaptera in the Delta
02. Neonate
03. Versus the Siren
04. Ampullae of Lorenzini
05. Summit
06. Eating Machine
07. Revolution in the Water
08. Metridium Field


Artsy doom rock, avante-garde indie doom, experimental melancholic doom metal…you get the picture. Austin, Texas' GIANT SQUID will be an acquired taste for many, a diamond in the rough for the dedicated, and a confounding exercise in the esoteric for the traditionalists. "Metridium Fields" is another in a long-line of The End Records releases that kicks convention to the curb and over time reveals its hidden treasures to those patient enough to stick with it.

This album is a re-release of sorts. Originally produced by Billy Anderson (makes sense, doesn't it?) and released independently, the band actually returned to the studio and re-created the original effort, this time with Anderson engineering and Austin's Jason Rufuss Sewell producing. At various points, comparisons to acts like MOGWAI, ISIS, PELICAN, and NEUROSIS are sure to crop up in critical and fan reviews, if for no other reason that it's a good starting point to a album dissection. Many moments will bring terms like "drone" to mind, but not of the kind one might hear from a Southern Lord-style act. Rather, the effect of the band's crawling, yet intricate and cerebral, indie doom is often quite mesmerizing, especially when time is allowed for the musical medication to kick in. With plenty of atmospheric float and dark undertones, songs like "Versus the Siren" are rife with bleak soundscapes, driven subtly by a cold organ sound and a steady beat. It's not quite a dirge, but the feeling is there. Along with the comparatively subdued "Ampullae of Lorenzini" with its ethereal wisps and choral female vocal lines juxtaposed against the male vocals, it is one of several songs that moves between the ethereal and rock steady. And speaking of the vocals, the multi-vocalist approach gives the album an air of distinction, as the male vocals of Aaron Gregory often sound like the controlled/flowing singing of Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN),an excellent counterpoint to the soothing female singing of wife Aurielle Gregory. Keyboardist Andy Southard is also credited with vocals. The album's pinnacle arrives on the 21-minute album-closing title track, one that recalls the continental drift of PELICAN and ISIS to mind, albeit with GIANT SQUID's distinguishing somberness.

Look for fans of the style and a good number of critics to eat up "Metridium Fields", as it is a breath of fresh air even amongst today's decidedly more crowded eclectic doom field. I find it one that definitely requires a certain state of mind to full enjoy. Not recommended for speed freaks and meth heads.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).