Giant Squid: Cenotes (2011)

Review

As you may already know, Grayceon's latest album made my list of the Top 25 Metal Albums of 2011. After getting into that band, and learning more about cellist/vocalist Jackie Perez Gratz, I decided to check out her other current band, Giant Squid.

The first thing you might notice about the album cover, graced as it is by two fish-headed fertility goddesses. (As Phillip J. Fry once lamented, "Why couldn't you be the other kind of mermaid--the kind with the fish part on top and the lady part on the bottom?") Listening to it, I picked up bits and pieces that sounded like they were talking about marine biology. The lyric sheet shows it's marine biology as metaphor describing a woman, a child, or other things . . . . Yeah, I don't get it either.

East of the Wall: Ressentiment (2010)

Review

East of the Wall got a great review in Decibel for their newest album, Ressentiment. After listening to it, it's easy to see why.

When I say that, it's not because I agree with them. I don't. But they combine some of the sound and unpredictability of the likes of The Dillinger Escape Plan with some of later Mastodon's prog--minus the sludge--and both of those bands are the critics' darlings. And they compare it to Fugazi, who are apparently a well-known punk band who've been getting referenced by critics a lot lately.

The overall effect is like a punk version of Between the Buried and Me, with all the death metal elements sucked out of it. To some people, that may sound like a good thing, and they should buy the album right away. To me, that's definitely not a good thing.

To be fair, I like the album opener "Ladders" and its follow-up "Salieri", with their sheer oddity and disjointedness, and I also like a couple tracks near the end. But most of it (especially the middle of the album) is far too airy, punk, and altogether non-metal for my tastes. It could have been listenable if the tracks were shorter, but when they extend past 6 or 7 minutes, I need something heavier. And the shorter tracks sometimes veer dangerously close to muzak.



The Verdict: From now on, when a reviewer mentions a band I will be sure to look them up before buying the album reviewed. And if Fugazi is mentioned, I'll just skip to the next review. This is definitely not my kind of music, even though it does have some redeeming moments at the beginning and end of the album. I give it 1.5 out of 5 stars.