Album Notes
What the critics are saying:
"Finally, a post-everything band that actually meets and sometimes surpasses their insta-cool laundry list of influences." - Decibel Magazine
"The amalgamation of musical genres that Giant Squid presents before us, are tightly orchestrated and interwoven together in such a way that it will take several listens to fully understand how complex the music really is." - Zero Magazine
"Very few songs have ever fixated on the torture in my own heart with their frequencies." - heathenharvest.com
"EPIC It's the only word that can aptly describe the tremendous riffs and thunderous symphony that blends effortlessly with ethereal soundscapes to form the album, "Metridium Fields" - thehvscene.com
"Metridium Fields is breath of fresh air... 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." - blabbermouth.net
"#8 out of top 50 albums of 2006 ...grab a well-worn copy of Moby Dick, and lose yourself in Metridium Fields. It is simply fantastic by all definitions of the word." - decoymusic.com
"Let me introduce to you what may get my vote for best album of 2006. Metridium Fields is simply unbelievable." - criticalmetal.com
"After the first spin of Metridium Fields, its become increasingly clear that Giant Squid are the new champions of ambient doom." - metalcityzine.com
"I really find it hard to believe you've ever heard another band that sounds like Giant Squid." - musicstreetjournal.com
"Though certainly falling under the doom/sludge/ambient umbrella of the likes of Isis, Neurosis, Pelican and Mogwai, as youd expect from a band on The End, Giant Squid take the paradigms of a known genre and turn it upside down." - digitalmetal.com
"Each of the six songs is like a tentacle. It probes. Caresses. Latches on. Strangles. Pulls you further in to the darkness." - deadtide.com
"Dark, potent and mysterious, there'll be little else like Metridium Fields this year." - chartattack.com
"A very good opus of modern American doom showing a creative musical approach." - 666metal.com
"Giant Squid is one part heartbreak equaled with one part aggression. This is a must have for anyone that loves music." - Absolute Media
"Metridium Fields is a strong contender that will most likely be a sleeper hit, though it deserves much, much more." - Ultimate Metal
"The hardest thing here is for me to describe Giant Squid's unique sound. I mean, there are so many different genres and even when the sounds are in unison, the band can orchestrate it into something that will blur the lines of numerous genres. Anyway, I can best describe their sound as mountain of gloom and doom rock with perfectly placed keyboards swirled together with an eclectic mix of down tuned guitars with leviathan-ish riffs and saturated bass lines that are used as a wrecking ball to smash through the glassy atmosphere set around the music." - blackangelpromotions.com
"Hypnotic in repetition, reverberant in texture, and rich with a resonance like the sounds of a bitter celebration, the music sounds despondent as well as rather exultant." - metalreview.com
"Part epic, part weapon, this doom rock act takes its guitar tones as seriously as they do their song structure." - wrankmusic.com
"Think Radiohead meets Neurosis meets Jefferson Airplane meets Pink Floyd meets Black Sabbath meets Renaissance. Sort of. Giant Squid goes from crushing stoner grooves to 70's inspired prog rock to psychedelic spaciness with the quickest of ease... Giant Squid's Metridium Fields is a monster release, plain and simple. Gauranteed to appeal to both metal heads and proggers, this is one of the more refreshing releases to come along in a long time. Expect big things from this mighty creature." - Seaoftranquility.org
"Heavy and down-tuned but with a strong sense of melody, Metridium Fields is a diverse conglomeration of sounds." - Dialy Vanguard
"...the fact that the band is this brave and this different with their debut points to good things in the future." - undergroundreview.com
"It is an album of introspective, trippy music that languidly leads the listener into chaos and bliss at the same time. Although dont let the slowness and length of the songs fool you, this is not some hippy jam band, the songs are very dark and heavy with a definite doom influence." - The Gauntlet
"If your into Neurosis, beard growing contests, whaling, heavy barbituate use, being sad, being a caveman, Satan or cephlapods, you should probably check this one out." - Misprint Magazine
"It all seems so odd and absurd to bend the laws of musical genre characteristics and specifics, but Giant Squid have taken the challenge and opened a few new doors with their well considered and engaging songwriting skills." - Worm Gear Zine
"The "post-rock" album of the year from a metal band." - Prefix Magazine
"If, at a glance, Giant Squid appears as the latest cephalopod to squirm onto the crowded NeurIsis bandwagon, a listen will refute such facile overdetermination." - popmatters.com
"I can tag this band as being one to certainly follow and look forward to future releases as they have potential to being a leading light in the growing family of Neurosis-inspired bands." - Encyclopedia Mettalum
"The second track "Neonate" is one of the strongest songs released all year from a debuting band, a trance-inducing mix of "Red Sea" era ISIS and the more cryptic moments of SYSTEM OF A DOWN." - metaleater.com
"It's no exaggeration that no other band sounds like Giant Squid." - Stylus Magazine
"...hauntingly heavy indie-rock..." - SURF Magazine
"You could not fully seize the beauty of Giant Squid’s music if it wasn’t so repetitive, so cyclic. I won’t say more. I shouldn’t really: we’ve reached a point where words are not enough for an in depth analysis. But don’t get mistaken, this album is colossal, and it is essential for every true music fan. " - riseandrevolt.com
"While this album is heavy, it's not overwhelmingly crushing to the point of distraction. This allows for total absorption. This is a great album to just sit down and listen to. If you buy this album, take time out of your day to take it all in." - suburbanhorror.com
"Doomy, gloomy, but elegant." - The Austin Chronicle
"Metridium Fields is one of the most intriguing releases that I have encountered this year. With so many artists writing music within the confines of what is considered normal, it is rare to find a band willing to experiment and push the boundaries of music. Giant Squid do not fear what lies on the other side, and I for one am glad." - scenepointblank.com
"...for all the indie metal tags being thrown around, more than anything else it sounds like a dreamy, doomy early-'70s hard rock effort, as if Jefferson Airplane took songs like "Somebody to Love" to a darker place." - allmusic.com
Artist's Bio
Active Members:
Aaron Gregory (guitar, vocals)
Bryan Beeson (bass)
Jackie Perez Gratz (vocals, cello)
Scott Sutton (drums)
Reserve Members:
Aurielle Gregory (guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Kimberly Freeman (keyboards)
Jason Rufuss Sewell (keyboards)
Mike Conroy (drums)
Tim Conroy (keyboards, trumpet)
Andy Southard (keyboards, vocals)
Jason Divencencio (drums)
Bill Hughes (guitar)
Dave Reynolds (drums)
Massively heavy, yet delicately beautiful, Giant Squid makes brutally honest and sincere music that no one genre will be able to claim it for its own. A formidable beast like its namesake, Giant Squid wields immaculate tone, inspirational songwriting, and organic, yet fierce walls of melody.
The self released debut from Giant Squid, Metridium Field, produced by Billy Anderson (Neurosis, High On Fire, Mr. Bungle, Melvins) in 2004, garnered the attention of highly eclectic progressive metal label, The End Records, and the band quickly inked a deal in 2005. Because Metridium Field is what hooked The End in the first place, the band felt like it was fit for their debut on the label. But, Giant Squid had gone through several members coming and going since that records completion, and had started to explore different creative spaces in their song writing. So, the band returned to the studio and completely re-recorded the album, taking full advantage of this second chance to re-interpret certain moments in this classic material, and make it sound and feel like they always knew it should.
The end result, now entitled Metridium Fields, showcases Aurielle Gregorys as a full time guitar player, as well as revisiting and improving upon her hauntingly beautiful vocals and all of her original lush keyboard parts that she played on the first record. Aaron Gregory returns stronger than ever to his duties as angst ridden, main vocalist and down-tuned riff wielder, and original bassist, Bryan Beeson, stands his ground as always the unyielding institution of low end. A new flow of groove and rhythm played by the bands drummer at the time, Mike Conroy, reveals some of the biggest differences in feel in this new incarnation from its predecessor, in addition to the masterfully played trumpet work of Tim Conroy, tastefully inducing a vibe not commonly found in such heavy handed music.
Metridium Fields also saw the return of the legendary Billy Anderson, who engineered the record in Sacramento with the assistance of Robert Cheek (Deftones, RX Bandits, An Angle). Then half way through the recording process, Giant Squid moved to Austin, TX. There they finished tracking vocals with vocal guru and higly regarded and eccentric producer, Jason Rufuss Sewell (The Proles, Spider Silk Dress) at Nebulost Productions, who also produced and mixed the album, awakening a beast of a record that the band couldn't have imagined was still slumbering under their old songs.
Metridium Fields dropped in stores, August of 2006, in a gorgeous digi-pak, and to rave reviews, which in their own descriptive acclaim will describe the music of Giant Squid better than the band feels it can do itself.
Aurielle Gregory parted ways with the band at the end of 2006, shortly after Metridium Fields was released, and for the time being, is being replaced by Jackie Perez Gratz. Jackie is the highly renown cello player of Amber Asylum (Relapse Records) fame, who also has contributed to the records and live performances of such infamous bands as Neurosis, Today is the Day, Ludicra, Steve Von Till, and Asunder, and has made a large impression on the San Francisco music scene with her own incredibly unique metal band, Grayceon. Jackie’s masterful cello playing is as heavy handed as it is delicately dynamic, and brings a whole new sadness and beauty to Giant Squid’s already forlorn tales of lost love, lost friends, and immense loneliness. While the band believes its best interests obviously lie in preserving the familiar feel of their classic material off of Metridium Fields, Giant Squid is ecstatic about the distinctive beauty that Gratz is bringing to their songs. Having been massive fans for years of Gratz’s work in Amber Asylum, and now in Grayceon and Asunder, the band is thrilled to be playing along side her.
Artist's Note
Tour Dates:
06/29/2007 Fri @ On Six Gallery - San Francisco, CA (w/ White Horse)
06/30/2007 Sat @ The Uptown - Oakland, CA (w/ The River Runs Black, Whitehorse)
06/30/07 Sat @ The Uptown - Oakland, CA (w/ Whitehorse, The River Runs Black)
07/01/2007 Sun @ Alibi - Arcata, ca (w/ Whitehorse)
07/02/2007 Mon @ Charlie's Bar and Grill - Olympia, WA
07/03/2007 Tue @ Rotture - Portland, Oregon (w/ Whitehorse, Silentist, L'Acephale, DJ Mancampus)
07/04/2007 Wed @ The Funhouse - Seattle, WA (w/ Whitehorse, Wormwood, Iron Lung)
07/07/2007 Sat @ Hell's Kitchen - Tacoma, WA
07/21/2007 Sat @ The Hemlock - San Francisco, CA (w/ Intronaut, Book of Black Earth)
07/22/2007 Sun @ The Speakeasy - Sacramento, CA (w/ Intronaut, Book of Black Earth)
08/26/2007 Sun @ The Speakeasy - Sacramento, CA (w/ Prize Country, A Single Second)
09/01/2007 Sat @ Hemlock Tavern - San Francisco, CA (w/ Wormwood)
09/02/2007 Sun @ The Relax Bar - Los Angeles, CA (w/ Wormwood)
