A Prog-Rock Molotov Cocktease (review)

If Robert Fripp were dead he would be spinning in his grave, all thanks to Mick Barr and Colin Marston. Orthrelm's Barr, formerly of Crom-Tech and alumnus of The Flying Luttenbachers, has taken avant-metal to such brutal, whiplash-inducing extremes that the final two weeks of their latest six week tour had to be cancelled due to the serious wrist injuries he recieved from playing Orthrelm's repititious epic OV. Behold...the Arctopus' mastermind Colin Marston on the other hand, wrote, recorded, mixed, and mastered "Paincave", the trio's contribution to the ep. It's difficult to describe the ridiculously technical wizardry that the Arctopus and Orthrelm conjure without descending into pure hyperbole, or restoring to uber-obscure name-dropping, but by (insert preferred deity or deities here) as my witness I'm trying!

Much like their progressive rock godfathers King Crimson, what makes these bands so exciting is that they are truly breaking new ground in terms of speed, composition, and dynamics, while at the same time experimenting with existing classical music structures. Whether you like it or not, when you listen to "Paincave", or "Pithot 1" for that matter, unless brutal and complex progressive rock a la Ruins or The Flying Luttenbachers are your bread and butter, you are listening to music as you've never heard it before. Unpredictable doesn't even begin to describe the turns this ep takes.

If there is a downside to this ep, it's the mere eight-minute running time- reducing this record to the official status prog-rock cocktease. Still, it stands as an affordable introduction to two great bands who are guaranteed to melt your face off and leave you screaming with joy.

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Behold...the Arctopus has recently been signed to Metal Blade Records/ Black Market Activities and will be releasing their official full length release shortly. Featuring remastered versions of their first two ep's, "Arctopocalypse Now...Warmageddon Later" and "Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning", as well as a collection of live tracks, this offering to the Quetzacoatl of progressive cock-rock should appease existing fans and newcomers, look for updates on Behold...the Arctopus.com and Metal Blade Records.

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Additional Required Listening:

Ruins - Burning Stone
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King
Orthrelm - OV
Behold the Arctopus - Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer

Enjoy!
-Christian