Behold... the Arctopus "Arctopocalypse Now... Warmaggedon Later" CD
[Epicene]
Here's a pro-pressed edition of this great 3" disc that comes in a nice little full color sleeve with diecut corners and everything, so it looks really damn good. I reviewed this last summer, and here's what I had to say: From New York/New Jersey comes this trio featuring one member of Infidel?/Castro!, but expect not total weirdness and incomprehensible concepts (despite what the unusual band name may have you believe)... Instead you're in for two tracks and about 11 minutes of shredding metal madness with wild leads all over the fucking place. Hell, that's almost all it is! Scarcely do these guys break into a rhythm riff, but rest assured that when they do it's twisted, dissonant, technical, and totally fucked up (see "Alcoholocaust")! I'm loving every minute of it! It's fast, complex, and yet interesting and memorable at the same time. There's more of a focus on overall technicality and flash than there is on melody, but there's no absence of feeling, especially in the 8+ minute "You Will Be Reincarnated as an Imperial Attack Spaceturtle (Pt 1)". The instruments are listed as being lead drums, lead guitar, and 12-string super guitar (whatever that means), but I can hear a ton of bass as well (Unless they're doing something extremely fucked to make a guitar sound like a bass - or maybe the "super guitar" has some bass strings on it?). As for the recording, it's a little bit rough and heavy on the midrange and treble, but they pull it off. The drums have a lot of density and sound crystal clear (accentuating a fine performance that offers up tons of great fills and just the right amount of flashiness), the bass (or whatever it is) is very defined so its tones meet up with the guitars as it closely follows the technical runs, and the guitars are loud and in your face, perhaps not quite as smooth as they should be, but effective nonetheless. This is great stuff. I was expecting something more experimental, not that this isn't quirky in its own right, but I'm blown away. The performances are tight as hell, and I can't wait to hear more. If you're into math metal and enjoy shredding fretwork then this is a must have. So there you have it... now check this shit out! (8/10)
Running time - 11:13, Tracks: 2
[Notable tracks: both are fucking great]
Epicene Sound Systems - http://www.epicenesoundsystems.com

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