The band out of Detroit, Michigan has about as many musical influences as there are tentacles on an octopus. Picture a modern day Jefferson Airplane meets post-grunge meets the classic yesteryear of groups like Mountain and Deep Purple and you get this eclectic mix known as Octopus. On March 30th, Octopus released their monster of a record entitled “Supernatural Alliance”.
Imagine hits of LSD mixed with subterranean themes, and a whole lot of psychedelic fuzz rock and you get Octopus. Octopus is composed of Masha Marjieh on vocals, J Frezzato(ex-Electric Six) on guitars, Matt O’Brien on bass, Chuck Burns on drums, and Adam Cox on keyboards. In this Octopus has developed and conceptualized their vision of underground comics, the graphic novels of today, with some hints of Lovecraft and a whole slew of musical influences to conceptualize the vision of Octopus.
“Supernatural Alliance” starts with a classic NWOBHM-vibe with a groovy track entitled “Beyond The Center”. The listener will immediately notice the catchy yet pulsating riffs led forth by Frezzato with the bluesy R&B meets hard rock voice of Marjieh with a rhythm section that will groove you to submission. I envision this song as the perfect Octopus concert opener with smoke machines and lights going crazy as Octopus takes over the night. The keys of Adam Cox are strewn out to further capture the imagination of this album. As the song gets groovy, it proceeds to take the listener down that downward spiral as the song comes crashing to an ending.
The title track has a bit of a psychedelic Deep Purple in the sense that the keyboards sound like they are from another galaxy and another layer is unpacked as they showcase their harmonies during the chorus with copious amounts of fuzz rock serving as the backdrop of the song. Let’s take you back on the time machine to the 1970’s when classic rock was taking over and NWOBHM was beginning to take hold in America with their track “Slave and Master”. In this track, Marjieh sounds hollowed and from a distance which makes her sound quite powerful in this track and Frezzato showcases some Jimi Hendrix style of wailing in this blues rock type of track. The instrumental break where it’s just the keys and the rhythm section going to work showcases that there is so much groove that it’s simply contagious. “Slave and Master” is certainly THE stand out track of the album.
Octopus could be one of the best kept secrets in America with their album “Supernatural Alliance”. It is such a strange brew of psychedelic, fuzz rock, post grunge, and NWOBHM mixed with Grace Slick style of vocals in this album. Let Octopus capture your imagination with this 8 out of 10 star offering. Check out the track listing below.
- Beyond The Center
- Supernatural Alliance
- Slave and Master
- Strike
- Child of Destiny
- The Unknown
- Sword and the Stone
- Fleetwood Mac
- Black Dynamite
- Dragonhead
Check out “Supernatural Alliance” by Octopus via Rise Above Records here!
Fans can find Octopus on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Octopus888official
