review: Behold the Arctopus

Behold the Arctopus

Hapeleptic Overtrove

Willowtip Records / P2

12 June 2020

You would think that the band name is spelled incorrectly because somebody may have been thinking about an octopus, and not the plant that is the name of the band. The octopus is everything you want in an extraterrestrial life form: invisible, flying, immortal, time traveling, 17 eyes, eight brains cohabitating in the same cranium, multilingual, and it has the benevolent aspiration to rule with the iron hand of absolute totalitarianism. Plus, every octopus loves strawberry ice cream, and that is wonderful, just wonderful. Enough about the octopus, and let’s move on to the arctopus. First of all, people must avoid this album like the plague if they are hostile to experimental sounds. This band has a special way of upsetting certain people that want the regular format of songs. Therefore, walk in this direction only and only if you are willing to hear a “metal” band making something that sounds like old Bugs Bunny cartoon music, abstract jazzy noodling, avant-garde horror bump-in-the-night tracks, the soundtrack to people slipping and falling on ice, or something like that, if you can imagine it.

Say, have you ever watched the Friends episode in which Ross “plays” the keyboard and does “wordless sound poems” and proceeds to confuse everybody as to what in the universe they have just heard. Realizing how horrible that listening experience was and how she had never heard Ross play his so-called music, his sister Monica says, “God bless my dad for soundproofing the basement!” His former girlfriend Rachel is shocked, and says, “I can’t believe I ever let him touch me with those fingers!” Well, that’s how a lot of people will feel once they hear this band. It is that weird. Remember now, Phoebe loved what Ross played! She says that it is “moving” and “it is so different from the stuff you usually hear.” Chandler responds, “You mean music!”

In this case, if you want information about the instruments, this is from the official source: "For the new compositions, inspiration was drawn from the non-traditional setup of English free jazz drummer Tony Oxley, and the percussion music of 20th century composers Iannis Xenakis, Edgard Varese, and Elliott Carter. The drum kit for the new album removes extreme metal's constant harsh static wash by deleting all hi-hats, crashes, and ride cymbals, replacing them with almglocken, wooden plank, metal pipe, broken stacks, and bell/chimes. Sticks are replaced by mallets, and, more importantly, the function of the drums is no longer to play 'beats.' Instead the drums take on a role more similar to the guitars, resulting in a sound closer to chamber music than rock."

Well, if you, like Phoebe, love the weird stuff, then jump into this whirlpool of goodness. This band, like Ross, is “not appreciated in its own time” because they are visionaries. You better believe it. This band is going to mess you up so bad! So bad, you won’t be able to think or walk straight once you hear this. Let all the Phoebes of the world unite and join together in the appreciation of this music. Who are you?! Are you a Phoebe?! Let’s find out right now by listening to this band.

Behold The Arctopus "Forgotten Explanations"

Hapeleptic Overtrove by Behold The Arctopus