MROCTOPUS

And I am not really one of those, however, I can say I've enjoyed the times I've listened to this EP by Portuguese band MrOctopus, whose "Domino Effect EP" features 7 instrumental tracks in the progressive metal vein, that make a total time 0f 40 minutes, so the length is actually long for an EP, that's why I mentioned first it was an album.

It kicks off with "Katee goes Kayakking", and since this first track one can clearly notice they band (a trio) has talented musicians whose skills are undeniable, they play really clean and powerful when needed. The first 30 seconds of "The John Doe Experience" shows us a different face, the music is calm and relaxing, however it was just only a brief intro, because later the guys make and explosion and the metal appears. I like it because it is not plain, though I am not a metal fan, I can appreciate when the music is interesting and well made, like in this case.

In "Probe" the bass starts and then guitar & drums join. I like they put several changes in rhythm and intensity in their songs, as I said before, the music is not plain, so it is not boring at all, and it is not bombastic either, so it is accurate to my ears. "Heisenberg Theory" is the next track, well here I see the band are into quantum physics, maybe they are math people who take that knowledge and implement it in their music, that's why they bring us loads of changes within a song. "Chuckie Egg" is the longest track with 8 minutes. It starts with a noise and seconds later the metal starts. This song might be repetitive, but man, it is so addictive and tense, I love how a tension is created and you don't dare to do anything, so you stay stood and listen to what's coming next. Then the tension disappears. Honestly the song is cool, but when the tension went away I felt kind of uninterested.

On the other hand, "Irrelevant Emergency" is the shortest track here with only 3 minutes length. It is much softer than the others, with a post rock tendency at least in the first minute, then it becomes heavier and becomes post metal. Nice. Finally, the last song is "Tomorrow's a Good Name for Yesterday" which contrasts with the latest, but follows the same prog metal path than the rest of the song. They have a nice punch, they make clean music so the sound is always good and well performed. This is a cool introduction of this Portuguese band that should appeal to those prog metal fans who are not keen on keyboards. My final grade, 3 stars.

Enjoy it!