siLLy puPPy QUALEACEANS is a strange metal band emerging from who knows where. There is scant info regarding their identities or even geography of origin. I’ve only seen one reference to South Georgia & The Sandwich Islands on RYM and since the population there is about 20 and they are most likely Antarctic researchers, either these guys got really bored with all those penguins and needed to create some avant-garde metal OR the more likely scenario of this band wanting to remain mysterious by not revealing anything about themselves. They DO, however, have quite a bit to say about their music.

They call it metal in opposition, krautmetal, space metal, free metal and polystylist metal. I guess there are aspects of all the prog rock counterpoints heard on this sprawling 78 minute single track however this is really more of a sludgy post metal for much of it. It churns on and on and on with ever repeating dissonant riffs like a tidal wave originating in the middle of the ocean and undulating ceaselessly until crashing against the shore. The minor variations contained within this rhythmic pulsating bombast are what spices it up and give it some flavor.

About 3/4 the way through they drop the metal altogether and we get a nice spacey ethnic flavored psychedelic section that meanders on for several minutes until the riffing metal fury fires back up and picks up its intensity complete with dissonant lead guitars accompanying the thundering riffs until the tidal wave of aggression finally crashes against the shore ending the lengthy journey. The result of this extravaganza of unrelenting musical activity leaves one bewildered and wondering what they just listened to!

Overall this is a very repetitive and hypnotic noisefest reminding me in a way of the early no wave of Swans but there is ultimately enough variation bubbling underneath at any given moment to keep the listener entertained, however i do have to admit that at 78 minutes the attention span does tend to wander. I found this to be great music to surf the web to while mindlessly poking around but to listen to this actively on a regular basis might drive you maaaaad! CAPTURE OF ZIZ is quite the interesting debut album and leaves me wanting to hear more from this metal band that could be compared to bands like Unexpect in its sheer audacity to delve into the experimental but the overall song structure isn’t quite as interesting to my ears.

An unusual album that needs to be experienced. If you love strange and experimental metal accompanied by all kinds of non-metal instruments with aggressive hypnotic dissonant and distorted guitars chugging away for over an hour with some long drawn out transitions into space and back then you can’t go wrong with this one.

renkls This is the kind of album where in order to give a completely enlightening review, you're going to have to know some technical terminology to wrap your head around it. The band's only known description of their music is 'Metal in Opposition".

If you're not savvy with terminology or don't often deal with academic assertions in your music, you're on the same ground as me. This is a headtrip of an album, described by several sources as krautmetal, free metal, polystylist metal, extreme metal, along with just plain brain melting. Piqued your interest? It certainly piqued mine - and I will also be among the critics to attest that this kind of experience is certainly not for any but the most open minded.

Structured as a five part, single 78 minute composition, Capture of Ziz immediately lays its thesis on the table, a complex, riff salad, Metal in Opposition: rife with accompanying instruments such as a mandolin, harmonica, violin... if you think that means it's going to sound pretty damn strange, you're right. The main feature of the album is undoubtedly a guitar and drum exercise, with complimenting vocals ranging from guttural raspy death metal-esque ruminations, to off-kilter and psychedelic spoken word. The music foundations are constantly in motion, ranging from forward driven erratic tribal drum beats, to a massive acoustic bridge.

To explain further would do injustice to the surreal kind of experience that Qualeaceans have served up here, apparently the result of four years hard work. I recommend this headtrip only to the most open minded metal music fans, as the massive length, surreal and sprawling nature, as well as krautrock sensibilities, makes it a very niche offering, but decidedly unique, and worth a listen, even if only to experience a very unique, and some would say extreme interpretation of metal.

Listenable in Full on: https://qualeaceans.bandcamp.com/