Saturday 2 December 2017

Octopussy - Dwarfs & Giants (Album Review)


Release date: November 10th 2017. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD

Dwarfs & Giants - Tracklisting

1.Birdman 06:16
2.Hourglass 04:08
3.Run From The Raging Mob 04:17
4.Bring Me The Light 05:19
5.Float 01:49
6.The Search 04:29
7.Dwarfs & Giants 04:24
8.And Nothing Will Remain 05:18
9.Future Western 10:23

Members

Jan Babiński - vocals
Konrad Ciesielski - drums
Piotr Danielewicz - guitars
Michał Banasik - guitars
Marcin Bąkowski - bass guitar
Michał Koziorowski - keys

Review

Another day and another cool Stoner Rock band from Poland by the name of Octopussy. Don't worry folks, there isn't any cheesy James Bond puns or references held on the album. Octopussy play straight up Psychedelic Stoner Rock that veers into Southern Rock, Blues Rock and Classic Rock territory at different parts of Dwarfs & Giants.

The vocals from Jan are quite funky at times and you feel that vibrant energy from the opening song – Birdman. The music is quite upbeat with an blues rock/funk style bass moving the hard-rocking Stoner sounds to a more faster pace. The psychedelic vibes are very dreamlike at times. Octopussy make you feel right at home with the band offering an easy-going atmosphere despite the hard-rocking and heavy riffs the song contains.

Songs such as Hourglass, Run From The Raging Mob, Bring Me The Light, Dwarfs & Giants combine the Blues/Stoner Rock aggression of Clutch and match it with classic Grunge style theatrics. It sounds a weird combination at times but the band pull this off with style and even originality at times. The standout track has to be the epic final song Future Western which draws out the many different musical elements that Octopussy have at their disposal. The song maybe slightly too long by a few moments but at least the band go out with an action packed finale.

The band even manage to pay homage to Stoner/Space Rock overlords Monster Magnet at times especially on the 2nd track – Hourglass. As I heard some familiar sounding riffs. No big deal. It's very cool to hear amongst Octopussy's style of high voltage Southern/Stoner Rock.

For an album that was recorded live over one weekend, this album sounds excellent from the start. The music is loud and dynamic with a powerful bass being the main focus of the entire album. That's not to distract from the other members contribution to this album. Far from it. The instrumental work is impressive as hell. I was impressed most by Marcin's bass playing. Very funky and psychedelic whilst offering a heavy Stoner Rock beat.

With bands such as Belzebong, Dopelord, Spaceslug, Weedpecker and Major Kong flying the flag for the Polish Doom/Stoner Metal scene, you can add another great band to that ever-expanding list. 

The name is PUSSY, OCTOPUSSY. (Sorry for that bad joke. I couldn't resist).

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

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