Origin:	Sacramento, CA, USA
Genres:

Giant Squid

Odd band name? Check. Strange song titles? Check. Album released on The End Records? Check. At this point, one might have a pretty good idea of what to expect, namely something predictably unpredictable in the world of eclectic, proggy art-metal, perhaps akin to fellow The End artists such as Age Of Silence, Subterranean Masquerade, or Head Control System. But while Giant Squid's style is indeed difficult to pigeonhole, they don't sound at all like any of those bands, nor are they as prone to mixing odd genres. Metridium Fields, their The End debut (and re-recording of their self-released 2004 debut, the similarly-titled Metridium Field), might almost qualify as progressive doom, as the songs are long and drawn-out, the riffs ponderous, and at times the pacing is similar to the current crop of atmospheric hardcore bands, except vocally the Squid goes in a different direction, with the (then) husband-and-wife team of Aaron and Aurielle sharing clean vocal duty quite effectively, though often not in a traditional metal sense. This is epic, imaginative, sprawling, and extremely interesting progressive doom rock/metal, excellently done and very highly recommended listening. Some lineup changes have ensued since the last album's release (notably, founder Aurielle is no longer with the band), and apparently they consider San Francisco their current home though the members are scattered throughout the west coast.