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OCTOPUS
Supernatural Alliance

Rise Above (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Masha Marjieh is the latest female throat on the block to deliver bewitching slices of retro-rock in the form of her band Octopus.

Formed in 2008 out of Detroit, Michigan, this leather-clad, and darkly attired gang of sonic revivers are more than at home on Lee Dorrian’s (Septic Tank, With The Dead, ex-Napalm Death, ex-Cathedral etc.) label Rise Above. Octopus deliver driving 70s burn-outs, styled with psych-tinged memorabilia, riff-heavy, organ-drenched supernova’s and at times smoky, loungin’ acid trips of deep guitar soul and occult-flecked grooves.

The title track is a prime example of everything that’s going on with modern rock; grimoire throwbacks to a bygone age of musty coffins, forest witch cults and sweaty, unpolished glories. However, Octopus are less so satanic than most, instead pumping hard with well-oiled pistons, somehow sounding very now and yet equally at home with their homage as they bridge gaps between Deep Purple and rounded stoner rock.

All of this is led by those simple yet powerhouse vocals of the aforementioned Masha Marjieh, a raven-haired vixen who thrusts and cavorts amidst a sea of wailing guitar swirls and darker-edged bass-lines to a wall of sturdy, stuffy percussion. Masha has that ability to become an iconic rock goddess and sultry crooner in one; firing on all cylinders one moment as a leather-adorned banshee, spouting rock ‘n’ roll archetypes over a gust of raging guitars, but the next cosmically swaying with the chimes for a laid back and almost sullen breeze.

In a sense, Supernatural Alliance is what I expected; offering numerous angles, levels and shades, from the delicate strains of ‘All The Love’ – circa ‘Planet Caravan’ – to a further mish-mash of Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep for the title track and more. Guitarist Joe Frezzato provides the fire throughout, his blazing yet familiar grooves barking up the trees of Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy. ‘Strike (While The Iron Is Hot)’ provides hot, searing, molten liquid as the combo finally gets to grips with its larva of sound – a cauldron of seemingly simple structures which seem polished and not bogged down by over-use of retro regression.

‘The Center’ toys with Sabbath circa Master Of Reality (1971), while ‘Sword And The Stone’ has a Blue Öyster Cult vibe. But whatever path each track takes there’s an air of the celestial; the band less inclined to sacrifice goats but instead sit on magic carpets. There’s also a Joan Jett-like attitude throughout, mainly through Marjieh’s dominant tones, and so those seeking devilish attitude will no doubt soak up the black rays of heavyweights such as ‘The Unknown’ which comes complete with gargantuan organ.

And that’s where it’s at, Octopus providing a rather concise, well-trimmed debut outing with enough vim, venom and yet vulnerability to appeal to the black masses.

Neil Arnold

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