Giant Squid

Giant Squid’s Aaron Gregory obviously has a deep fascination with the sea. A professional scuba diver who relocated from Austin to work at San Francisco’s Bay Aquarium, he drowns his emotive metal band in oceanic imagery, from the album titles of The Ichthyologist and the latest (and punny)Cenotes to lyrical themes that could double as Melville stories. Like a coral reef, the shadows of Giant Squid’s ostensibly doom-metal sound teem with hidden species, from flutters of flute, violin, and banjo to Middle Eastern ragas and the bruised, beautiful interplay between the smoky female backing vocals and Gregory’s own Tom Waits-ish burr.

Updated 04/10/2012