Octopus-Media Book Edition

There's something about this album that really hit home for me. It's dark, complex, beautiful, stirring and simply stunning. I haven't heard an album this good in years and I'm a huge music fan. Don't let the fact that you may not of heard of these guys put you off. The production is superb: dense, clear, it reminds me of 70's rock but it's also very modern. There's a lot of attention to detail and embellishment without losing the core focus and strength of the 3 piece.To give you some idea I'd put it as a mix of Rush, Tool, Jane's Addiction, Pink Floyd with a bit of the palm desert scene thrown in. But have no doubt, these guys stand on their own two feet, push boundaries and explore territory that makes for a captivating listen.To me, the album flows really well and at 2 hours it never gets staid. There are so many stand out tracks and very little filler. Frankly I'm surprised and a little overwhelmed that such a great album came across my path.It takes a while to get your head around it, it took me weeks of heavy rotation before I fully appreciated it. I can't recommend it enough and if you're any kind of heavy rock music fan you should definitely pick this one up.

It's the songs. THE SONGS! Anybody can stretch out a jam to prog-ish infinitude but few do it with the song-writing finesse of Amplifier. Sel Balamir can sure write a compelling tune. Plus he can sing like nobody's business and play hell outta the guitar. The Octopus is more than two hours long and I usually listen to it straight through. You get a free additional 3rd CD as a download as well, containing four more awesome songs. The Octopus roars and whispers and amuses and amazes. Incredible.

Amplifier's double CD is very well crafted. Like any amazing and different artistry I have listened to over the years, "The Octopus", like Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Yes, Rush and others, has to be listened to many times to be fully appreciated and enjoyed due to the depth of detailed work put into it. I'm enjoying it more & more with each listen.

Excellent

Amplifier's third full-length studio album The Octopus, from early 2011, is a superb album and a definitive moment in the band's career. The British trio have crafted a truly interesting and inventive album that gets better with every successive listening.Split across two eight track CDs, one white on black, on black on white and coming with a thank you document providing access to a special website and the digital download of the stunning four track Fractal EP, as well as full of tiny stickers of the artwork in a unique Radiohead/Nine Inch Nails style marketing experiment, Amplifier really give thought to the delivery of the album and engaging fans imaginatively.Initially I came across the band on a sampler cd of modern progressive rock artists, where the song `Interstellar,' blew me away coming across as some sort of missing link between Kyuss style desert/stoner rock and King Crimson's three latest studio albums, with a Roger Waters fan on vocals.This turned out to only be a tiny part of the band's overall style, one section of their grand and eclectic sound that mixes modern alternative rock with the progressive spirit. Tracks like `Trading Dark Matter On The Stock Exchange,' and `Fall Of The Empire,' are exciting and captivating, and the album as a whole is simply as marvelous as it is ambitious, full of lengthy tracks that feel equal parts spacey and grungey.The album flows brilliantly from beginning to end and is best absorbed of many repeated listens as a complete piece. No tracks feel out of place or weak, nothing brings the general level of quality down for even a minute.I also really enjoy the production of this record, the mix and the treatment of vocals and background keys are really well handled and make the album sound important and grand without being either overpolished or intentionally retro.Overall, The Octopus is one of the best and most interesting albums you are likely to hear this year and I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes any sort of intelligent rock music, prog or otherwise

Excellent prog-heavy post-rock. Hard to compare to anything else (for me anyway). Wikipedia quotes a review which described them as "Soundgarden, Tool, Black Sabbath, Oceansize and Pink Floyd taking copious amounts of mind-altering substances and venturing on a trip through time and space (to another dimension), and back again." and says "their music is characterised by guitarist Sel Balamir's effect pedals, Matt Brobin's complex drumming, extended heavy sections, atmospheric compositions and philosophical lyrics." All sounds about right to me.I started with their 2017 album and rapidly bought up the entire back catalogue! This album and their eponymous first are my favourites, though there isn't a bad one in there.

This is a great album, ranging from spacey ambientness to full on rock. The songs are well written, sound great and are thoughroly enjoyable.My main complaint would be the packaging, from the other amazon reviews i knew it would be a cardboard sleeve, which i'm fine with - however what they didn't say was that it was thinner, shorter (width) and taller then most normal CDs, which means that it matches none of the other CDs i own and 'sinks' to the back of the shelf.However when compared to the quality of the music this becomes a minor irritation in the face of things and dont let it dissuad you. the music is totally worth the price

The term one-off has been much applied but it does fit this Manchester outfit with a determination to be "ever Indie".This package is very well done and the value phenominal, consisting of 2 CDs. I can do no better than others trying to define their sound and / or compare similar bands. That failure has to mean that they must, and do, stand out as an original. Buy this and also Echo Street, their latest double release.

I picked up this album due to the suggestions from amazon... and they were not wrong, if like me you love prog rock then you should definitely get this album and listen through it a few times. its simple, its just amazing. The entire ambience, the vocals and the really dirty/grunge guitar riffs make this album an outstanding listen. Amplifier are definitely a beacon of light for british rock.

If you like your rock loud and with a bit of a tune to it give this a try. Excellent album and fantastic guitar work. Try it and you will not be disappointed.