My old roommate Joe the Drunk would have loved this album. I hesitate to use his name because he may stumble upon this site, but since there is a 50 percent chance he is dead from alcohol poisoning, I’ll press on. You see, in between his bouts of intoxication, Joe was a musician, a damn good one if my ears recall. He could play anything you wanted on bass and loved bands that had a lot of great musicians like Rush (though for some reason he enjoyed the work of Staind and Nickelback, as well). Joe also once worked at Guitar Center in Hollywood, which is not just a Guitar Center but THE Guitar Center.

Anyway, my point is that Joe would have loved Skullgrid by Behold … The Arctopus. It’s 33 minutes of instrumental jams, and the virtuosity of the band, comprising guitarists Mike Lerner and Colin Marston and drummer Charlie Zeleny, is unquestioned.  I’m sure if I still lived with him, Joe would extol the virtues of their musicianship, no doubt while pounding his 10th Heineken of the night.

The only problem I have with the record is exactly why it would be appealing to someone like Joe: It’s a musician’s album. Unfortunately, I’m not a musician, so I have to look for other things, like cool lyrics and general heaviness, to fully enjoy the proceedings. Lyrics are out, so that brings us to heaviness, and while Skullgrid is heavy at times, it still feels too much like a bunch of gifted musicians having fun in their garage. That’s good for them, but since I can’t really relate to what they’re doing, it makes it more difficult for me to enjoy the record.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who would listen to this album and feel that way. In fact, I’m not sure who this record will appeal to other than musicians. The album has some moments when it’s pretty good, especially the sludgy riffs of “You Are Number Six” and the out-and-out freakout of “Scepters.” But until I learn to play guitar like this or possibly if I do as many Jäger shots as Joe used to, I’m probably not as appreciative as I should be.