Arrakis, the desert planet, home of Spice that allows interstellar travel, known as Dune, and also a rather good Greek instrumental psychedelic power trio. To take their name from the possibly the most famous planet in Science-Fiction literature is a pretty bold move, setting a high bar in the mind of those new to the band, your humble scribe included, but a bar that the band successfully hurdle.

Opener ‘Plexus’ pounds out of the speakers like a late career Cathedral number just waiting for Lee Dorian to join in with a tale of witches, warlocks and wizardry, and I found myself just wanting time and again to shout out “corpse-cycle” to go with the pounding beats and trippy guitar, and from the occasional surprised glares I got from folks as I was walking to work with my headphones in, I might well have done so unknowingly!

This lighter tone is left behind by the darker menace title track ‘Electricon’, a ten minute plus epic that somehow manages to continually build up layer after layer of dense musical texture, despite being recorded pretty much live with just guitar bass and drum, a testament to the musicianship of each member, and whilst the guitar with the complex riffs and effects seems to take centre stage, it would be lost without the stunningly tight rhythm section to carry the track along. ‘Electricon’ is a track that like the work of similarly themes instrumentalist Clouds Taste Satanic is crying out to be part of a movie sound track. Hell, I’d go as far as to say that if any film-maker finally gets around to making a decent and faithful version of ‘Dune’ (sorry Mr Lynch, nice try, but just not right), it could be the perfect music to accompany the Harkonnen attack on House Atreides. If you are lost by these references, treat yourself to a copy of the Frank Herbert opus and put this album on repeat as you plough your way though the novel.

‘Loot’ follows fast and loose with a distinctly stoner-ish feel, looser riffs circling through the complex patterns laid down by the drums, whilst in ‘Law & Disorder’ the bass swaggers to the fore with a riff that the guitar then picks up on and develops until halfway through the track it goes all Prog with some Rush style noodling. Closing off the album in a suitably doom laden style is ‘Seed’, the the slower, deeper tones of the opening bars eventually flying off into a journey through the tie-dyed skies of planet freakout.

To keep a listener hooked for three quarters of an hour on just five tracks, with no lyrics, and just three instruments is one hell of a difficult feat to achieve, but Arrakis manage the task admirably, and invitations to the play the likes of Freak Valley festival must surely follow. One thing though; why is the cover illustration apparently an X-ray of a light bulb up somebody’s rectum? Best answer won’t win a prize, but will gain my gratitude.

(7.5/10 Spenny)

https://www.facebook.com/ArrakisBand

https://arrakis1.bandcamp.com/album/electricon