Tidal Flood: Scientific (2002)

There are just too many great bands that slipped right through the cracks. Case in point, this Greek band called Tidal Flood. This band got their exposure during the old days of MP3.com (which beared little relation to its current incarnation, which now seems more like a clone of All Music Guide). Ozric Tentacles is apparently quite popular in Greece, so the band was obviously flattered to see a Greek band picking up their torch. A link to their webpage (when it existed) was included on Mike Werning’s Ozric Tentacles page.

There are two big disappointments: their webpage no longer exists, and although rumors of a full-length album was to come, it never came (the band seemed to have quietly disappeared into oblivion without much reason as to why). Around 2001, the band came up with a three song demo EP called 7Tide. The following year came a five song EP called Scientific, released by the band itself, which is the CD I’m reviewing here.

This is a real treat for all Ozric fans. Many of the same great guitar jams and spacy electronics are to be found here. These guys proved to be no slouches. George Stavroulakis gives some wild guitar, although a bit more restrained than Ed Wynne. Many of the cuts on this album remind me of Jurassic Shift-era Ozrics, especially “Raff Dub ’01”, especially with that repeating bass-line. “7Tide” demonstrate right away the qualities of Tidal Flood, with aggressive guitar playing and great spacy synthesizers. Most of the cuts are around 3-4 minutes, except for “Tidal Mew” which is over 7 minutes, and definately one of the highlights because it really let the band stretch out. This being an EP, one wishes it a full album, but as the case goes, they pulled off some great music, despite the time constraint. There isn’t so much of the techno tendiences of the Ozrics, so if you were bothered at the more techno direction the Ozrics been going with their last couple of CDs (Spirals in Hyperspace, The Floor’s Too Far Away), you’ll be happier with Tidal Flood, as it harkens back to early ’90s Ozrics.

This CD is actually a CD Plus, which also includes multimedia features. You get a couple of video footage of the band performing a couple of their cuts on Greek television (the videos seem to play best on Widows Media Player). Looking at the band, none of them look like they’re over 30, but despite their young age, these guys obviously knew what they were doing. It’s too bad they didn’t go any further than this EP. Plus you also get MP3 files of all five cuts of this EP.

Getting a copy of this EP is likely becoming more difficult all the time, because the band’s webpage has disappeared, but if you can find a copy, and like the Ozrics, get it, you won’t be disappointed.
– George Karras: fretless bass, synth and drum programming, samples, analog oscillators, arrangement, mixing
– George Stavroulakis: electric and acoustic guitar, guitar synth, synths and synth programming, arrangement, sound engineering.

Former band members that contributed to this EP:
– Helium Polites: drums and rhymic composition
– Vassilis Antonakos: sample libraries, analog and digital synth equipment