Oblivion Reptilian is the cosmic lovechild of Andrew Panagopoulos (Comacozer) and Mike Vest (Bong, Blown Out, Melting Hand, etc.), two psychonauts on opposite ends of the Earth, swapping improvisational spells via broadband alchemy.
What began as an experiment between hemispheres after a 2018 Comacozer/Blown Out split grew into Fried on Rock, a 36-minute transmission of instrumental space psych that somehow feels live, even though its creators weren’t even in the same time zone.
Vest takes up both guitar and bass duties, layering thick fuzz and lysergic squall over Panagopoulos’ propulsive, occasionally haunted drumming. It’s a collision of feedback and form: five tracks channel everything from Hendrix to Helios Creed, Jojo Hiroshige to Holy Angels.
But don’t let the namedrops distract you. Fried on Rock isn’t retro homage, it’s a heady, free-form dive into the astral swamp.
Opener “Daraconian” lurches like some crusty Nebula b-side reanimated by solar flares, while “Alien Shit” smears plasma solos across a rhythm section that gallops into Saturn’s orbit. It’s intentional chaos sculpted into new architecture. Feedback becomes a paintbrush. Bass becomes bedrock.
Despite the Frankenstein recording process (UK riffs Dropboxed to Aussie drum caves), Fried on Rock pulses with uncanny cohesion. At times, you’d swear there’s a third entity in the room. Maybe it’s just the sheer force of vibe. Either way, it feels like a band. A weird, planetary, possibly hallucinogenic band.
The album art by Anthony Downie nails the whole affair: alien, vintage, vaguely radioactive. Like the music, it mesmerizes. Fried on Rock doesn’t demand understanding; it invites surrender. It’s the kind of record you put on and forget the boundaries of your room, country, and maybe even species.
Is this the start of a new project? A one-off freak collision? Hard to say. But if Oblivion Reptilian can summon this much gravity from opposite sides of the globe, imagine what they’ll conjure when the stars align again.
Check it out on Bandcamp here.
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