3 out of 5

Label: Ipecac

Producer: J.G. Thirlwell

This is definitely the precursor to Thirlwell’s Venture Bros. vibe, which is sort of a playful, campy throwback sound bent with his circusy antics that were around on early Foetus releases, but Steroid Maximus – at least on the Ectopia album – is a more laid back affair, uninvigorated by the concept of Venture being an adventure series.  This translates to light jazz, more subtle on the ears and actually not as layered as one would expect.  It fits in the Ipecac roster for this reason – polished weirdness – but is also recognizable as Thirlwell in that there’s that creeping leer behind the whole thing (…which, I feel like, could be said to have influenced Mike Patton and Ipecac’s artists in general…).  More rewarding once you’re not expecting any thrills, but an initial listen is a fairly monotone experience once you get the vibe.