DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM

The first and best album by this band! Nothing needs to be said about the history of this band as other reviewers have done so before, so the only question to answer is why is this album and band so good?

Overall, it is down to originality and excitement their fusion of hardcore, classic progressive elements, odd time signatures and recurring themes, psychedelia and some interesting latin american influenced guitar work bred an intoxicating album. For me intoxicating is the best descriptor of this band and when they are at their best the dark trippy atmosphere and imagery take over the senses like few bands seem to do nowadays.

This album to me also finds them at their loosest, after this Rodriguez-Lopez took more control over writing each part, but on this album each member is able to shine than on subsequent albums. This rings particularly true for the drummer who's explosive fills driving beats push the album forward and the keyboardist who's opening ascending keyboard theme sets the tone for the rest of the album.

An excellent record which really actually manages to take you to some of those dark places that the concept describes.