BLEEDING

The last of the classic '90s Psychotic Waltz releases was neither a continuation of the band's first two albums, nor was it a direct followup to Mosquito. Bleeding is definitely more melodic than their previous output and the songs are much shorter, with all compositions being between 3-5 minutes in length. With all that in mind, I still think that Psychotic Waltz manages to hold their own by delivering another unique sounding record and an excellent one at that!

Straight from the get go Faded kicks us off with a funky bass riff that mesmerizes it's audience and the rest of the composition is indulged in a hypnotic state of mind with Devon Graves keeping up his theatrics for the sense of entertainment. There are quite a few excellent moments spread out all throughout this record with Morbid and Northern Lights being the most commercial sounding ones, while My Grave features what can only be described as a great tribute to one of our favorite progressive rock icons!

There is really not a single dull moment all throughout these 11 tracks, something that unfortunately could not have been said about Mosquito. There is also a clear sense of direction embedded into these compositions that don't try too hard in order to impress us and ultimately achieving just that.

Most fans considered Bleeding to be a great record that works on its own but ultimately fails in comparison to the band's first to masterpiece. When you break it down, this record comes close to another masterpiece and it's up to the listener to determine whether Bleeding is worth that extra push up the latter. I definitely think so since it's the last of the classic Psychotic Waltz releases that has only continued to grow in reputation over the years!

***** star songs: Faded (3:45) Morbid (3:39) Bleeding (3:55) Drift (3:34) Northern Lights (3:19) My Grave (3:27)

**** star songs: Locust (3:30) Need (4:48) Sleep (3:24) Skeleton (3:25) Freedom? (4:46)