GLADIUM CAELI

DeM's debut album is a wonderful mish-mash of influences and ideas. And although not all of the influences (mostly ELP and Yes, a hint of Zep, and even a couple of "lifts" from Blue Oyster Cult's debut album) are "well-channeled" - i.e., they are often worn "on the sleeve" - and not all of the ideas are as well-presented as they might be, this is nevertheless an excellent effort for a first album. What is most interesting about Gladium Caeli - especially as compared with later DeM albums - is how much of a "jam" band DeM was: there are a few seriously deep jams here - some in non-standard time signatures - and the guitarist tends to use a fuzzbox or other distortion on the guitar (something which disappeared on later albums). And although most of the songs and song sections use fairly standard chord progressions, the band was already beginning to experiment with some odder stuff. / Overall, this is a good beginning for the band, a very listenable album, and a good introduction to DeM for those who may not know them.