FIRST UTTERANCE

Comus - First Utterance

This is quite the polarizing album. For a folk rock disc, it features quite the heavy (at least in an emotional and atmosphere standpoint). Not to mention it all has a loose, yet raw jam blues feel to it. This, paired with the somewhat nonstandard musical ideas, such as the fierce and impassioned wild vocals, the loosely atmospheric darkness, and the tribal world music influences, makes for quite the intriguing listen.

Diana begins as a microcosm of how the album will flow, but it doesn't show half the melodic and passionately dark music that one could discover herein. The violin soloing, the tribal bongo drum fills, and the dark pastoral imagery laid out in the lyrics, it all adds up to one of the most vilely vibrant moods that I've come across, making this particular album very emotionally catching.

The Herald and Drip Drip are more free form and progressive in their evil folk approach. With the former being more melodic and structure based, while still stripping most rational form away, while the latter is sinister and flows like a blues jam. The solos are interesting and never overstayed, and there is a breadth of fine melodies.

The vocals go between a deft English melodic falsetto high, and the staggering barbaric tribal guttural growl singing. The musicians are skilled, and the so called psychedelic touches are furiously endearing. The lyrics stay in a pagan, mystical, and violently dark zone, with themes of death, insanity, rape, pagan gods, loneliness, etc. This fits the music very well. I feel the album dips slightly near the end of The Bite, but picks up instantly as soon as The Prisoner begins. Where Bitten has atonal whitewash crashing against you.

The Prisoner caps well. It doesn't reach the rather lofty heights set by the first four songs, but it is still fantastic. In all, this is a dark and naturally mystical journey. The music is constantly intriguing and forcefully embracing, the themes are violent in a tasteful manner, and the melodies are top notch. Hardly any time is wasted in the 45 minutes, save for a few moments I found to be of lesser quality near the end of the album. This album was quite influential to the few who heard it, and hosts a large array of progressions and musical depth. Where it lacks in overall qualitative cohesion, it deftly makes up for in sheer captivating prowess. Highly Recommended.

Best Moment - Diana

Worst Moment - Parts of The Bite/Bitten

**** Powerful stars.

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