Comus
First Utterance


Released 1970 on Dawn / Breathless
Reviewed by zmnathanson, 01/08/2008ce


This is the Clockwork Orange meets the Wicker Man of Folk Music. A british folk band that wanted to take the mysterious tales of rape, lunacy, gorefests, and killing all rolled up into one. So if you're into the world of horror films and HP Lovecraft's bizarre stories and playing folk music for Halloween, guess what? This is the one.

Comus's debut album released on the prog label Dawn in 1970, is a masterpiece and an essential classic. This is the treasure right here of obscure prog-folk music that isn't your Fairport Convention or Weaver's album for grandma to listen on her 80th birthday. Well, almost.

The opening track Diana sounds if the band were dressed up as droogs playing in the darken forest while one of the members attacks an innocent little girl into obscurity with a dark and fast tempo into hell while The Herald in an emotional ballad from female vocalist Bobbie Watson. Her vocals are almost feel that you can hear her behind your back as a ghostly figure. And it is so beautiful, you wanted to be with her on your side.

Drip Drip and Song to Comus are the killing tracks right here. Drip Drip has this uptempo beat which comes out of an Indian tradition of murder and the prequel to Diana's incident on the rape subject gives you a prequel to the character who is almost the Pied Piper of Droogies by hypnotizing two innocent female victims by going into his territory and raping them. The tension on the guitar part is so scary that you could feel the victims are being tortured into hell. The Bite is almost a fast-sped folk punk rock version of the Sex Pistols teaming up with Steeleye Span in a haunting way of gothic literature of music.

Bitten is almost similar to Curved Air's bombastic cannonball classical rock version of Vivaldi. The closing track The Prisoner, takes on a story with haunting guitars and a rock version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest of pure insanity. First Utterance is one helluva album that will make you piss your pants into eternity if you love the halloween side of acid folk music. This album didn't leave my CD player forever! And hopefully, Diana will keep her feet up.


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