A Social Grace

Don’t we all love those bands and albums that give such a full shape, a sense of accomplishment to the metal genre in all its entirety… cause all the metal genres (heavy, power, speed, thrash, death, doom) were pretty well rounded even before the 90’s began save for progressive, or course, hence the name. I would stretch just a bit further, to the end of 1991 to be precise, before announcing metal’s arrival at the final destination which was pretty much a journey completed, this short stretch made due to several albums that gave the technical death metal sector a sense of fulfilment including the beginning of the dazzling brutality movement thanks to Suffocation’s “Effigy of the Forgotten”.

Yes, true story, our favourite metal had come full circle by 1991 with all its various branches finalized. If you ask the elder side of the metal fanbase (those born before 1980, that is) to make a top twenty list of their all-time favourite metal albums, 14 to 15 of the entries featured on them would be releases from and before 1991… and I’m sure that would largely be the case with the younger crowd, too. So under the circumstances the new vogues (grunge, groove, alternative, industrial, post-thrash, gothic) that arrived at the dawn of the new decade shouldn’t be considered such a shock as the good old metal needed new blood in order to keep kicking, and give the old genres a time to regroup and start churning masterpieces again… like it happened.

A major step into finalizing the most unfinalizing (add another word to your vocabulary now) metal genre of all, progressive metal that is, was made in 1990 by a bunch of youngsters who were earlier parading as Aslan (one demo released in 1986). In fact, it was such a huge step in this direction that it instantly shushed the whispers that were spreading about the first instalment of another team of budding musicians, Dream Theater, released a year earlier; and for a while it rendered the whole influx of Symphonies X, Evergreys, Circus Maximuses, Thresholds and Pagan’s Minds that appeared later a most redundant aftermath. Said step was the album reviewed here the Aslan guys having adopted a much more relevant moniker to fit their “psychotic”, twisted, irregular visions. It took a team of novices to summarize the grand efforts of Toxik, Fates Warning, Queensryche, Watchtower, Blind Illusion, etc. made previously, and present the conclusion of the first stage of the most expansive and unfathomable of all metal styles.

“…And the Devil Cried” will make not only the devil, but everyone else in both Heaven and Hell cry with the steel rushing riffs at the start which fill up the whole space, and when the brilliant, high-strung emotional vocals of Buddy Lackey vocals hit on top of some fast-paced thrashy cavalcades, with the gorgeous Deathrow-like intricate knots thrown in mid-way, the situation nearly reaches a culmination. Well, one of the greatest albums has to have one of the greatest openers, and here it is, the song that made everyone cry for 5.5-min. The crying will continue on “Halo of Thorns”, or at least on the lyrical balladic beginning, not without the help of Lackey’s outstanding performance which goes on all the way to the striking speedy finale. “Another Prophet Song” has a most arresting melodic inauguration Lackey again making his enormous contribution to the poignancy of this colossal composition which later lets the lyricism slip through a couple of dazzling technical rifforamas before a lengthy quiet interlude settles in to occupy a substantial portion of the second half. “Successor” is a worthy successor to the last grand exhibition of genius, and its surreal epic build-ups are a wonder to listen to with Lackey’s umpteenth exemplary involvement including on the several very high-pitched screamy pirouettes. “In This Place” is a dark jumpy shredder with a wide array of time and tempo changes, and some of the greatest “technicality vs. Oriental melodicism” combinations ever put on vinyl.

“I Remember” will be remembered as the only full-fledged ballad here, a cool blend of serene romantics and marginally heavier leaps and bounds, a kind of a calm before the storm which “I of the Storm” is supposed to be, and this one is an awesome steam-rolling technicaller although there’s nothing happening above the mid-paced parametres. “A Psychotic Waltz” relies on the ballad again to set the scene for more elaborate configurations although the latter remain on a more academic balladic territory the quiet start used again, but to a more optimistic effect on the short sprightly “Only in a Dream”. “Spiral Tower” gracefully interrupts the pensive musings experienced for a while, and lashes a pile of pounding guitars and stupendous twisted leads; and although another balladic appetizer is provided by “Strange”, the fabulous riff salad that ensues afterwards compensates for all such escapades encountered earlier, with some of the greatest lead sections this side of Yngwie Malmsteen and Valeriy Gaina served, and Lackey’s operatic tirades adding more drama to this multifarious progressive masterpiece. And, there’s nothing like a closer named “Nothing” which delivers way more than its name implies, laying out an attractive creepy tapestry the guys even thrashing more forcefully, reaching the semi-galloping sector although there’s more meandering later through the progressive metal jungle with more surreal leads and an imposing doomy epitaph added to the impressive resume of this mazey epitaph.

Although the first half, including the “Successor” bonus track, is superior to the second one with the more aggressive, and the more exuberant material placed up front to captivate the listener, there’s no musical audacity lost anywhere, and the introspective mood witnessed later is also another attractive side from the band’s repertoire, one that may appeal more to some fans out there revealing a quieter, more pensive aspect of the progressive metal fodder which became way more prominent in the 90’s with some acts (Shadow Gallery, to give one notable example) building entire careers on it. For an encompassing work like this all various nuances of the genre had to be featured, and in this vein the band had done the job with something to spare: there’s aggression, there’s labyrinthine complexity, there are enchanting melodies (some of those leads will haunt you, I promise), there are lyrical balladisms, there’s emotional pathos-like vocal performance (in abundance)… a fairly wide ground has been covered leaving no stone unturned within the chosen style.

We were sitting with these fellow metalheads a few years back, trying to define which the best metal debut of all times was. The conditions were the bands had to have at least three full-lengths in their discography, and that the debut had to be their best release ever, based on the dominant critics’ and fans’ feedback. This automatically left strong contenders like Metallica, Slayer, Helloween, Iced Earth, Gorguts, Atheist, Coroner, etc. out, but I think that even in their presence the album reviewed here would have come on top. It wasn’t my very first choice (that went for Metal Church), and I was quite surprised to find out that the others were so fond of it, too. So it won this particular poll as the band never managed to top this first showing regardless of how high the quality of their next three instalments was. There have been quite a few projects (Teabag, Darkstar, Broken Foundation, End Amen, Deadsoul Tribe, etc.) with the band members’ involvement through the years, but neither has come close to matching the greatness of this “graceful” opus. There was something in the water during the late-80’s/early-90’s for sure; something that turned quite a few normal guys into twisted, “psychotic”, spinning in irregular circles dancers…

I highly enjoy seeking out albums that prioritize originality and uniqueness over all else, while still being enjoyable listens. There have been many in different fields. "Awaken The Guardian" by Fates Warning takes you on a journey of wonder through quirky, yet beautiful melodies and intricate vocals. "Obscura" by Gorguts is a disturbing clusterfuck of mechanical, yet punishing guitars, pounding bass and tortured vocals. "Focus" by Cynic brings you under a beautiful hypnosis and uses it to display an interesting philosophical perspective. But what exactly do we have here?

"A Social Grace" is a truly haunting record. It goes through every negative emotion that you can think of. Anger, sadness, fear, confusion, you name it. It's hard to find an accurate comparison here, as the music speaks for itself so well. But why is it that it gets so little attention. More likely than not because it is one of the most inaccessible metal albums detectable within twenty internet clicks. It turns 90% of listeners off on the very first riff of the first track, "...and the Devil Cried". The riff is somewhat thrashy, but with an emphasis on tapping and unconventional melody, along with an odd time signature. Then it turns into a more conventional mid-tempo thrash metal song with soulful vocals, then into the chorus. The chorus is one of the oddest and most haunting speed metal sections that I have ever heard. It seems as though the band started the album with one of its oddest points. But then it shifts into the darkest song on the album, "Halo of Thorns". It has a clean guitar melody made of pure sorrow, with incredibly beautiful vocals singing extremely unorthodox dark poetry, which seems to describe multiple fictional tragedies, one after another. Then it turns into a heavy gothic metal track, with still mournful, yet more powerful vocals. It goes back and fourth between these two sections.

Not to say that this album doesn't have its more accessible moments. The very next track, "Another Prophet Song" is reasonably easy to enjoy, as it has more conventional melodies and a very catchy main riff. The best part of this song is the psychedelic mid-section, with beautiful clean electric guitar work, along with vocals that are almost reminiscent of David Bowie. It is so hypnotic that the listener almost feels as though he/she is floating through the night sky with no care in the world at all. That is until it throws you back into the metal world with a high-pitched shriek from Buddy Lackey and an impressive solo. The lyrics also seem more sensible, dealing with someone who feels restricted by the world around him, who feels as though reality itself is nothing more than a prison and he only longs to be all powerful and to do as he wishes with no care in the world. "I Remember" is the most accessible song here, a Jethro Tull worshiping ballad with a beautiful flute solo, along with a few bluesy acoustic guitar licks here and there. The lyrics deal with hope in a drastic situation, going through times throughout the world where those who's situations have seemed hopeless have triumphed.

"I remember a sight at the dreams that we had
and the injustice they've suffered had driven them mad
I remember when we had the right to be sad all the time "

It questions the view of good and bad, wondering if we are all the same, but affected by this cruel world in different ways. Regardless of weather or not you agree with the message, you have to give them credit for their intelligent and humanistic way of delivering their message. "A Psychotic Waltz" is the other ballad, also slightly more accessible than the rest of the album. Very melancholic melodies performed on the grand piano, along with an absolutely stunning and diverse vocal performance over it. The lyrics are a cry of mercy against the obstacles in life which are too strong for the protagonist. I say protagonist because this album for the most part seems like one big saddening main plot, depicting someone with such a pessimistic view of the world that it is unbearable for him.

Music like this with such diversity and rich lyricism often causes the listener to long for something that is able to be compared to another work of art. Or in the case of metal, something that they can bang their head to while still being in awe of the high levels of creativity. "I of the Storm" gives the listener the chance to do exactly that. It is the heaviest song on the album and the vocals are incredibly powerful, yet surprisingly clean for a beast of their size. This is the soundtrack to a shipwreck in the middle of a MASSIVE tsunami. The lyrics seem to depict an entity which has seen all from the beginning of time and still longs for more. Perhaps a spirit of some sort still trapped on this earth and looking for eternal rest. But the highlight of the album is still yet to come. In fact, the greatest moment of the album does not come until the very end.

"Nothing" is one of the greatest songs that I have ever heard. This is the representative of all that ends in fire. The main guitar riff is an epic-doom floater that fills the mind with shock, dread and most of all, finally accepting what has been denied for so long out of longing for a sense of self worth or even some sort of hope at all. The lyrics follow along with it perfectly as well. They describe the illusion of importance to the world, when in reality, it is only OUR world that is taken into account. It reminds us that no matter how high we may ascend on the mountain that we are racing each other towards the top on, the passage of time will devour every trace of our existence and the eyes of the world will be as fixated on our former existence as they are a grain of sand. We are then reminded that as great as the size of the universe may be, what lies outside is completely unknown, if anything lies outside at all.

"Realize your insignificance to the universe and to infinity.
You will have then cast away the pride of all these things you held so deer.
Agony and pleasure are a suffering to one another here.
The wisest is the fool who realizes he knows nothing".

This passage represents all that this album argues philosophically. Being without a sense of self-worth or even the worth of that which lies around you, being mindless to what is outside our tiny atom on the grain of sand of the beach that is the universe and rejection of the material world. The philosophy of this album is a bit of a black sheep in the lyricism of heavy metal, which tends to argue for a sense of importance and taking hold of what your heart desires, allowing others to do the same in the process, destroying those that keep you down. Whatever my philosophical views may be, when I find music to be powerful in its lyrics, I feel what the protagonists or even what the musicians themselves feel. This is an album that can do that to even the most joyous of people. But the experience is still highly enjoyed because of the technical proficiency and hypnotically catchy dark melody that lies within.

Note: I'll be reviewing the 13-track version of the album here, with "Successor," "Only in a Dream," and "Spiral Tower" added to the track listing; I consider this to be the "complete" version of the album and would highly recommend this version over the original, 10-track version.


"Progressive metal" might be my favorite overall genre, yet only in a strange, rather niche way. I dislike - in fact, I intensely dislike - the vast majority of progressive metal bands. The entire trend inspired by what I consider to be one of the worst ever influences on metal, Dream Theater, which some refer to as "modern prog," is something I almost exhaustively detest. If I were to mention progressive metal as my favorite genre to most casual metal listeners, they'd probably immediately bring up Dream Theater, or perhaps Opeth, but not at all the sort of progressive metal I'm referring to. That style has almost never been terribly popular, with Fates Warning's The Spectre Within and Awaken the Guardian being the only exceptions I can think of. I suppose I could include Crimson Glory as well, as they were a progressive power metal band and I like them, but the sort of progressive metal I'm referring to here is the dense, complex, obtuse stuff like the aforementioned Fates Warning album - I don't think Crimson Glory would qualify here to label exclusively as "progressive metal," as they were easily just as much heavy/power metal. I'm talking about stuff which is rooted in a sound that predates Dream Theater entirely; Fates Warning being the largest influence, with a few other bands popping up in the mid-to-late 80s as well, like Slauter Xstroyes, Voivod, and Adramelch. Not to suggest that all these bands sound very similar to one another; in fact, it's almost the opposite that causes me to group them together. They all sounded completely different from everyone else, while still all falling under the umbrella descriptor "progressive metal." They also all tended to have a high level of complexity, more so than Queensryche and their ilk. The beginning of the 90s saw a rise in the scope and maturity of this scene, with bands like Holocaust (their stark change in sound began than, at least), Brothers Grimm, and Psychotic Waltz beginning to build on the sound bands like Voivod and Fates Warning had created.

However, while Psychotic Waltz's debut full-length album, A Social Grace, was probably influenced somewhat by Fates Warning, it's immediately clear upon hearing it that we're dealing with another beast entirely. The sound here is rather thrashy, completely devoid of power metal, and much, much darker in tone. While Awaken the Guardian is certainly a dense, complex masterpiece, the journey there is to a fantasy world of benign wonder and awe, perhaps akin to the likes of Tolkien. There is nothing benign at all about the atmosphere A Social Grace creates. If Awaken the Guardian is akin to Tolkien, then A Social Grace is more akin to the psychological horror of Stephen King. While, on a fundamental level, the two albums share a very similar musical philosophy, the similarities end there. A Social Grace is, quite frankly, the soundtrack to someone's descent into insanity.

For a more well-known comparison to the general sound present here, try Crimson Glory's "Lost Reflection." The softer acoustic sections here tend to sound a lot like that song, with the concept spread out over an entire album. "...And the Devil Cried" pulls the listener immediately into this distorted cacophony of thoughts without pulling any punches, choosing to start the album with an incredibly bizarre, inaccessible thrash riff that probably turned all but the most serious listeners away. While very little about the album is accessible in any context, the album opener is one of the least accessible songs of all, an odd but interesting choice for the band; clearly they weren't overly interested in commercial success. The song continues in a darkly tangled morass of more bizarre riffs, creating a sensation of utter confusion, frustration, and hopelessness. Don't get me wrong; when I say confusion I don't mean that it sounds as though the songwriter was confused about the direction; it sounds very meticulously planned, deliberately creating that atmosphere. Vocalist Buddy Lackey does an incredible job of bolstering this feeling of insanity while still maintaining a strong technical prowess, screaming and shrieking along to the dissonance of the guitars in full force.

"Halo of Thorns" immediately shifts moods, drifting into a pitiable mire of depression and utter terror without any transition, as might happen in someone with severe mental illness. Lackey proves himself perfectly capable of adjusting his vocals to the somewhat more restrained moans and wails of despair heard here, and the guitars construct a frighteningly mysterious and murky web of wretched introspection. There is a clear blurring between reality and dream here, although it seems that neither is particularly pleasant. The lyrics are also very disconnected and stream-of-consciousness, as though the person is jumping from nightmare to nightmare seemingly without any reason. "Another Prophet Song" continues in a very anxious and apprehensive tone, as does "Successor." "I Remember" takes a much different tone, more apathetically reflective, musing over the relative unimportance of everything, the sort of nihilism that comes from prolonged mental torment, perhaps a rationalization to make everything seem just a little less agonizing. For those who have experienced this sort of unending mental agony, it's most likely something all too familiar.

"I of the Storm" is more anxious thrashy screaming, then we come to the title track, which I'd say is probably the crux of the album, and probably the most accessible track along with "I Remember." Or perhaps I should say "least inaccessible." The angry cries against those judgmental of the protagonist, terrified but almost resigned complaints about hearing voices, and occasional periods of blissful relief make the song perhaps most representative of the theme of insanity and the album as a whole, as the ideas and moods presented are very clear yet no less unsettling. The next couple of songs continue the shift of tortured and confused moods, closing the album with the chilling finality of "Nothing," a spiritual continuation of "I Remember" in which the protagonist ultimately is forced to resign himself to the reality of his insanity and the perpetual torture that is his existence. The nihilism here is decidedly more pronounced, vehemently asserting that nothing at all, without exception, has any meaning, and existence is essentially nothing more than a prolonged nightmare.

The consistent accuracy with which this mental journey of horror is presented is the most stunning thing about the album. At almost no point does anything break the facade and suggest that this is mere music rather than reality. The insight with which the songwriters gazed deeply into the maw of utter insanity is unparalleled; this is one of the most inaccessible albums I have heard in my life, perhaps the most inaccessible, but if you can get to the point where it becomes one continuous journey, you'll find it incredible and utterly terrifying. Not for the casual listener by any stretch, but for those devoted to bizarre and esoteric albums like this, it will be well worth it.

Psychotic Waltz are something of a cross between the more USPM-tinged progressive metal of Arch-era Fates Warning and the technical thrash movement, and incorporate the atmospheric aims of both of these into this album. While technical thrash represents bureaucracy and the reduction of men to machines, through its oppositional stance to the listener, Fates Warning tended increasingly towards a mystical or personal aspect and a focus on opposition to the world, these are placed together in a way unique to this band and hence one which is without comparison. At the least, it could be described as objective in its evident request that the listener give up earthly pleasures and sacrifice their mediocre goals, which is purveyed without the need for internal or external ornamentation and hence represents a phase in the development of the Idea.

The album, as one may guess from the above comparison to Fates Warning, is put together with an overall atmosphere in mind, and hence functions as an album rather than simply a collection of songs. In addition, its aims are not simply to sound good, but to do the opposite and creative an overall experience, rather than being ugly. Of course, there's nothing wrong with sounding good, but then this is progressive metal deserving of its title, so there’s a little bit more to it; however, nonetheless it does sound good, something which many progressive bands seem to have progressed past, somewhat like Wile E. Coyote and a canyon’s edge.

The songs on this album are highly varied, but the one which seems to encapsulate the overall drift of the album best is the early 'Another Prophet Song,' which is as a result a fairly summative experience, somewhat like placing 'Something From Nothing' on 'A Pleasant Shade of Grey,' except with the advantage of being obscured by the obscurity of the record and so allowed to shine without making a whole additional record for it. This song therefore serves as a decent framework to examine the album as a whole, serving as it were as a substitute for it in an analytical context which this might be.

The song begins with a fairly wide atmosphere, which Lovecraft would call 'cosmic,' although a person in Bury might disagree, with the guitars seeming to express, carefully and methodically but without elaboration, a sense of something larger than us or the enormity and bigness of the universe as opposed to people, who are merely dust. It is hence a categorical matter, call it what you will. When one notices the music which Psychotic Waltz plays, they aren't necessarily attached unfailingly to their complex sections and riffs, which they are associated with as a general characterisation, but are quite comfortable playing simply, or within various shades between. However, there is a sharp attention to detail within each form, employed as suits the atmosphere, so that everything taking place seems to contribute something to the album and the album would have lost something without even the most subtle of touches, because it is of course written and read as a universal principle, rather than taken.

The first verse begins with a touch of longing and melancholy, combined with tinges of beauty somewhat resembling the earth as seen from afar. The feeling of melancholy is something present through most of the album, so it might be worth looking at. Once you're done, it would turn out that it isn't simply sadness or helplessness, but rather a form of emptiness, or is not due to circumstances but due to one being, at essence, an empty husk floating in an indifferent universe. This is quite Stoic or meditative, at its best. Here, this feeling is merged with that of the cosmic scale of the album, with keepers of stellar things and robotic lords, and places the self within a sort of void, within which it helplessly flails about in an implicitly defiant manner. Evidently, this is dealing with the universal person, rather than for the person thinking in universals, for whom it is productively a matter of everything personal being necessary and centering around love. The result of this is that Psychotic Waltz are still a highly accessible band for most people.

This could be expressed in their being the more human side of the coin of Voivod's 'Nothingface'-era atmosphere, with a similar helplessness or universality of the machine secretly within the person themselves, as in the background, subliminal lines of 'Successor,' but expressed through Buddy Lackey's subtle, emotional vocals, which are effective, rather than the more robotic riffs of 'Nothingface,' which is about a person whom is not a machine. As humans are merely 'reading the script / of the play that we lead,' when not listening to Psychotic Waltz and such, and so the Christ-figuration of Halo of Thorns prefiguring the even more explicit Christ-figuration of everything that Buddy Lackey would do in the future, which is cool. Evidently, this is just a segue. The guitar in this album, as on this softer song, are never content to simply sit back and stagnate, but rather form something akin to a shifting texture, in the technical sections as much as the others, and especially in this song. 'Halo of Thorns' functions as a plea to escape from this play, and from this heartless world generally, and hence of being weighed down by scientific neutrality but being implicitly above it and hence reducing it to an image of submission. The result of this is that one does not end with something dramatic.

In ‘Another Prophet Song’, where Lackey asks, “Why can't we just spread our wings, and fly?” This sums up the general feeling of restriction, of forces outside of us impinging themselves upon us, and leaving us helpless; a feeling of being merely a physical thing, subject to the whim of all others, despite feeling fettered by it. The realization that, “the world is independent of my will,” as Wittgenstein put it.

The song then moves onto darker terrain, as with the menacing social grace, "Say goodbye.” Soft laughter and whispers in the background. The universe is laughing at you. There is no antagonism, there are simply cold people. We then have Lackey letting out a powerful wail, as if confirming this meaninglessness, before the guitars complete the effect, continuing with a sort of understated brutality. The darkness is that of a force outside of mankind, to which it is subject; in fact, the same subject as the melancholy. This is often accentuated through the more complex riffing, often reminiscent of technical thrash. Beat their heads against a wall, but that doesn't solve my problems at all.

The subjects of the darker atmospheres in this album are almost always forces independent of and standing above man, from the vague and undefined place of ‘In This Place’, where Lackey almost seems to continually and frantically try to reformulate his message, or figure out how to deliver it, although never really expressing clearly what is wrong, to the robotic narrator of ‘Successor’, slowly growing in power to annihilate his maker. It's all very claustrophic. Notwithstanding this claustrophobia, which is formed of an intentional contrast which serves to direct the reader towards freedom and above the everflow, both being equivalent, the album constitutes a call to go beyond this trap formed of a world of ephemeral things, and go beyond a spiritual aikido to complete removal, which was previously "the sunshine upon the black side of the moon," or the universal deception of everything that you know and love. Avoidance, or escapism, which this album lacks but which evidently formed the precursor to other forms of progressive metal as bands began to experiment with forms which were not already given, is not particularly posited as an option here, nor is it desirable, because it is not malicious enough to sustain the heaviness of this song. Of course, it is also a world departed from a God, and which is very lonely for a person who is not integrated into it. But categorically, not occasionally.

The song expresses a rather bleak vision, yet what is significant is the tone and atmosphere; it is as if looking down on humanity from above. And, as it happens, you are weak and ephemeral. I don't even know what you're doing. I'm innocent.

However, there is also awe, beauty, and so on. There are “spinning webs of images from the sun,” as we sail the ghost ships of a poet’s mind. Despite the darkness which haunts the verses, nonetheless they seem to express a more elegant side to the vastness. Jupiter dances in masquerade with Mars, a sort of cosmic art. Of course, this is a double-edged message, in that while this is done through 'betraying the stars,' or subversion, it ultimately ends up with Jove dancing with the God of War, albeit in a masquerade, such that Romeo and Juliet here come to stand for members of the Trinity, and likewise the child of tomorrow dying need not be a bad thing, because it is after all a dying child and these are popular in heavy metal, like the Revelation of St. John. This is because it is masculine, but also in a sense feminine. Evidently, there is also a reference to Krishna dancing on bodies, because what else would one do with them in heavy metal? Exactly.

The sense of beauty is something which permeates the album, for example in the delicate flute solo of ‘I Remember’. Indeed, that song, while still full of melancholy, is full of a different type; rather than helplessness, there are tinges of hope and, I suppose, humanity, which infuse the song with passion. The song ‘A Psychotic Waltz’ raises the question of “if life's worth its living at all,” and the next song, ‘Only in a Dream’, responds: “I'll cease to find the point in living / only if I cease to dream.” It is a song about a dying sparrow, who flies in his dreams; weak and pathetic in appearance, yet touching the sun inside, and eschatologically. And this seems the essential spirit of this album: humans must accept the fact that the world is independent of their wills, and yet nonetheless we have imagination and dreams, as it were our own worlds, and must embrace these. We must ‘reach for the stars’, as they put it in their previous work as Aslan, evidently one doesn't have a choice between the two views.

However, the corollary of this is that, if within the bare material world we are weak and helpless, a life spent focused on this is a life wasted. As Brian noted in an interview, asked about the song ‘Nothing’, “It's like a lot of people aren't concerned with their spirit, just their body. We're trying to get people to see the difference there,” and, “[W]hen you die, you wanna leave something behind for people to remember. You don't want them to remember you for being materialistic, or something people will look down on. You want to leave a positive message with people so they can remember you for that." Hence, the object of the cosmic meaninglessness, the darkness and helplessness, is liberating or akin to that of tortoise, to some extent.

In the opener, '...And The Devil Cried', it would seem that the search for material things is compared to gambling with the devil, with the fleeting victories of ‘I of the Storm’, and having to ultimately give back all that you have borrowed from the world, as per ‘Nothing’; everything returns to dust, including one's body, evidently not including one's soul and possibly one's mind. This is, of course, a negative association; however, if the image of literally gambling with the devil actually appeals to you, just imagine that I was referring to the Helloween album. As Holocaust put it, “Don’t you see how the days fly / Under the sun?” Deadsoul Tribe are essentially an entity created to merge this insight with housekeeping etiquette and Emily Dickinson references, so you can see that it makes up for its seeming constrictions with universality and a pressing relevance to daily life.

Another song in this vein is ‘Spiral Tower’, a song about how we have created an enormous edifice which stands apart from and above us, capable of our destruction. This song is an improvement of an earlier version on the Aslan demo, and Lackey’s vocals have become vicious, and probably the most aggressive on the album. This is dark in a similar way to '...And the Devil Cried', perhaps even more so, but while that was sinister, this is a warning; the architects do not learn what they have built until it is too late. Again, people do things, but do not know what they are doing, and are not themselves the end of this creation, which forms its own end.

However, the purpose of all of this darkness is to get a message across, the purpose of the helplessness and melancholy to present to us the harsh reality that we may accept it. ‘A Social Grace’ is, in a sense, an ethical record. The world is independent of your will, yet accept this and develop your soul until you do not have a will, not to be discreet. The beauty of ‘Only in a Dream’ gives us some light within the darkness, as ‘I Remember’ gives hope, but also a warning that without change, things shall follow the same path. Psychotic Waltz aim not to preach and tell the audience what to do, not that there's anything wrong with that, but rather simply try to show them as well as tell them, and are always somewhat reliant on the power of their music to show what they mean. To accept the power of ‘I’ll never cease to find a point in living, unless I cease to dream’, in the context of the song and the emotion behind it, is to accept the crux of Psychotic Waltz’s message. To accept the darkness is to accept the meaninglessness of the outlooks they condemn, notwithstanding which it need not mean that you are accepted, which is another album altogether and restricted to that.

The album functions as a sort of non-Aristotelian purging, of drawing you into the darkness only to show that it's there and must be escaped, which does not follow the rules of formal logic. There is no feeling within humanity, and a hope for something better, both of which combine to give the human side of the album its aesthetic power as against the emotional effect of the other. And in showing this, the audience is encouraged to latch on to it, the last sign of humanity amongst the broken rubble and technocratic riffs, because of course that was their point as well. And, of course, the music is good enough that one will probably listen to it enough times for any intended message to sink in on some level, this is a purely scientific statement, but of course it stands to reason that a lack of feeling would be the only thing which could liberate humanity to think about things involvedly. It doesn't really grow on you, but one may notice things which makes it akin to a tree of life or into something good, which is an achievement to some extent, if less symbolic.

To sum up, then, it is a good album and you should listen to it.

If you could imagine a more technical but less triumphant Awaken the Guardian with a sprinkling of Aqualung tossed in, you'd have a good reference point for how this sounds. Psychotic Waltz are completely original though, being both heavier than Fates Warning (by way of playing in lower tunings) and less metal than them at the same time. This is because there are small elements of rock in the Waltz sound which further distinguishes them from the pure metal of early Fates.

These rock elements come from Buddy Lackey's vocals mainly but also from the last name of one of the guitarists. I Remember, for example, is a total throwback to the '70s rock ballad, flute solo and all. A Psychotic Waltz, meanwhile, is almost pure prog rock. None of these are bad things as there's not a second of this album that I don't like, but it is a little disjointed. This, combined with it being an hour long, makes it imperfectly listenable.

Playing progressive hippie metal (as they termed their music) they cover a lot of ground between the technical, jerking violence of . . .And the Devil Cried and the jazzy, heavy doom of Nothing. The foreboding Spiral Tower stands out as it's even more meaningful now, in the current state of the world, than it was back in 1990. Psychotic Waltz tend to drift towards the darker side of things when it comes to the observations they make. A Social Grace is drug-crazy in its foreshadowing. It is grudgingly polite to those material folks ignorant of what lies within and beyond. The subtle poetry of Buddy's lyrics tie in to the sinister play on the album cover. You can pray all you want and run as fast and as far as you can, but no one escapes judgement.

Axemen Dan Rock and Brian McAlpin play off of each other, harmonizing everything, advancing on what had already been advanced upon. The always twinned leads they play are manic, abstract and all over the place, even in the verses. Riffs and acoustics are equally crazy. The riffs crush in changing time signatures and are thrashy in places. Then there's the clean guitar intros, like the ones that start Strange and Nothing for example, which build upon feelings of unease through intricacy.

The rhythm section keeps pace as best it can with the short attention spans of Brian and Dan. Ward Evans provides sinuous bass and Norm Leggio's drums find the right balance between complexity and raw power as befits this music. This band gets almost to Watchtower's level of spastic skill. When the whole thing is topped off by the histrionic vocals of Buddy Lackey who sounds like a toned-down John Arch, the end result is boner-inducing for the jazz metal aficionado.

Some fans say the sound on here is perfect for the style, and these leads are fucking fantastic, but the production could use more mid-range to cut through better. It's a little on the trebly side with the bass and mids drowned out in places. An example of where this hurts is Only in a Dream. On most stereo systems all you'll pick up from this song are Buddy's vox and those uplifting guitar harmonies. If you listen to this song with headphones you'll pick up some killer heavy riffs under those harmonies.

My favorite song from this band is I of the Storm, a song worthy of Awaken the Guardian with its mixture of searing, nasal vocals delivered in stratospheric octaves over top of head-caving-in, building-leveling guitar riffage. This song just walks into the room and destroys everything in its path. Do not consider yourself a metal fan, progressive or otherwise, if you don't instantly enjoy this song.

Almost anybody gave the highest possible rating to the debut record of "Psychotic Waltz" and that's why I got intrigued by the band. As a fan of progressive rock and metal music I expected something outstanding here. In fact, the band really varies from one style to the other and proves their excellent skills, their multiple influences and their creativity several times on this entertaining record. The problem I have with the record is that the whole thing sounds like a compilation record rather than a coherent and well structured album. Their is so much brain inside this record that there is no place for a heart or a soul anymore. The album sounds rather faceless even though it is technically brilliant.

The band convinces most when they are calm and minimalist and focus on a coherent and convincing structure. The amazing "I remember" that starts as a smooth ballad with some great folk influences and a dreamy flute solo is an example for a truly well done gem on this record. The bonus track "Only in a dreamy" gives us also a break from the harder metal stuff and has some jazz and lounge influences that create a truly magic atmosphere. On the other side, the band surprises us with weird experiments. The bonus track "Successor" is a great space metal track with a gripping and original atmosphere. The third and last bonus track "Spiral tower" is another big highlight with its noisy sound and progressive ideas. The album closer "Nothing" has a very dark doom atmosphere with nice atmospheric sound effects and truly goes nowehere in the end as it leaves us on a weird note. The calm and smooth as well as teh truly experimental tracks entirely convince and work very well together. They are all different but have an original atmosphere that connects them all.

Sadly, the band decided to put some unnecessary technical thrash metal tracks on the record. The opener "...and the devil cried" is boring shred music without soul and makes not only the devil cry. "Another prophet song" has a horrible vocal work and no focus at all but at least teh drumming is outstanding on this weaker track. Songs like "In this place" and "Strange" are often too technical, too complicated, too ambitious to convince and may only slowly open to the listeners after several hard tries.

In the end, this album convinces me when the band put some emotions in their songs and when they try weird but not too strange experiments that lighten this album up and make it easier too appreciate. Too many technical and heavy tracks disturb the atmosphere of the other songs and prove the band's open minded influences and skills but bury the coherent flow, soul and smooth progression of the other songs. This melting pot, this potpourri, this patchwork record simply doesn't work for me even if more than two third of the songs are truly amazing. That's where I must conclude that this album is indeed very good and worth to be listened to but not as perfect as many people claim. Fans of "Symphony X" and other bands of the same vein should though check this very popular and inspiring album out as a very particular kind of progressive sound has been for the first time fused and created on this record.

A Social Grace is Psychotic Waltz’s first and most popular album. Released independently and with hardly any promotion it predictably sank like a stone upon release, despite some very good reviews. However, it has since got a lot of underground attention and gained a lot of popularity (I’m always happy to see it rated as 12th best album of 1990 on rateyourmusic.com… an amazing achievement for such an underrated band).

Psychotic Waltz’s style is unique to say the least, and has been called ‘hippie metal’ by some fans because of the psychedelic influences that they would build on in later albums. Fates Warning’s ‘Awaken the Guardian’ is the best comparison that could be made, but even then it is not that similar. Apart from that, there is little they can be compared with except perhaps Black Sabbath and occasional Jethro Tull influences.

While their later albums would be more mellow and ‘spacey’, focusing more on atmosphere, ‘A Social Grace’ has a rougher, more thrashy sound to it. Guitarists Brian McAlpin and Dan Rock managed to create some incredible riffs that while very complex and unorthodox remain catchy. While technical music is usually seen as ‘emotionless’, Psychotic Waltz combine their technical skills with amazing songwriting, creating some fantastic melodies that interweave between the metal sections. Sometimes the song will switch between a vicious riff to a stunning acoustic melody completely suddenly, but due to the strong songwriting talent of the band it never sounds at all out of place or disjointed.

This is the biggest strength of early Psychotic Waltz, the mix of amazing technicality and genuinely beautiful mellower sections. The sudden changes and intricate song structures keep the album interesting and unpredictable throughout. As well as the metal sections, there’s a great Jethro Tull-inspired ballad, ‘I Remember’, complete with an incredible flute solo, a synth-led atmospheric track, ‘Sleeping Dogs’ which shows the beginnings of the atmospheric style they would build on in later albums and even a piano on the epic ‘A Psychotic Waltz’. Acoustic guitars also often make appearances throughout the album.

The musicianship of all the members shines on this album. The guitarists are easily able to play the complex arrangements completely accurately, Norm Leggio’s drumming is equally as unpredictable as the music; he is able to cope with the constantly changing styles. Even the bass is spectacular, especially on ‘Spiral Tower’, which is based on one monstrous bass-line.

The singing could put some people off, as Buddy Lackey has a very unique, often quite high-pitched voice. However, it is one of the most impressive things, if not the most impressive thing about this album. Lackey is easily one of metal’s best vocalists, and much of his very best singing is done on this album. His singing range is absolutely incredible, switching from ghostly ethereal wails during the mellow sections to much rougher almost manic shouting in the heavier parts, and everything in between. His lyrics are also much better than those of most metal bands, and are always cryptic and surreal, fitting the music perfectly.

This is truly one of the most flawless metal albums ever recorded and it’s a huge shame so few people will ever hear it.

Psychotic Waltz is one of those bands that genuinely should've been huge, but wasn't. They have all the hallmarks; flawlessly technical performances, a sound that is heavy yet smooth, aggressive yet emotional, intensely progressive and complex yet coherent and (dare I say?) even catchy. Buddy Lackey is easily the equal of greats such as Geoff Tate, John Arch, and Midnight (and that's not a comparison I make lightly); he's not only extremely talented as a singer, but also as genuinely emotive and charismatic as anyone you'd care to mention. He makes use of multi-tracking to great effect as well; though not nearly to the extent or effect of Arch, it's still very well done and accents certain passages without losing its power through overuse. Even the production on this, Psychotic Waltz's very first album, is perfect. I guess their name may seem a little silly, but it really describes what they sound like; anyway, it's no sillier than "Dream Theater". Still, despite all their obvious positive qualities, Psychotic Waltz were plagued by label trouble throughout their career, with almost legendary bad luck (if I remember right, they released their four albums across four different labels, and the first three all ripped them off).

But enough whining about the injustice of the world; what the hell does the band sound like, and why should you care? Well, unfortunately Psychotic Waltz is a band that's very hard to describe if you haven't heard them, like Manilla Road or Dark Quarterer (a trait not helped by the fact that they play a markedly different style on each of their four albums). Like those two bands, Psychotic Waltz didn't really belong to any firm scene, though they clearly drew inspiration from many. Still, I'll try to give you an idea. The band plays some very technical music, with odd rhythms, changes in time signature, and frequent flashy guitar runs. However, I want to stress very strongly that this is not a "progressive" wank-fest; unlike Dream Theater, the songs are much shorter, and not filled with solos or even what I'd call lead breaks. Rather, Psychotic Waltz flawlessly integrate these dual-guitar runs into their song structures, and even riff structures; this isn't at all a gimmick or an affectation, as the technique is applied both effectively and frequently (you can hear an example right away in the first song). As a final piece to the puzzle, Psychotic Waltz tend to favor very progressive song structures, with rarely a chorus in sight (though certain themes do recur within the songs). Again, in stark contrast to Dream Theater's style of long compositions with long phrases, Psychotic Waltz's are relatively short, with abrupt shifts between them and a hearty helping of riffs; and as with any good metal album, the riffs are the most important part of the music on A Social Grace. They have a definite thrash touch to them, which isn't at all surprising considering the band is from California and formed during the height of the thrash craze (this is something which would diminish over the course of the band's career). You can also hear a bit of early Fates Warning in their riffs, though imagine them filtered through a kaleidoscope while on potent hallucinogens, and you'll be partway there. Yes, they have a style all their own, and make use of a couple unusual techniques I'll do my best to describe. First, they sometimes like to throw in pinch harmonics and such and make them part of the riffs; they don't abuse them like Zakk Wylde does, but they do factor significantly into their sound. Also, they throw another unusual technique into the mix, which is often incorporated into their riff construction: the riffs tend to start out on a "home chord", which will be repeated a bit, then they will quickly run up the scale and back down again to the "home chord". It creates a feel that I liken to a churning ocean, with the runs being the waves; it's an important part of their sound, and though it frequently crops up it's not overused to the point of irritation. Again, you can hear an example right off the bat in the first song; it's that little flair at the end of the phrase. It is important to stress that, though technical, progressive, and written almost as if the band has ADD, the songs are universally catchy and coherent. Despite all of the complex riffs, rhythm changes, and technical bits, the fact remains that it's all in the service of the songs, and not to show how skilled they are or how progressive they can be (though they're very much both). And there's not a damn filler in sight! This is no mean feat considering the album is over an hour long, including the bonus tracks, which are as good as the regular tracks anyway (and judging by their placement throughout the tracklist, the band thinks so too).

Rather than giving you a rundown of each song, as I usually would at this point, I'll instead just pick out a few highlights (if you want to know what all 13 tracks are like, just buy the damn album). A Social Grace opens with "...And the Devil Cried", which is a quintessential Psychotic Waltz song: it's heavy as hell, highly technical, and shows off Buddy Lackey's versatility quite well. And it's about Faustian bargains! If this song doesn't grab you right by the balls from the get-go, you might as well quit listening to metal right now and invest in some Phil Collins albums, or whatever it is well-adjusted members of society usually listen to.

"Another Prophet Song" shows off a slightly different side to Psychotic Waltz; while still heavy, it's got a definite spacey, laid-back, almost psychedelic feel to it (fitting the subject matter to a T). There's even a tambourine, if you listen closely! This sound would later be expanded upon and form the basis of their second album, Into the Everflow...but that's a review for another time. Skipping ahead, we come to the acoustic ballad "I Remember", written as an homage to Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull fame. Despite not being heavy, it's still very metal, with a great mournful, epic atmosphere. Buddy Lackey even plays an excellent flute solo, which is obviously unusual for a metal song, but is totally appropriate to this one.

"A Psychotic Waltz" is a bit of a combination of the previous two; a spacey power ballad. It features some almost Arch-quality multi-tracking going on ("In circles, in circles they spin!"), though not quite as prevalent or skillful. Lyrically it's more or less an attack on religion and dogma in general; rather surprising considering it's coming from a band that used to be called Aslan (aka The Jesus Lion). Perhaps they had a crisis of faith? Though Psychotic Waltz frequently make use of religious imagery in their lyrics, they just as often condemn as appear to praise; they're like Manilla Road, Black Sabbath, or Solitude Aeturnus in that regard. A Social Grace closes just as strongly as it opened, with "Nothing". As you might guess, it's a rather nihilistic song lyrically, and feels that way too. However, despite professing the worthlessness of life and everything that one can do with it, they still write great riffs for the song as if their lives depended on it (and were worth something, after all). It's really a dark way to end the album, yet totally appropriate to the overall direction. Lightening the mood just a bit at the end is a sample from the immortal This Is Spinal Tap, about too much perspective (you know the one).

To characterize Psychotic Waltz is rather difficult to do without misleading or oversimplifying (again, especially because each album is fundamentally different). On this album, though, they bring to mind angry, depressed, disillusioned hippies in the midst of a bad LSD trip (all of which may actually be true). A Social Grace, on the whole, is not a happy album, and maybe that provides a clue as to why they never hit it big; most people like to distance themselves from that kind of genuine existential angst, habitually limiting themselves to a superficial, soap-opera style variety, or at best a vague metaphor (not to knock lyrical metaphors, but they go right over the heads of a lot of people). Dream Theater really pandered to the former type, though at least they were able to make it seem somewhat genuine on the first few albums. Still, I do not exaggerate when I claim that A Social Grace is a masterpiece and deserves recognition as such; this is not something I state lightly, nor hastily. I've had this album for almost four years now, and I can honestly say that, despite knowing so much more about metal than I did then, I still stand in awe of it. Rather than lessening my appreciation for this album, as greater knowledge has for so many other so-called "classics", I've only come to love it more. So get listening already! (If you can, try to get your hands on the two box sets, which contain all of the band's albums, demos, videos, and some live stuff too. All their albums are worth owning, and the art for this one in particular is just great.)

Because this was the bands starting point, there is really no better way to start my review. Psychotic Waltz was at the start of their career under the moniker Aslan which recorded its first demo in 1986. Upon finding another band of that name, they later they changed their name to Psychotic Waltz. A dear friend was asked to describe their music and he dubbed it a Psychotic Waltz, which is my mind there could not be a more suitable moniker. These guys had it all back then, bongos, trippy hippie elements, progressive song structures, amazing musicianship, heavier than fuck mix, may I go on? Buddy Lackey is easily one of the greatest vocalists ever, his range and diversity are beyond comprehension. A social grace is different than most albums out there, it's integrity has lasted even to this day, the production is crystal clear, the songs are all equally as satisfying, and the lyrics are poety in and of itself. The drumming by Norm Leggio who later moved on to Teabag for a short time is very competent. Dan Rock's, and Brian McAlpin's riffs definatly stand out as being very technical and outright fucked up. Its hard to pick Psychotic Waltz'z greatest album out there , but A Social Grace is definatly their speed-rush, heaviest and most aggressive album. This album is what other bands could only dream of making. The emotion that was put into every song will never be forgetten.

Concisely put there has never been another band with a sound even remotely close, this could never be imitated or reproduced. I strongly suggest this to any metalhead with an open mind. After first hearing this album a couple years back i didnt know what to think. After a couple listens half the songs were stuck in my head. I was hooked. This was named "Album of the Month" by Rock Hard and Metal Hammer, launching the band's career in grand style. The band thrived off their European exposure, and even today its easy to see why. It's astonishing to listen back and hear the breadth of the material on this disc...from the insistent pounding of "I of the storm" to the sinister but glorious "Spiral Tower", the band were able to capture listeners from the heavier side of the spectrum. Then effortlessly, they can transition into the technicality of the opener "And the devil cried" then soar on majestic melodies as within "Another Prophet song" and "Only in a dream"before stunning you with a beautiful peice like "I Remember", Lackey's spot-on tribute to Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson. Meanwhile, tracks such as "A Psychotic Waltz" are an architecture of genious , showing a deft touch for arrangements and orchestration that musicians of their age are simply not ment to possess. It was only their first step but what a distinguished on it was.
Cheers