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Psychotic Waltz > Into the Everflow > Reviews
Psychotic Waltz - Into the Everflow

Society Accepts the Outcast… Just This Once - 92%

bayern, July 23rd, 2022

No, I didn’t go to the music shop to buy the album reviewed here, one cold December afternoon in 1992. I had no idea the guys had released a second outing. But I was a devoted and bustling fan of their first instalment, this extraordinary labyrinthine musical equation that I still listened to at the time with a mouth gaping wide. And here it was, “Into the Everflow”, the band’s sophomore, beckoning me from the shop window, proudly displaying the voluminous “album of the year” label stuck on the cassette cover. Made me laugh this label back then… I mean, the album had probably come out very recently, and a few weeks later it was already the album of the year… it’s true that from a pure metallistic point-of-view the scene had received a heavy blow from the invading aggro/groovy hordes in the early-90’s, but the 1992 output was very far from a throw-away… the old school was still standing loud’n proud.

This label was also an illustration of the desperate demeanour of the retro metal advocates; anything that didn’t sound groovy or grunge at the time was proclaimed the savior of the classic sounds. And you couldn’t blame these chaps; they were grabbing onto anything which differed from the oncoming numetal tunes in order to preserve their old school fandom dignity. And these new psychotic kids on the block by all means had the messiahs’ aura around them: immaculate complex musicians, aggressive enough to make the thrash crowd raise a few eyebrows even; and melodic enough to ensure wider audience… if the latter was willing to absorb their very elaborate, tightly-plotted musical conundrums, though. Cause if Psychotic Waltz’s second coming was pronounced album of the year then this could only be the effect of two causes: either the fanbase had experienced a miraculous transformation within a very short span of time, and had become avid prog-metal aficionados; or that band had changed their style, and had produced a much more accessible, closer to the mass taste music.

This second possibility was utterly horrifying, to put it mildly, as every true fan of the band’s debut was swearing vehemently by a distinct, faithful follow-up to it, a purebred stylistic twin in other words; no more no less. And, this “album of the year” label mustn’t have been stuck there nonchalantly, without one being fully convinced in the qualities of the music underneath it… it can’t possibly be a dud… can it?

No it can’t; and it’s not. However, if you’re a sworn fan of “Social Grace”, after first listen the album reviewed here would leave a solid aftertaste. If you choose to wash said aftertaste away by inserting the preceding opus into the cassette recorder, then the chance of going back to the former in the short-term would be very slim. If you vote to check if this aftertaste was legitimate and play the album here once again, preferably on the same day, then you’ll come across a winner… only of a different kind. My personal prayers were directed towards an angrier, more confrontational prog-thrash delivery, think Deathrow’s “Deception Ignored” and Sieges Even’s “Life Cycle”; as the first slab does come close to those two on a few occasions…

only to find out that my prayers were far from answered. However, I never waited for the disappointment from my first exposure to it to sink in… I soldiered on, and I kept exposing myself to these 46-min repeatedly. My main gripe, both back then and now, is the opener, these “Ashes” scattered on the very threshold, this melancholic atmospheric introduction with the overtly insistent keyboards at the beginning, with the lethargic balladic layout, with the suppressed drama which only the supremely stylish leads prick… belatedly, though, towards the end. Could be a misleader, I calm myself; visionaries like those like disguising their genius with layers of sizzling tranquility… and yes, I’m fuckin’ right, as “Out of Mind” is a rock-solid twister, with Lackey unleashing some of the most eccentric, outlandish vocals this side of Iceland’s finest Bjork, adding the best possible vocal accompaniment to this turbulent riff-salad, “Social Grace” revisited within less than 5-min. Yep, you can’t make a mistake betting on the Waltzers who shift towards a dark more sinister, thrash-prone stream with “Tiny Streams”, the closest this opus comes to the two mentioned acts/albums; before the title-track engulfs the listener with seductive meditative lyricisms for 8.5-min, an introspective but effective sprawl which most shining ingredient are again the supreme lead tapestries.

Couldn’t quite stomach this gigantic lyricism on the first couple of listens, a big help in its absorption being “Little People” coming right after, this creepy minimalistic piece of greatness with the dramatic cumulatives, the dense staccato rhythms, and again these totally spell-binding lead sweeps… the only thing I have to find out, after all these years, is whether it’s Dan Rock, or Brian McAlpin who’s responsible for those; cause this is pure magic that frequently goes beyond Shrapnel’s finest… including on the jerky nervy masterpiece “Freakshow”, a deceptively accessible number which overcomes some doom-laden inertia with both addictive melodic hooks and the outstanding inspired, pathos-inducing singing of Lackey. Before the mosquito came the “Butterfly” but this one is just a composition albeit 9.5-min long, an arresting psychedelic multi-layered opera, a textbook in complex entangled music which seamlessly binds serene balladic temptations with thick technical riff-patterns, with surreal tribal drums added at some stage to heighten the drama which never falters dubiously despite its inordinate duration.

A deep respectable bow I owe the musicians for what they’ve achieved here, also for the dexterously but more psychotically rendered cover of Black Sabbath’s “Disturbing the Priest” from “Born Again” that showed up later during the re-mastered editions. Nope, again this isn’t an answer to my prayers, but is a thoroughly absorbing musical amalgam which does sound like an-album-of-the-year pretender on the more inspired moments, as the only genuinely awkward moment I find here is the short balladic etude “Hanging on a String”. The rest is close to top-notch, the band having voted to move on in a trippier more spaced-out fashion, the introductory “Ashes” not so misleading, after all, as this opus is by no means a tribute to the restless dynamic side of the metal spectre. This is a chameleonic hallucinogenic ride that keeps the audience guessing as to what the next stop from it would sound like, and although there will be moments when the listener will feel that this particular layover has lasted for a bit too long, it should all come nicely and gracefully assembled in the end. This is by no means a surrender to the (ever)flow; this is a characteristic, individualistic interpretation of the progressive metal canons, the guys not trying to overwrite those, but making sure everyone has acknowledged their presence and has spotted the signature they’ve left underneath the scrolls of metal, respectively music, legislation. An impressive feat, achieved with just two albums, the band entering many a metal fan’s diaries and ledgers, not as a footnote, but as a headline; one that could only get thicker and more prominent from now on… even if the guys indulge in a most passionate reading and re-reading of Ovid’s "Metamorphoses”.

So yeah, it took some time for my blood stream to accept this slab, but once it did, it started sailing very comfortably there, and anchored most firmly in its deepest recesses once I got a hold of the band collaboration with the German wizards Deathrow… yep, the same ones that I had proclaimed close soundalikes once I swallowed the debut. Oops, forgot to mention the name of this collaboration, End Amen, a one-time stint that produced “Your Last Orison”, a full-length, a great progressive thrash outing, the Waltzers (some of them) eventually stepping on the thrash pedal to the fullest, obviously fascinated with their German counterparts’ more aggressive exploits during a joint tour taken place at the end of 1992. Only this once, though, as “Mosquito” was a much more accessible rock/metal combo, a meek disappointing release which style was slightly upgraded on “Bleeding”, a dark atmospheric recording that again was on the more digestible, less progressive-prone side. Yep, the psychotic boys have matured, and have consequently lost this inimitable genius streak… who said that the latter was everflowing?

No, it wasn’t, and it wasn’t subject to any shape twisting, either, including the god one as became evident after the comeback stint from two years prior. The team will keep marching on, apparently, but with more regular, more predictable strides… and will try to recall this crooked waltz which made society bow in veneration; the one they knew to perfection once upon a time… this irregular multi-step dance that helps separate the lofty royal outcasts from the trivial main (ever)flow denizens.

Even more of a mixed bag - 80%

Psychotic Fates, October 14th, 2012

This one is a lot less metal than the debut with more '70s prog and classic rock elements. The psychedelia is also enhanced and some of the extreme technical flourishes are still there, but this is not quite the near-Watchtower lunacy of A Social Grace. There are only a few songs on here that are full-on metal, although most of the rest at least have some heavy riffs in them.

Out of Mind, Tiny Streams and Little People are the heaviest, riffiest things on here. Out of Mind in particular features some good syncopated riffing and colorful vocal melodies. At around the 2:20 mark a punishing riff comes in, right in time for that "Rain of the Summer Fills the Hands" part. The lyrics, like a lot of the lyrics on this disc, seem like they were written during an acid trip. It was also obvious the boys still enjoyed their ganja, that sound byte in the middle of Tiny Streams is hilarious. Frickin Sergeant Stedenko.

The rest of the album is hit-or-miss.

Freakshow is a strange rocker, Hanging on a String is a charming but very sad ballad, and the Sabbath cover is better than the original. The title track has some cool guitar parts with the always interesting dual leads from Brian McAlpin and Dan "Half-A-Beard" Rock. Like on the debut, they play off of each other in a weirdly beautiful way, with the melodies stacking upon each other and rising to a crescendo. Again, this is interesting, but I have to be in a certain mood to hear it.

Ashes starts the album off like a waterfall of starlight falling out of primordial skies a la the album cover. This song has cascading harmonies like in the title track, but is a much better song. Buddy's vocals are smooth and he doesn't really hit any crazy high notes on this album, toning it down greatly from the debut. Butterfly is a bit long and meandering with all kinds of funk 'n' junk thrown into it and Buddy's total classic rock voice, but it does have some good riffs at around the, ahem, 4:20 point.

The version I have of this album contains a bonus disc of the Into the Everflow demo and the Aslan demo. The Everflow demo will interest hardcore fans of this album, but it's nothing special, really. The Aslan demo contains some great material, though. The Fry Tape is trippy and useless while Spiral Tower is good, but the final cut that made the debut is much better. To Chase The Stars and No Glory are the real highlights here. Considering this was released in 1986, it's no surprise how power metal-oriented these 2 songs are. The former is ultra-melodic and almost radio friendly, but this does not hamper it. No Glory, meanwhile, begins with some of the most high-pitched wailing ever from Buddy. He gets right spiteful during the "Day, be gone" parts and the guitar harmonies sound like Iron Maiden playing in a parallel universe.

Into the Everflow, while not the best album from this band, still kicks the fuck out of Images and Words, which was released in the same year and is one of the most overrated pieces of (shit) music ever recorded. I'd recommend Everflow to hardcore PW fans, just be aware that it doesn't always deliver in the metal department.

stunning - 100%

sarkastik, June 26th, 2011

Into the Everflow (IEF) is Psychotic Waltz's second record and it's as great as the first one.

Twin guitar harmonies are again present, this time stronger with more Floyd Rose tricks, like in the title track. One thing that makes IEF very special for me is the fact that the album doesn't have any single badly composed song. All the songs in the album are very creative and far from cliché, there aren't any fillers among these great songs. My personal favorites are Tiny Streams, the title track and Freakshow.

I can say the guitar sound is even better than their first one, A Social Grace. Bass playing is great, coherent with other instruments and at some instances it really takes the songs to a higher level. The drum composition is very clever like in the opening of the title track. And of course Buddy's vocals are unique with sudden pitch changes and with unusual mood changes.

The album opens with "Ashes" which starts with nice keyboards, giving a feeling of a dreamlike state. Its a great mid-tempo song with nicely written twin guitar harmonies, just like in early albums of Opeth or Dark Tranquillity for instance. Then comes "Out of Mind" which has a great chorus with strong vocals. 3rd song is "Tiny Streams". The song has many mood swings, mainly thanks to Buddy's great vocals. The riffs in this song are so weird when thought separately, but together they fit perfect.

Without any doubt the title track is the best in the album. It stars with a very melodic guitar riff and mind chilling vocals, then the song rises and rises, each passing second you think you are reaching the climax this time but you are wrong! Finally you reach it with twin solos and great Floyd Rose tricks, which is a very cleverly written part, that reminds me the long instrumental parts that I heard in Yes, King Crimson and ELP but with one extra guitar!

Next track "Little People" has too many nice guitar riffs enpowered with a strong bass. Middle part of the song starting with tapping guitar has great high pitches singing which shows Buddy's vocal range. "Hanging on a String" is a nice slow-tempo song with nice singing but its the weakest song of the album. Still great!

Then comes my second favourite "Freak Show" which really reflects the name. Main riff is one of my all-time favourites. More to this it has a great guitar solo followed by a perfect part with Buddy's magical voice. "Butterfly" has a nice beginning but the real deal is the funky mid part and the later psychedelic part joined by the percussions with references to The Doors, Jethro Tull, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and some others, in lyrics.

The final track on the new prints of the album, "Disturbing the Priest", is a Black Sabbath cover. It's from the only album that Ian Gillan sings with Black Sabbath. I really like the original but being honest to myself, I must admit that I prefer the PW cover not only because of Buddy's great singing but also considering the great guitars.

Personally I also find the album cover very successful. It completes the weird atmosphere of the album. To make a long story short its a must have!

Genius - 100%

username345, May 13th, 2008

Psychotic Waltz is probably the most underrated (metal) band ever, and ‘Into the Everflow’ their best album.

The music is mainly complex prog metal, but psychedelic influences which they build on in their next album ‘Mosquito’ are also present (especially evident in their lyrics: ‘I’m a tripper in a space out jam/Flying in a circus of a freakshow band’). Comparisons to other bands are quite difficult to make though as they sound little like their prog metal peers. They do have a certain (slight) similarity to older Black Sabbath however, but mainly because of the gloomy sound throughout the album, not really the music itself. Jethro Tull have also been named as a major influence by the band, but this is more noticeable in the flute-led songs from their other albums that are absent here.

For metal, while incredibly rich in atmosphere, it is quite mellow. The guitar tone often has a certain dream-like quality to it and memorable melodies are focused on instead of thrashy riffs or mindless shredding. That’s not to say that the riffs here aren’t any good; they’re all marvellously creative and complex and there are plenty of head banging moments, but sometimes it’s great just to listen to it with your eyes closed and lose yourself in it’s atmosphere. The heavier songs like ‘Out of Mind’ are actually the weaker parts of the album.

The key to success in the album is the mix between the metal sections and genuinely beautiful lighter parts. While this style may have become a bit of a cliché now with bands like Opeth switching between light and heavy every five seconds, I’ve never heard it being done as well as it is in ‘Into the Everflow’ before, and this was way back in ‘92. It can switch straight between a heavy riff to a piano melody in seconds but sound completely smooth and natural while doing it, so it doesn’t sound odd at all.

Psychotic Waltz found a singer easily capable of singing the range needed to cope with the changing dynamics in Buddy Lackey, who switches from a high pitched shriek to mellow singing as effortlessly as the music seems to change, not unlike Ian Gillian in Deep Purple’s classic ‘Child In Time’. Lackey is also a brilliant lyricist. His cryptic and surreal lyrics fit the music perfectly and are far more impressive than average metal lyrics. He would later say, "Everything I write has a message, an approach to poetry, It’s the major function of poetry not to provide answers, but to raise questions - to be thought provoking and to create space for individual interpretations"

Another reason the album is great is Norm Leggio’s fantastic drumming. The drumming is mixed quite loud and is slow and heavy, comparable to Bill Ward’s work for Black Sabbath, which contributes to the similarities between the bands. In ‘Butterfly’ he even creates some great tribal-style drumming. The other musicians are all hugely talented too, it‘s amazing that none of them are more well known.

‘Ashes’, a mellow synth-led track with some great melodies opens up the album perfectly, but the highlight of the album is the epic and eerie title track, which starts of very slowly but builds and builds until it comes to an incredible climax. The song really shows the amazing talent of all of the individual band members and sounds incredible whatever instrument you focus on, especially the amazing duel-guitar work in it.

Other highlights are ‘Little People’ for showing Waltz at their most metal, with a great riff running through the song, and the more complex ‘Freakshow’ for the switching between heavy/mellow.

The album ends with a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Disturbing the Priest’, which is actually better than the original. Though it is one of their worst songs, so that’s perhaps not as impressive as it sounds…

Unfortunately the complexity of the album and band make it quite inaccessible to most people, but the huge obscurity of Psychotic Waltz (mostly due to problems with record labels) is completely ridiculous.

Curiouser and curiouser... - 92%

failsafeman, April 27th, 2008

If you thought A Social Grace was strange, then Into the Everflow is even further down that rabbit-hole. But never fear; most of the qualities that made the previous album great are still here (I'm not going to rehash everything; go read my review for ASG). This time, however, the psychedelic elements that popped up now and then before are given the spotlight. On A Social Grace, the songs and lyrics were quite complex, yes, but still decipherable without too much effort. Here, however, everything from the lyrics to the song structures seems much more stream-of-consciousness. That's not to say that this is like a jam session or a load of incoherent babble, though, because it's definitely not; rather it seems deliberately composed to musically and lyrically describe and walk you through a drug trip. As such, the album is much calmer in general, with less anger and thrash influence (but don't worry, it's still quite heavy). Rather than the tight and highly technical performance of last time, things also feel compositionally "looser", though the heavy complexity is far from completely gone. There's also far more gentle guitar leads (often dual), which I can only describe as "water-like"; they swell and (Ever)flow, often for lengthy periods throughout certain songs, even under the verses (check "Ashes" and the title track for a couple examples).

As with my review for A Social Grace, I'm not going to go through each individual track; appropriately enough, Into the Everflow really flows, seeming less like a collection of songs and more like one long one with different movements (with conscious intent, I'm sure). "Little People" is a perfect example of what the album is all about. It's got an increasingly creepy atmosphere, with the lyrical protagonist initially describing TV characters and shows in an odd but understandable way. However, he finally gets fed up with their artificiality and cracks his TV set open on the floor...releasing the little people from within. So, of course he picks them up and makes them do perverted things, only to have them grow and terrorize him. That whole unsettling kind of attitude is prevalent on the album, in the atmosphere as well as the lyrics, though the mood isn't always so dark; "Freakshow" is euphoric rather than depressed or disturbing, though still higher than a kite. Finally at the end there's a cover of Black Sabbath's "Disturbing the Priest", which is a bit of an obscure choice, but an apt one nonetheless (the lyrics to "Tiny Streams" mention a "Black Sabbath record turning," so maybe it was Born Again). The angry passages contrast very well with the calmer, dream-like ones, and Buddy Lackey's performance is the equal of Ian Gillian's on the original (no small feat). It sticks out a bit for being markedly simpler than Psychotic Waltz's original material, but it's a fine rendition and doesn't detract from the album at all.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the hell to make of Into the Everflow. I know it would be somewhat cliche to call this album a full-blown experience rather than just music, but that's really what it is; as close as I've ever heard sound come to capturing the feelings of mind-expanding substances. Maybe if I were an avid psychonaut myself or under various influences while listening I'd appreciate it more than I do, but to be frank it occasionally rambles, and as such it's not quite as good as A Social Grace. Still, it's very much worth my time and yours. After this Psychotic Waltz would go off in a totally different direction, so until next time, hold onto your hats.

A strange little man
Racing all his bubbles to the surface of the universe
To see if he could swim out of his own mind
And as he looked behind, he realized what he had escaped
He thought that alone he would float out in space for awhile

Slaughtering The Sacred Cow - 35%

Warpig, July 31st, 2007

"Into The Everflow" is usually praised as one of the best progressive (metal) albums of all time and I think there are not many superlatives that haven’t already been used to describe it - and I can’t see a fucking reason why!

Fact is, that Psychotic Waltz’ debut album "A Social Grace" was a milestone and certainly deserves all the praise it gets. And while Mosquito was completely different it was nevertheless a masterpiece as well, just like "Bleeding", which was basically a combination of their previous work.

I guess the best thing about playing progressive music is the fact that you have all the freedom you want to express yourself (if you have the musical abilities, of course) - from Pink Floydian suites to Watchtower’s insanity or anything in-between. The crucial point, however, is that the listener should feel something while listening to your music, otherwise it’s just notes put together - and that’s basically the problem I have with this album.

Yes, Psychotic Waltz are excellent musicians and their music is pretty unique and this certainly shows on this album as well, but where is the much-lauded atmosphere, the intensity, the magic? While on the other albums they achieved just that, "Into The Everflow" always leaves me completely unimpressed.

Even if the band’s qualities occasionally shine through, they come, at no time, even close to the brilliance of the other albums. "Out Of Mind", "Little People", "Tiny Streams" and "Freakshow" are decent songs which have their moments, but not much more, the title track shows some pretty good guitar work, but like "Butterfly", is far too long and "Hanging On A String" is a nice little ballad, but quite a letdown compared to "I Remember" or "My Grave" (maybe they should have used the flute again).

"A Social Grace", "Mosquito" and "Bleeding" were masterpieces, while "Into The Everflow" was not only the only bad Psychotic Waltz album (I don’t count "Dark Millenium"), but it also was a huge disappointment to me. After reading all the raving reviews and after listening to this album over and over and over again I finally had to realize that I have simply wasted my time. Hopefully my review prevents others from wasting theirs, too!

Lost in the mist...... - 100%

Starkweather222000, October 30th, 2005

The chapter called “Psychotic Waltz” is a very tough one to review, even for music journalists. Imagine how hard it is for me, a listener (a young one, too) to describe and review one of the most unique, complex and sophisticated music acts of all time. Well, let’s give it a try.
“Into The Everflow” is the second Waltz album, one year after the breath-taking debut album called “A Social Grace”. The guys from San Diego are one of the few bands on earth that proceeded to record four pure masterpieces, in a way that it seems completely unfair to make comparisons between them. All four of them are in the first place for some fans, there is no best or worst album. All of them top the ranks, yet from release to release, Waltz transfigured their style without ever losing musical identity. It sounds bizarre, but in my opinion no other band ever succeeded in doing this. So, to the album. The first and foremost I have to comment about this progmetal extravaganza is its atmosphere. Lord, this album is haunting. I can’t quite transform the feeling into words, but I feel like there is a glowing fog around the room when I put it in the stereo. I feel like being abducted by something unseen, and taken to a voyage through unseen skies and unknown solar systems. It spins and spins around me from the very first second of “Ashes” right until the finishing tones of “Butterfly”. It envenoms me with time travelling guitar harmonies and vocals from somewhere far from here. The experience of listening this album (no matter what the conditions are) is truly memorable. Every time you lay your ears on it, it has something different to tell you, each and every time you discover bridges, riffs and sounds that you didn’t notice before. It is an inexpendable treasure. The artwork is also awesome, but the music speaks for itself in this case, as on all truly masterwork music albums. Psychotic Waltz were probably the one and only band that played progmetal without ever being even close to other progmetal bands. No one sounds like them, and no song of them reminds of anything whatsoever. This album is, in my opinion, the best of Waltz, but: by no means you are a complete metal listener without having possession of all four albums. You may start with this one, you may not. In my opinion, “Into The Everflow” gains the gold with its haunting, travelling, foggy atmosphere, just a few centimeters in front of the rest Waltz masterpieces. Awesome.

Possibly the most original record in existence - 93%

Demon_of_the_Fall, April 12th, 2005

Psychotic Waltz second release Into the Everflow was recorded in a German WW bunker, but the production still sounds great. Where PW's debut "A Social Grace" was more thrash metal, Into the Everflow shows the band take a darker more trippy, surrealistic, this turns into Psychotic's most diverse record. This is Psychotic Waltz's most progressive, and creative album by far, every track sounding entirely different from the previous. Freakshow is possibly the heaviest on here, displaying Buddy Lacky's most unique vocals. I can't think of any band that sounds like PW. Norm Leggio is possibly the most technical drummer ever, he never makes you bored. All the tracks don't have your standard verse chorus verse shit either, hell you'd be lucky for them to repeat a verse or a chorus. All of their albums have been out of print for some time, so Ebay is about the only place to find this. I would say this album sounds like some later era Porcupine Tree or perhaps even Rainbow - Rising for it's lighter trippy style. Into The Everflow is utterly essential for anyone who likes their Prog, Hippy, Heavy metal, with a side order of cronic. Devon Graves sounds abit like Warrel Dane of Nevermore fame, and has a influence ala Dickinson. Dan Rock, Brian McAlpin are very creative songs writers and two underated guitarists. Too bad no one really knows of these guys, i suppose they are too "out there" for most people to grasp. I think this is way ahead of its time, for instance Tiny Streams at the 3 minuite mark shows us some whacky time signatures 5\4 we only throught Dream Theater and Symphony X could pull off. The rhythm section is tight as fuck on this one, the guitars fit the mood perfectally, and the vocals define Psychotic Waltz's hippy esque mastery lyrics. To some it up Into the Everflow amazed the shit out of me. This is beyond all comprehension and easily one of my favorite album in my collection. Into the Everflow puts to shame nearly every Prog group with this effort. A must have!
Pass the joint!
Best Tracks: Out of Mind, Tiny Streams, Into the Everflow, Little People, Hanging on a String, Freakshow