Bleeding

See the small patch of blood just above my knee? Seems like I’m bleeding but no… just killed a mosquito there. Saw it the moment it perched, but waited patiently before splashing it. Also managed to observe how it grew in size… filling itself with my blood. Strange that I felt absolutely nothing during the blood-draining process… no pain, no tickling, no itching… a very quiet near-invisible presence that does away with a certain portion of your bodily fluids; without causing any irreparable damage to anything and anyone…. a very interesting natural phenomenon.

In other words, no surprises here, no one jumps any evolutionary stages… first the mosquito, then the supposed bleeding, then… the timely dissolution before the band had hit the genuinely common non-progressive realms, this way smudging their career and also erasing themselves from the “very interesting musical phenomenon” list. Thank god that never occurred… instead, the timely-scheduled implosion gave birth to brick baths, deadsoul tribes, teabags, dark stars… a very picturesque kaleidoscope, with each of its ingredients vying for the audience’s attention in their own way, also trying to convince the latter that they’ve preserved some of the magic that made the father act such a sensation.

The thing is that said ingredients tried to capitalize on the more recent echoes, the ones that were emitted by the last two instalments. The lesser ones that is. Cause despite what the old sages try to teach you, that going with the (ever)flow is the best way to live, it only takes that long to find out that to come up with such magnanimous complex, labyrinthine vistas is a very ungrateful chore, and that there comes a time when you simply vote to relax, take it easy, and produce another music streak that maybe, just maybe, would sell as well as your previous endeavours, largely capitalizing on your theretofore-established huge reputation.

Cause this is the only way I can see how the album reviewed here succeeded in hitting the spotlight back then. If this slab had come out of the hands of the average, not very renowned metal practitioner, it would have been buried and forgotten on the spot, pretty much upon release… also having in mind that it had almost nothing to do with the prevalent at that time aggro/groovy trends. However, the Psychotic Waltz tag kept it afloat, helped it avoid the scorching diatribes, even assisted in its sneaking under some more fastidious listeners’ radar… certainly, all those evasions became possible once the preceding insectoid instalment paved the way, also letting the fanbase realize that the times of the gargantuan very complex, mind-absorbing, labyrinthine musical vistas from the early stages are gone… irrevocably.

A really sad realization that last one for the band die-hard fan, who struggled to accept the much more accessible psychedelic rock/metal shenanigans from the “Mosquito”, also wondering as to how his/her favourites would choose to entertain him/her the next time around. It must, and it will, be better than this last embarrassment, but what exactly will it be? Another insect-induced transformation? Will the hapless listener have the strength to endure one more of the kind, though…

no he/she won’t, and it’s either the musicians’ realization of this fact, or their turning away from Franz Kafka’s works that are the reason for this superior recording. By “superior” do not read, please, a masterpiece along the lines of the first two opuses… nope, this doesn’t even come close. But although this is the guys’ most linear, most orthodox slab it soars above its predecessor due to the more homogenous musicianship and the less frivolously experimental approach. This is dark quasi-progressive music which tries to keep both its head and limbs immersed into the metallic ways of expression for a large portion of the time; a wise choice by all means which immediately gives the entire package bigger gravity, the dynamic restless clout of the opening “Faded” stirring dormant emotions in the fan’s soul, Buddy Lackey’s supremely attached, spell-binding vocals the major seller. The thing is that said dynamic clout of this faded cut isn’t the focal point here, the band moving towards the pensive minimalistic gamut of the music spectre with the balladic sleeper “Locust”, enhancing the atmosphere with either keyboard-soaked gimmicks (“Morbid”) or heavy doomy strolls (the title-track). The melancholic rockabilia “Need” seems to be the downpoint as right after the band pull off the highlight, the excellent nervy “Northern Lights”, with “Sleep” defying its title with an array of vivid bouncy rhythms and superb dazzling lead sections. However, this great duo severely overshadows the remainder, the guys even getting into the groove with the anemic numetal filler “Skeleton”, this ill-measured nod at the ruling vogues surrounded by even less convincing balladic/semi-balladic sentimentality.

Save for this malign skeletal formation and a few very minor notes here and there, this effort steers clear of the numetal currents, the guys retaining some kind of individuality, but again the merits witnessed are seriously magnified by the band’s name and renown. It was good to see that the mosquito had failed to prick the layer very deeply, and that the guys weren’t bleeding that profusely, and that also had more ideas to rise above the widely spread mediocrity on the metal scene at the time; but it was also hard to view them leaders of the progressive metal roster anymore provided that the delivery now was way more simplistic and far less contrived than the earlier output. The band were relaxing from both a composition and execution point-of-view, quite literally going with the flow, maybe also challenging themselves by checking if they could produce something digestible and commonplace for the masses. Well, they surely could, and they did; they succeeded in sounding like anyone but themselves… which is a feat in itself if you think of it… Lackey’s standout vocals and the exquisite lead guitar work dexterously bridging the gap between their near magnanimous past and their much less demanding present.

Does it suit them, this physiognomy, I wonder? Provided that they faithfully stuck to it on the comeback album from two years back… and it did sound more convincing, more mature this second time around… like a consolidation of it a quarter of a century later was bound to make it easier to accept; with the audience long since stopped crying for more ambitious ways of expression, sure to welcome both veterans and newcomers with whatever tricks they’d be willing to take out of their (tea)bags. But is it bottomless, this batch’s bag? That’s the question… but we’re by all means armed with the requisite amount of patience, to wait and check this out. And we by no means wait for another “Social Grace”. No. Such a creation is against the flow, and our aged bloodstream rejects it outright now. Times have changed.

And No, we don't want Kafka’s “Metamorphoses” to meddle with our heroes’ creative strives. Leave this volume to rest… unless you want to use it to smash this mosquito insolently perched on your leg, just above the knee; your knee-jerk reaction to its presence leading to… but that’s fine, really; cause there’s no pain, no tickling…

no itching.

As I sit writing this Psychotic Waltz have been reunited for a couple years and touring Europe. There have been talks of them putting out a new album but no news on its development. So, I write this wondering if this is their last album. Dark Millenium doesn't count.

The best way to describe this is a natural evolution of their sound and sort of a cross between their debut and Mosquito. Some of the funk and psychedelic elements from that last album are still there and again the songs are all short and catchy, but this is crushingly heavy in its own way. After all the fucking around of the past albums Bleeding is the most straightforward thing this band ever did, leaning more towards the power metal end of the spectrum than the prog. There's still enough odd time sigs and experimentation to keep things interesting, though. The fourth and (at this point) final album in the PW discography sees the band at their most colorful with richly textured layering of music and vox. That color is matched in the album cover and inner sleeve artwork from Travis Smith. Keyboards are used with atmospheric perfection, the way it should be on a metal album, never as a lead instrument. You hear that Dream Theater, you and your wretched spawn of sycophants.

New bassist Phil Cutino enters the picture replacing Ward. It's immediately clear this man fits in well with the Waltzers as the album opens with a funky bass lick that is quickly joined by the thrashy sig riff of Faded. Phil's bass presence is loud and busy which perfectly suits the sound of this album. A cap must be doffed to Scott Burns for that sound, who was mostly known for producing Florida death metal. He had produced Mosquito too but he, along with the band, found the right sound here. A video was made for Faded as was one for My Grave, the only two official music videos for this band. My Grave is another Jethro Tull-inspired ballad but better than I Remember.

The lyrics on this disc seem to make a lot more sense compared to the last album. Need particularly stands out with thoughtful lyrics as it builds into that emotionally compelling "Your lips destroy like missiles" part. It’s one of the best songs on the album: a slow, heavy groover, epic in feel and with a deeply melodic outro consisting of background acoustic strumming and a beautifully twinned lead from a band chock full of them. Sleep is the heaviest track although all the songs have some thick riffage in them. The ending of Sleep reminds me of the ending of Fates Warning's Giant's Lore with obtusely melodic twinned leads over a weirdly metered yet groovy power metal riff. Brian and Dan are no longer twinning every lead though, there's some solos on here as there were on the last album as well. They weren't afraid to branch out, it was clear this was a band that would never stick to formulas.

Freedom? finally sees the perfect blending of Buddy's '60s rock vocals/lyrics with the metal aesthetic of his bandmates. The ending of it bugs me a bit. Kind of like the ending of Mindsong on the last album, it seems unfinished. A twisted reprieve of the clean intro riff is played but quickly goes nowhere and could have been developed into something more. Oh well, at least there's no stupid 2 minutes of silence followed by a surprise track.

I've given this album a higher score than A Social Grace but I like that one more, let me explain. This is an easier album to sit down and listen to right through than Grace or anything they've done for that matter, it's just so smooth. However, their debut has the best songs they've written even though the guys sound more comfortable here than ever. It's sad that at the point when it felt like everything was coming together for this band they were broken up by changes. One can only speculate what might have been had they had more success but of course North America cares little for this style of music.

Well, that concludes my review of the tragically brief career of this god-like band. Go buy all their albums now, they deserve your money. Hopefully they drop another one on us.

Some fans were unhappy with Psychotic Waltz’s previous release, ‘Mosquito’, which simplified the typical Psychotic Waltz formula by removing the complex progressive arrangements and replacing them with a simpler, more pop-orientated psychedelic sound. Instead of returning to their prog roots with ‘Bleeding’, Psychotic Waltz continue along the lines of ‘Mosquito’, a move that easily could have ended in disaster. However, Psychotic Waltz manage to improve the sound in every way, creating what many see as their best work.

The most noticeable change between this and ‘Mosquito’ is the production. The thin fuzzy production that hindered ‘Mosquito’ has been replaced with a new richer sound that brings back the deep and dreamy atmosphere of ‘Into the Everflow’, though it is not quite as dark this time around.

The fluid guitar riffs contribute immensely to this mysterious dream-like atmosphere. Melodies merge smoothly around each other giving the album a free-floating style. The song-writing is much improved from that of ‘Mosquito’. The melodies are catchier and better written than before, and the riffs more powerful, with more ‘groove’. The guitar solos too are more melodic and impressive. It is clear that Psychotic Waltz have adapted completely to their new style, which they didn’t quite manage to do with ‘Mosquito’.

While ’Mosquito’ felt disjointed as it seemed to be trying to be mellow most of the time but ruined the atmosphere at times by trying to be ‘heavy’, the mix on ‘Bleeding’ is much better. For a metal album it is still very light, though songs are slightly heavier than those on ‘Mosquito’. On’ Bleeding’ it doesn’t sound like the two styles are combating each other like it did before, but instead blend together perfectly, giving the album more variety. Songs like ‘Sleep’ and ‘Bleeding’ contrast the styles brilliantly, while songs like ‘Skeleton’ focus more on the heavier side. There’s also a beautiful Jethro Tull inspired song, ’My Grave’, with acoustic guitar and flute played by vocalist Buddy Lackey.

Buddy Lackey’s singing is very much back on form here. While on ‘Mosquito’ the vocals were often nasally and buried by the down-tempo production, here they soar above the music. The singing is not quite as varied as on the first 2 albums, but the more controlled mellow singing used here is very impressive and fits perfectly with the dreamy music. However, due to his very unique and often high-pitched singing style, the singing could be a bit of an acquired taste for some, even though it is much more ordinary than it was in the early albums.

The lyrics are also simplified a bit more but are still much better than most metal lyrics, showing the amazing lyric-writing skill of Buddy Lackey. As with most Psychotic Waltz, the lyrics have a psychedelic theme.

The musicianship, as always with the band, is superb, with all of the members easily able to play the material completely accurately. Even though the bass is quite prominent in ‘Bleeding’, the absence of their amazing bassist Ward Evans luckily isn’t a problem as he has been replaced by the equally great Phil Cuttino, who managed to create some fantastic bass-lines here.

‘Bleeding’ is exactly what ‘Mosquito’ should have been - everything that made Psychotic Waltz great condensed into shorter, catchier songs and a more accessible melodic sound. Even though it's arguably not quite as strong as the first few albums, anyone new to the band should start here.

In a time when there're so many 'wanna-be-prog-bands' around is always soothing to listen to a real progressive metal album. 'Bleeding' was PW's last effort and it's a shame this band couldn't achieve the recognition they deserved in the 90's.
The first track, 'Faded', starts with a great bass line and builds into an almost thrashy riff with atmospheric vocals by Buddy Lackey. Great, great song.
It's followed by 'Locust', which is a great tack as well. It sounds as if Roger Waters grew up on metal! The chorus is amazing, a true work of art.
The third track is 'Morbid'. It combines some Pantera-like riffs with great keyboards interludes and fantastic vocal lines. The lyrics are a little bit weird, but great nevertheless.
The fourth and fifth tracks, 'Bleeding' and 'Cold' are nothing special but they work very well within the context of the album.
'Drift' follows and it's a hell of an emotional track. Buddy Lackey's voice is nothing less than wonderful and the music is on par to it. It has to be heard to be believed.
'Northern Lights' is an up-tempo track about drugs and Amsterdam and is a good tune. The riffs are quite hard rock-ish, but the whole track is pretty much filled with a LSD kind of vibe. Good, very good.
With 'Sleep' we return to heavier grounds. This is quite nu-metal-ish at times, if the nu-metal bands could play with talent. Buddy's voice is more aggresive and the drumming is brilliant. This is no masturbatory wankery, this is technique working for the music and not the other way around.
'My Grave' is the masterpiece of the album. It's a 70's Jethro Tull kind of ballad with fantastic vocals and lyrics. In a time when mediocrity seems to rule the show, it's a relief to listen to such a track.
'Skeleton' and 'Freedom' are the closing tracks and are great as well.
In short, 'Bleeding' is an example of what true progressive metal should sound like. Forget about 'Images and Words' and the whole 'Dream Theater are the Gods of Prog' thing. Psychotic Waltz are way more daring and progressive than DT ever was. This IS true progressive metal. Period.