Comus - First Utterance

[sam1oq]

I saw no thread on this group yet. This is a recent favorite of mine. A progressive/psychedelic folk album from 1971. It's an odd mix of serenity, virtuosity, and horror - with the latter mostly coming through in the lyrics - that is strangely compelling, somehow as alienating as it is catchy in its hooks, and remarkably intricate with its compositions. It took me a while to get into it, but the nuanced approach to songwriting has really taken a hold of me upon repeated listens. Any other fans of this band/album here?

[Buddyhunter1]

Great album - probably my favorite to be released by 1971, actually (Dark Side Of The Moon would take its place in a couple years). I don't usually enjoy music from that time period as much, but this one has a very timeless quality to it (minus the questionable stereo mixing on The Bite). The Herald is absolutely haunting. Diana, Drip Drip, and Song To Comus are highlights too. I first heard of the band from Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth citing it as one of his biggest influences, and yeah, I can totally hear it. His collab album with Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion, almost feels like a partial tribute to this album, and that's one of the best albums of all time in my opinion.

[sam1oq]

Great album - probably my favorite to be released by 1971, actually (Dark Side Of The Moon would take its place in a couple years). I don't usually enjoy music from that time period as much, but this one has a very timeless quality to it (minus the questionable stereo mixing on The Bite). The Herald is absolutely haunting. Diana, Drip Drip, and Song To Comus are highlights too. I first heard of the band from Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth citing it as one of his biggest influences, and yeah, I can totally hear it. His collab album with Steven Wilson, Storm Corrosion, almost feels like a partial tribute to this album, and that's one of the best albums of all time in my opinion.

Now that you brought up Mikael Akerfeldt, there's a funny story I came across regarding him and Comus. He was once asked to play on Melloboat festival in Sweden, but said he'd only do it if Comus were to reform and also play it, which they did! Akerfeldt also confirmed naming My Arms Your Hearse after a lyric from the song Drip Drip. I'm writing a review on this album and this is just many interesting tidbits that came up while researching the band. Very rich history despite essentially dropping off after one album.