First Utterance - COMUS***

Diana/The Herald/Drip Drip/Song To Comus/The Bite/Bitten/The Prisoner

First Utterance was the debut album from the British progressive folk ensemble Comus. The music is largely acoustic that includes elements of eastern percussion combined with mystical and violent lyrics.

“Musically, this album is an amalgamation of various folk styles, using instrumentation from run of the mill strings to less conventional bongo drums. The most peculiar thing to be noted is the sound which appears malevolent, mocking, vicious and all around merciless.”

“In spite of being pretty much ignored on release, First Utterance has since gained a significant cult following. Comus essentially play folk music, but with the technical proficiency and invention of progressive rock.”

“To put it bluntly, this is one evil album. And it's not evil in the way you would expect. Nothing loud, screeching, and terrible. Instead, Comus create an extremely dark atmosphere by calling in every instrument you would expect to hear from a pagan cult. It creates a brooding atmosphere of despair, and sounds really quite ominous.”

“This is a bizarre mixture of gloomy and psychedelic atmospheres mixed with meticulously crafted folk music. Progressiveness is in full force as well; each piece piles on layers of peculiar instrumentation with a strong sense of momentum and rising progression.”

“Musically and lyrically, Comus evoke visions of pre-Christian pagan nature worship that is starkly anti-romanticist, dark, paranoid and vengeful. Just listen to the first song Diana: goblin-like voices sing is a very credible hymn en masse to the eponymous goddess. The lyrics are twisted and sometimes violent.”

“If you couldn't tell from the cover, Comus' First Utterance isn't a particularly sunny album. In fact it is truly one of the darkest, scariest, most disturbing albums I've ever heard. If you're put off by music with lyrics that graphically describe violence and madness, you'll probably be revolted and offended.”

“They are very acoustic and lightweight in their sound, mostly using plucked acoustic guitars, a couple of orchestral instruments, and hand drums as percussion. On top of this, we have delicate harmonies along with snarling and menacing lead vocals which provide a sharp contrast to the serenity.”