Izvođač: Comus
Izdavačka kuća: Cargo Records
Izdanje: 2012
Trajanje: 40:27
Ocjena: 4/5
»Somebody is talking about me.« Poznavateljima i ljubiteljima debija First Utterance kultnog benda Comus staje dah, tijelo podrhtava, krv se ledi. »Out of the coma!« plane Wootton nad nas, istim krvožednim pogledom, istom seksualnom izbezumljenošću i ne posve istim jezivo-odbojnim vokalom kao prije 40 godina. Comus, Miltonovo poganško stvorenje, koje maskirano zavodi mlade žene i u svojoj ih špilji siluje, koje se rješava svega što samo zaudara na kršćansku vjeru, vratio se nakon 41 godine sna. Iz pomalo luckastog, čudaško-srhovitog frika postao je star, ljut i prije svega – nezadovoljan. Baš kao i Woottonov glas. Pjevač se pretvorio u ljutitog starca sirovog glasa, kojim može dočarati svu snagu benda Comus, a koju mu daje 40 godina nezadovoljstva. Ukratko – Comus su se vratili.
38 godina prošlo je od zadnje ploče, od crne točke u kultnoj diskografiji, od pop-folk prosječnosti koju je diktirala kapitalistička težnja prema kvantiteti, a ne kvaliteti. Comus su se naime nakon kultnog First Utterance raspali, no ugovor s izdavačkom kućom zahtijevao je od njih da snime još jedan album. Rezultat je naravno bio beživotan, ispodprosječan, aljkav i prije svega posve običan To Keep From Crying. To naime nije bio Comus. To nisu bili Comus.
Zato smo svi mi, prikriveni pogani, bili euforični kad je najavljen novi album. Predslušavanje naslovne »Out of the Coma« bilo je Comus. Taj isti Comus od prije 40 godina, isto stvorenje, isti bend. Ista prestrašenost slušatelja da iza njega, negdje u kutu, u tami, vreba poganško stvorenje i čeka, čeka da ga rastrga i počasti se njegovom nutrinom.
Prvi komad, naslovni komad, ujedno je i vrhunac albuma. »Out of the Coma« pun je energije debija, ljut, prekrasno srhovit, prožet čudaškim folk melodijama i uzdasima pjevačice Bobbie Seagroatt od kojih ti trnci idu niz kralježnicu. Komad o povratku Miltonova stvorenja, poganskim mračnim ritualima i leševima naivnih katoličkih djevojaka. Kao »Diana« na First Utterance, tako ni »Out of the Coma« na istoimenom albumu ne dopušta slušatelju da prestane slušati. Prije nego glazbenom genijalnošću – koje ne manjka – to postiže, pa, izazvanim strahom. Drugi od triju novih komada, »The Sacrifice«, snažno podsjeća na drugi komad debija, »The Herald«. Smirena, prekrasna gitarska melodija, zlokobno lijepi zvukovi puhača, blagi glas Bobbie. Ako ti se svidio »The Herald« s First Utterance, onda će i »The Sacrifice« smiriti tvoje uši nakon jezovitog prethodnika… Barem na početku. Kad se instrumentalu pridruži i Wootton, skladba krene mračnijim putem. Tempo se stupnjuje, ritam raste, strah se vraća. »The Return«, treći komad, u maniri je početka prethodnika. I dalje je prisutna srhovitost, jeza i genijalnost skladbe »Out of the Coma«, no riječ je o smirenom prog folku, a ne o ludom, bijesnom ludilu koje je tako sveprisutno na First Utterance. Možda Woottonov glas ne dopušta ništa što bi bilo više od »Out of the Coma«. Skladba je i dalje »comusovska«, no album gubi napetost koju stvara uvodom.
Zadnji dio albuma predstavlja izgubljeni dijamant zlatnog doba Comus. Snimljen je na kasetofon, zato je kvaliteta vrlo loša. Riječ je o otprilike 15 minuta dugoj suiti naziva »The Maalgard Suite«. Čuje se da je riječ o skladbi koja bi se bez problema mogla naći na First Utterance, no svako daljnje ocjenjivanje tog glazbenog epa je nezahvalno – kvaliteta snimke to naime ne dopušta. Ipak je riječ o dobrodošlom dodatku, no radije nego dio albuma, mogao je biti dodan kao bonus komad, jer je očito da je kreativnost i dalje prisutna i sposobna za više od 3 skladbe.
Out of the Coma je zasigurno obavezno slušanje za sve ljubitelje benda Comus. Bend nije razočarao, što je zasigurno najvažnije. Jasno je da First Utterance ostaje nedodirljiv, no razlike između To Keep From Crying i Out of the Coma su kao dan i noć. Out of the Coma je tu naravno noć, puna poganskih rituala i buđenja čvrsto uspavanih stvorenja, mračan uradak koji podsjeća na zlatno razdoblje, a To Keep From Crying ja osobno uopće ne ubrajam u koncept koji bend predstavlja. Out of the Coma na kraju nije samo iskorak s obzirom na odnos između prvog i drugog albuma benda Comus – nego je iskorak na cijeloj današnjoj glazbenoj sceni.
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»Somebody is talking about me.« The very first words of Comus’ new album get our blood flowing, our bodies shaking, our blood freezing. “Out of the coma!” Wootton jumps at us, with the same bloodthirsty eyes, the same sexual derailment and not exactly the same freakishly creepy vocal, as he did some 40 years ago. Comus, Milton’s pagan beast, who masquerades as a human being and lures young women into his lair, where he rapes them, and who murders everything remotely Christian, is back after 41 years of slumber. He transformed from this harlequinish, weirdly-sinister freak into an angry and dissatisfied old thing. The same goes for Wootton’s voice. The singer became an old angry man with the rawest voice, with which he can fully embody Comus’ power, caused by its 40-year slumber. In other words – Comus are back.
38 years went by from their last album, from their black spot in the otherwise cult discography, from the pop-folk averageness that was To Keep From Crying, which came to be when the label’s capitalist tendency just wouldn’t back down. After their first album, Comus broke up, but their record deal commanded them to produce another album. To Keep From Crying wasn’t Comus. Weren’t Comus.
That is why every hidden pagan was euphoric when Comus’ new album was announced. Preview of “Out of the Coma”, the title track, was totally what Comus were about. The real deal from 40 years ago, the same beast, the same band.
The first track is the title track and at the same time the peak of the album. “Out of the Coma” is full of First Utterance’s energy, angry, creepily pretty, imbued with freak-folk melodies and spine-tingling sighs from Bobbie Seagroatt. The track is about the return of Milton’s beast, paganism and women’s corpses. It is “comustic” to its core. Like “Diana” on First Utterance “Out of the Coma” prohibits its listener to stop the spinning of the record, which is created with a kind of fear to stop listening to it rather than its genius, which doesn’t mean there is none – on the contrary. “Out of the Coma” is, in layman’s terms, genius. The second of the three new tracks, “The Sacrifice”, is reminiscent of the second track from First Utterance, “The Herald”. Calm, beautiful guitar melody, prettily sinister sounds of woodwind, Bobbie’s mild voice. This should set your heart at peace… at least at the very start. When Wootton’s vocals kick in, the song takes a darker path. Bliss becomes despair. The rhythm intensifies, the pace increases, the anger returns. “The Return”, the third track, is in the similar manner as its precursor is when it starts. We can still feel the sinister ambiance, but it is more or less this calm prog folk and not the blazing insanity of “Out of the Coma” and First Utterance. Don’t get me wrong – the song is still full of what Comus represents, it just isn’t as tense as the title track.
The last part of the album gives us the lost Comus gem from their golden years. The song was recorded on a cassette recorder in 1972, which is why the quality is bad. It’s this 15-minute long suite, called “The Maalgard Suite”, which is definitely in the vain of everything on First Utterance. But any kind of review of this piece of music would be really hard, as the quality of the recording isn’t all that good. Nevertheless, this recording is a welcome bonus to the new material, but it would be even better if it would be added as a bonus track along with the album. Comus creativity is back, so it’s a shame that there wasn’t more new material on the album.
Out of the Coma is definitely an essential listen for every Comus fan. The band didn’t disappoint, which is very important in this case. It’s crystal clear the First Utterance remains untouchable, but Out of the Coma is definitely remindful of Comus’ golden era. In the end, Out of the Coma isn’t only a very good addition to Comus’ discography and a remind of what they were and are capable, but also a well-above-average piece of music on today’s music scene.
Postava
Roger Wootton – akustična gitara, vokal | acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Bobbie Seagroatt – vokal, udaraljke | vocals, percussion
Glenn Goring – razne gitare, bubnjevi, vokal | 6-12 acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide, hand drums, vocals
Colin Pearson – violina, viola | violin, viola
Andy Hellaby – bas gitare, vokal | fender bass, slide bass, vocals
Jon Seagroatt – puhači, udaraljke | woodwind, percussion
Produkcija
Jon Seagroatt
Popis skladbi
1. Out of the Coma
2. The Sacrifice
3. The Return
4. Roger Spoken Intro to “The Malgaard Suite”
5. The Malgaard Suite
