Psychotic Waltz
A Social Grace

THE REVIEW

Psychotic Waltz, formed in California in 1982, gained a limited notoriety among a few devoted fans and, despite being esteemed by big names like Voivod, Fates Warning, and Death, they never managed to earn the attention they deserved.

This lack of recognition, towards the San Diego combo, seems quite unfounded given the high quality of their works. However, in a period, during the '90s, when the scenes were being invaded by the grunge trends, it seemed difficult to exalt the feats of a "strange" band like Psychotic Waltz. So hats off to the Teutonic Metal Blade, which authored the luxurious boxset reissues (the CDs had been out of stock for some time) of the four seminal albums by Psychotic Waltz, with some rarities that will surely tempt numerous collectors.

Here we are faced with the astonishing "A Social Grace," the debut of the quintet, composed of Devon Graves aka Buddy Lackey (now in Dead Soul Tribe) on vocals and flute, Dan Rock (now in Darkstar) on guitar and piano, Brian McAlpin on guitars, Ward Evans on bass, and Norm Leggio on drums; from the first notes, it's clear we are dealing with an unpredictable, heavily deviant, and elusive creature, where the most disparate influences explode in a sick and alienated metallic/musical potpourri.

Imagine a melting pot between: prog, psychedelia, folk, speed metal, techno-thrash, space rock, and hard rock.... where, an unthinkable songwriting style, sulfurous atmospheres, theatrical and eccentric vocals that at times resemble those of Ian Anderson (not coincidentally one song is dedicated to him), come together to deliver 64 minutes of experimentation tout court. All of this might suggest a muddled hodgepodge of sounds with no rhyme or reason, and consequently a big failure, but I assure you that the amalgam of Psychotic Waltz is unique, cohesive, and fresh, even if it dates back to 1990, although devoid of redundant and useless frills. Every track, whether loaded with groove, sunny, or damnably ominous, is expertly crafted, and singling out one in particular would be reductive. There's nothing left but to be enveloped by the polytonal chant of “A Social Grace,” a PSYCHOTIC WALTZ with phenomenal compositional sensitivity.

Moreover, the reviewed edition includes, in addition to the aforementioned album, the third work “Mosquito” and a DVD containing two video clips and the release party of the album held in San Diego in '91. One more reason to indulge in this dance.