About two years ago a friend of mine meets me for lunch and gives me a CD-R with two words written on it: CAPTAIN BEYOND. I looked at him and said, “What the fuck is this?” and he tells me, “THIS… THIS will melt your face my friend. Listen to it and you will love it.” I immediately popped it into my stereo when I got home and what came out of those speakers was far beyond any face melt I had ever had.
Captain Beyond’s debut album has to be in my top of greatest debut albums ever made. These guys went in with a formula and that formula sounds more like 5 guys took a bunch of acid, went into the studio with an ass load of songs, hit record and started playing. It’s psychedelic metal before metal even was metal. Hell, the first three songs sound like one long fucking song. Dancing Madly Backwords/Armworth/Myopic Void is one long mega trip of progressive rock awesomeness. Tempo changes, stratospheric guitar playing and a singer that just kills it while giving it all he has. “Mesmerization Eclipse” is a goddamn juggernaut riff machine and “Raging River of Fear” is it’s bastard brother that has singer Rod Evans singing this song like it’s the last song he’ll ever sing. Captain Beyond sounds not only connected to each other but connected to the song as one entity. It’s rare that you hear a band that sounds this connected. It’s almost as if they are telepathically communicating with each other at times.
Listener, I present this challenge to you. Pick up this album, put on some headphones, close your eyes and you can literally find yourself becoming part of this album. It’s a musical journey down a raging river of rapids that has you going over turbulent waters, waterfalls and at times present quiet, subtle floating moments that make you feel as if you are weightless. Captain Beyond is a musical ride that every music lover should hop on at least once. Just allow it to take you wherever it wants to take you. It’s a ride you will never forget and that I can guarantee.
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