Recorded live on a boat in 2008, this CD documents the first performance of Comus in over 30 years. Evidently whatever pact they made to make First Utterance had a retirement clause in it as the band sounds remarkably potent here. Had this been an archive recording from their creative zenith, I would have been impressed but bearing in mind this is the first time they had taken a stage together in over 30 years, this is phenomenal.
Playing at the request of Opeth’s Mikael Åkerfeldt (a massive fan of Comus to the point of naming their fantastic 1998 album My Arms, Your Hearse after Comus lyrics), the group made their way out to a metal festival based on a cruise ship setting sail from Stockholm where they received a rapturous reception based on the sounds of this recording. This set was originally issued as a DVD a couple of years ago and while this CD covers the exact same material, it is nice to have this music in a format that is more user friendly (I am not one for sitting down with music DVDs very often).
Opening with a powerful version of "Song to Comus," it is difficultto be anything other than blown away by the primal, sexual force of the music. Roger Wootton’s voice sounds as demonic here as it did on First Utterance and he sounds like the feral forest entity Comus in human form. The Bacchanalian frenzy continues with "Diana" which sees Colin Pearson’s violin cutting through the music like the baying hounds through the undergrowth chasing the song’s namesake. As good as this is, the highlight of East of Sweden is undoubtedly "Drip Drip" (incidentally my favorite song from First Utterance). Violent, murderous and exquisitely played, this is the perfect example of why Comus were such an important and thrilling band. Importantly, it shows that they still have the potential to stir up the same feelings and excitement in listeners today.
While there are no new Comus songs on the album, they do include a cover of The Velvet Underground’s "Venus in Furs" at the end of their set. It does not have the same sheer power of the original but no VU cover has ever really managed to surpass the originals. Yet, it fits better with the material from First Utterance than Comus’ own second album. The CD finishes with the encore: another rendition of "Song to Comus," which riles the crowd up as it did at the beginning of the concert. It says an awful lot that an artist can play the same song twice and come out of it sounding like heroes. Granted they are violating and frightening heroes but heroes nonetheless.
The lack of any new material on the album is significant. Their second album was a middling-to-good attempt were it another band but compared to First Utterence it was a disappointment. I have seen Comus since this live album was recorded and they included new material that I found to be mixed. However, East of Sweden is still a ferocious and essential recording that is as good to my ears as First Utterence despite my concerns about Comus’ future.
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