CAPTAIN BEYOND — Captain Beyond (review)

CAPTAIN BEYOND — Captain Beyond album cover

Album · 1972 · Heavy Psych

4/5 · 2012-01-22
AtomicCrimsonRush

Thanks to reviewers I was drawn to this album like a moth to a flame. Immediately I was dazzled by crunching riffs with heavy guitars and then amazing time changes locking into killer riffing with dirty guitar sounds and serious vocals. The time sigs changes so dramatically it is hard to keep up but it is such a delight to be treated to an obscurity like this hiding in the prog vaults. It begins with 'Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air)' with all the time shifts and then blazes straight into 'Armworth' with Rod Evans' vocals, from Deep Purple, and hard rocking non stop rock rhythms.

The riffs are always prevalent and driving headlong to new half time feels and awesome instrumental breaks with the mind bending guitars of Rhino, from Iron Butterfly. His slide guitar work is absolutely psychedelic and atmospheric. Bobby Caldwell was a brilliant drummer and has a field day on percussion injecting timpani triplets and odd beats throughout. The bass of Lee Dorman is a constant pulse. 'Mesmerization Eclipse' is the first break into a different feel after the non stop opening suite of songs. There is another heavy riff and Deep Purple style vocals. They are much more progressive though, and once again the song reaks into several signatures, the band are brimming over with creativity and one never knows where they will go next, fast to slow to downright out of place, each meter is a pattern that locks on with that ever present heavy guitar. I didn't like the way this faded out slowly but immediately the next riff settles in on 'Raging River Of Fear'. This has a heavy bluesy feel, aggressive vocals and accomplished rhythm changes. The drums on this are incredible, constantly providing new tempos and fast paced beats and fills.

'Thousand Days Of Yesterday (Intro)' settles down the fury with quiet acoustic picking and gentle vocals. The harmonies are nice and the overall feel is melancholy to break away from the heaviness before and after. It doesn't last long as the next moment guitars crunch in and a fast tempo with forced vocals on 'Frozen Over'. The half time feel on this is astonishing injecting new metrics and it then changes completely in the next section. Nobody changes time sigs like Captain Beyond; so rapid and always appropriate. It fades into an accelerated acoustic rhythm on 'Thousand Days Of Yesterdays (Time Since Come & Gone)'.

A fantastic rhythm locks in and Rhino is dynamic in the lead break. It fades and hammering chords intro 'I Cant Feel Nothin (Part 1)'. The drums are dazzling along with another massive riff. The vocals are easy on the ears and close to the Bachman Turner Overdrive style. The music continues non stop with a suite of songs; 'As The Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea)' a quiet acoustic piece of beauty with narrative vocals, 'Astral Lady', 'As The Moon Speaks (Return)' back to the pounding rock of 'I Cant Feel Nothin (Part 2)'.

What a fantastic heavy slice of heavy prog with an obscurity that should be unearthed and played often. A great find for any heavy prog fan and one to return to habitually.