MAUDLIN OF THE WELL — My Fruit Psychobells... A Seed Combustible (review)

MAUDLIN OF THE WELL — My Fruit Psychobells... A Seed Combustible album cover Album · 1999 · Avant-garde Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Conor Fynes
'My Psychobells... A Seed Combustible' - maudlin of the Well (6/10)

Perhaps immortalized for their essential duology of albums 'Bath' and 'Leaving Your Body Map,' many fans of the group seem to forget about avant-garde metal act maudlin of the Well's debut. Although the group wouldn't release a well-rounded piece of work until the second album, the album mysteriously called 'My Psychobells... A Seed Combustible' is certainly worth looking into for the more devoted fans of the band's greater work. Sparing comparisons to other Maudlin records however, 'Psychobells' stands as being a very interesting record, despite having far too many flaws in it's production and execution to be anything really great.

'Psychobells' can be looked at from one of two ways; first as an exceptional demo, and secondly as a flawed album. Keep in mind that there is no short supply of brilliant composition here; maudlin of the Well had already developed their charming sense of 'weirdness' early on, and Toby Driver's brilliance is shown early on. However, the way the album was produced leaves a bit too much to be desired. While production quality is rarely of heavy importance to underground recordings, the garage-style sound of the album really hinders the otherwise strong compositions. Especially when using headphones, there is far too much of a treble presence in the mix, and it makes the sound seem very two dimensional and shrill. The songs at times cut off and unexpectedly segue into a new one, which seems more like a production error over a mere way to be 'avant.'

The performance of the music is alright, and while 'Bath' improved things greatly, 'Psychobells' isn't deterred by any significant instrumental errors. The vocals of Toby Driver himself though, seem very weak here, at times even sounding off-key; the rest of the vocal work here (both growls and female clean) are admirable and functional.

In any case, the trademark instrumentation of the band should be enough to get fans listening to this album. The album shows Maudlin's ability to merge psychedelic and metal influences as one, and make for a completely unique listening experience. While I consider this to only be an 'extended demo' of sorts for the group, maudlin of the Well shows promise here, and a potential that would be realized with 'Bath.'
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Antibeauty Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Mana Earth Hardcore Punk
SNOWING IN PERU
Buy this album from MMA partners
Intimate Isolation Hardcore Punk
GOOD FALL
Buy this album from MMA partners
Dark Future Sludge Metal
PAIN CHEMISTRY
Buy this album from MMA partners
Violent Delights Hardcore Punk
GALLEONS
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Galleons - Electric Emotions
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - Elsewhere (Official Lyric Video)
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - Neon Dreams (Official Lyric Video)
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
Galleons - I Travel East As Fievel Goes West Pt. 1 - Official Lyric Video
GALLEONS
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
FREEHOWLING - SCARS FT. AARON MATTS (TEN56.) [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]
FREEHOWLING
Bosh66· 19 hours ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed