Comus

First Utterance esoteRic

Cult pagan-folk classic gets a deserved deluxe reissue.

Casting a dark spell over the English post-hippie scene, Comus were an acoustic Black Sabbath, their dense acid-folk symphonies seething with demonic, psychotic, occult undercurrents.

Formed in 1969 by Bromley-based art students Roger Wootton and Glenn Goring, they found an early champion in local rising star David Bowie, but proved too weird for the pre-glam 1970s, splitting up after just two albums. However, they have since achieved cult status, partly thanks to endorsements from younger acolytes, such as Swedish prog-metallers Opeth. Reunited since 2009, their live shows remain intense, spooked, disquieting affairs.

Crisply remastered and expanded with extra tracks from the same period, this masterful 1971 debut has barely dated. Wootton’s diabolically possessed vibrato warble retains its piercing potency, sounding like the missing link between Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan and John Lydon on the incantatory Diana.

Inspired by a horror movie, Drip, Drip is an uncanny fever dream bookended by dervish whirls of flamenco-style guitar. Bonus track highlights include Winter Is A Coloured Bird and

All The Colours of Darkness, marathon pagan pastorals that dial down the menace with ululating female voices, trilling flutes and maypole-dancing rhythms. Totally Wicker Man.

Almost half a century later, First Utterance remains the kind of album you wouldn’t play alone in the dead of night. Yes, it is that good.