Psychotic Waltz

Lumped in with the burgeoning progressive metal movement, Psychotic Waltz were one of the more interesting bands to come out of that scene. Originally formed under a different name, they started releasing music in '86 and made some waves with their debut album, A Social Grace, which was pretty much a straight-up progressive/tech death record a la Atheist (who's Piece of Time came out just a year prior) with some odd Jethro Tull-ish flourishes, like (seriously) flute solos and light keyboard.

If they continued down that path, though, Psychotic Waltz would not have been nearly as interesting. Their next album, Into the Everflow, came out in '92 and generated even more buzz than A Social Grace, as they began their metamorphosis into spaced-out psychedelic metal. Tracks like "Ashes", "Little People", and especially "Freakshow" kept up the "progressive" facade (which they would soon abandon), weird-ass pieces like "Out of Mind", the title track, and especially the album closer "Butterfly" showcase a band going totally off the reservation -- and they never really came back.

1994's Mosquito brought the Waltz's strange brew of trippy lyrics and spiky, intricate song structures to a boiling point. By this point they had more or less completely abandoned the "progressive" scene as it was now defined by bands like Dream Theater and Queensryche on the metal side of the spectrum and neo-prog revivalists like Spock's Beard, the Flower Kings, and Marillion on the softer, more traditional end of the continuum. Instead, they descended even deeper into the hazy depths of stoner and psychedelic music than ever before, turning in their most hooky, accessible record yet (or since). The first half of the album still holds up as one of the strongest opening salvos recorded -- tracks like "Lovestone Blind", "Haze One", "Locked Down", and the title track are insanely groovy, reaching an excellent balance between the whacked-out lyrics and soundscapes of psychedelia with the slammin' riffs of the best stoner music has to offer. Unfortunately, tensions within the band were high around this time, and Psychotic Waltz's last chance at real success passed them by, caused by a combo deal of poor promotion, being signed to a succession of obscure European-only labels, and the apparent bad luck that comes with being a metal band playing anything somewhat original.

They would end up releasing one more album. 1996's Bleeding which, while not quite a chore to listen to, is a far cry from their previous height, leaning more towards the technical style of their early years with decidedly less memorable arrangements than usual. After Bleeding, the Waltz broke up and seemingly went their separate ways, but in 2010 they began touring again and announced plans for a new album. It's been five years without any news, so I'm not holding my breath, but the legacy of Psychotic Waltz is still plenty strong as it is.