The Lotos Eaters
Self-Titled
Lotos-Eaters Music

I guess the cover art should have been a hint; a half naked woman holding a bloody sword that sports a bat-winged skull on the hilt. Maybe these guys were just a couple of decades late. Back before punk, pretense was much more acceptable as was drama, and if nothing else, the Lotos Eaters are dramatic.

Take all the things that annoy you about Jethro Tull, Queen, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Meat Loaf and Kansas and you will have an idea what the Lotos Eaters sound like.(Coffee with the Warden: b: Ennui (.au)/(.wav)) If ever there was a band that could make the sequel to Spinal Tap it's this one.

What can I say, this band is so gloriously bad that they transcend bad and move into cult classic status. I wanted to say they are the Plan 9 From Outer Space of bands but that's too low budget, they are more like Joseph Mankiewcz' Cleopatra. You know, Liz Taylor, huge sets, a cast of thousands. I bow down in worship of their badness. The bold and unapologetic use of every rock cliche is masterful and the boys never waver from their dedication.

It's almost comforting to know that somewhere in the heartland (Des Moines to be exact) someone is keeping this genre alive. Okay, I actually kind of liked one song, Good Morning Syd (.au)/(.wav). I don't know what it's about but there is a definite sense of the dramatic here.

I met these guys in Austin and they gave me their CD and asked me to review it and they were really nice guys. It's the G.G.B.B. syndrome; Good Guys-Bad Band. On the back of this CD there is a statement that reads "If this CD gives you even a moment's worth of pleasure then we are redeemed." Well, for me it did that. Rock on boys. Contact the Lotos Eaters: Box 71309 Des Moines, Iowa. 50235