This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Deadsy’s frontman calls himself P. Exeter Blue I, but don’t let the fancy pseudonym fool you. It’s actually Elijah Blue Allman. That’s right, Cher and Gregg’s kid. Though you’d think he was the love child of Trent Reznor, Gary Numan and Marilyn Manson after listening to his band’s long-delayed sophomore album.
Commencement’s 14 cuts weld the synthesized grandeur of prog-rock and the chilly alienation of goth to the crushing aggression of industrial metal, sounding for all the world like the mid-’90s artifact it is (this CD was supposed to come out back in 1999, and many of these tracks date back to the group’s 1996 debut). You gotta give ’em a point for having the guts — and the chops — to tackle Rush’s 7/8 classic Tom Sawyer. But next time, guys, how about more songs written in this millennium? Either that or a cover of If I Could Turn Back Time.
