Reviews    Jesters of Destiny - Fun at the Funeral (Ektro Records)
by Chris Barnes

Jussi Lehtisalo of heavyspacekrautrockers Circle hipped me to this about a year ago. I had forgotten about it until I had to order more Circle CDs from him. He reminded my about their odd brilliance. So I bought some of these too. After all, it was Jussi that labeled Fun at the Funeral "one of the most important heavy rock albums" ever. I trust the man implicitly.

Jesters of Destiny may have been the only real avant-metal band to ever exist. Like Pere Ubu, Flock of Seagulls and Judas Priest all inbreeding over several generations. Anyway, Jesters of Destiny can be summed up with Jester mainman Bruce Duff's retrospective look at the band... "The name Jesters Of Destiny honestly came to me in a dream, and it perfectly summed up our lyrical combination of existentialism, satire, comedy, resignation - gleeful gloom, if you will.." That pretty much sums it up.

Can a New Wave keyboard riff survive with screaming metal guitar, psychedelic interludes and death metal pounding? You wouldn't think so and after listening you may still not think so. But you gave it a shot, it looks cool in your CD collection and you can brag that you hold one of the last remaining "avant metal" CDs ever.

You also gotta hear the cover of Sabbath's "Electric Funeral"....wild....won't get you laid, but it sounds cool.

Purchase Fun at the Funeral at the Hellride Music Super Store

Listen to a Real Audio sample of Diggin' That Grave

Copyright 2002 HellrideMusic.com
Review by Chris Barnes 9/7/02