These guys get automatic credit for a quote by Henry David Thoreau found in their liner notes: "The squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest." Makes you think doesn't it, about the tragic comedy of life? The music contains no lyrics, so it's nice of the band to provide some existential words for thought. ADMIRAL BROWNING are the DON CABALLERO of the seas. I swear I heard a cat meowing in one of the songs. It's that kind of album. The band name and some of the song titles ("Bastard Fish") may bring to mind Primus, but fortunately there are no goofy odes to cheese here. After progressive workout "Mr. Mxyzptlk" (presumably of Aztec descent) the epic "Golden Spiral" brings us to the choppy high seas. A lot of so-called "Viking Metal" bands are all humorless gloom, but as the underrated Terry Jones film Erik the Viking makes clear, there was righteous humor and heart among the men of the north. Admiral Browning are that kind of Viking Metal.

One of the heavier tracks is "Rags," which begins with the sounds of surreal channel-surfing before the lid comes off. The diversity here is welcome: unlike many instrumental rock bands, each track on Dead Pets has a definite flavor of its own. I could picture Maynard James Keenan singing over parts of "Flash," while "Zeekie" has shades of "Planet Caravan." While not necessarily a concept album, the clever use of segues does bring home the point that, yes, this album is about dead pets. And why not? While many bands of an epic metal bent aim for cosmic and mythological concerns, who among us has not felt the loss of a dead pet? I myself have written a poem about my sadly deceased dog, and if I could write an eight-minute instrumental stoner rock journey about him I'd do that too. Cheers to a band that went ahead and did it.

- Shragge

OFFICIAL SITE: www.admiralbrowning.com

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