After several label changes and finally settling on Red Ant, Psychotica recorded what was to be their landmark album. “Pandemic,” only to have it never be released.Pandemic opens with a melodic guitar/violin which shifts quickly into high gear with the open notes of the first song, “Fool’s Gold.” This song swings between frantic electric guitars and synthesized string ambience. Angelic voices back Briggs’ often brash voice. The album floats through deep swells and decrescendos having no defiantly climax or closing. In fact, the album cycles. The beginning of the first song, “Into,” picks up right where the last song, “Valentino” leaves off.Not only does the music take the listener through the gamut of human emotions, so do the lyrics. In “Oceans of Hunger,” Pat croons to the listeners, “And I wish you were the conscience lost forever in the war/Wish you were my spirit what went out with the storm/Wish you were the air that feeds the fire,” he brags in “Euthanasia,” “You were a slave in heaven/And now a superstar in hell” and assures him/her in “Contradiction,” “I used to be a feather in your headdress/But it beats the fucking loneliness /And I'm happy now.” The only disappointment was the song “Valentino,” where Briggs and band over-dramatize a refrain. It feels like a rough jolt from the serene sadness of the rest of the piece. It feels like a Broadway musical gone sour. This being said, Pandemic is a must for new listeners and hard-core Psychotica fans alike. Who knows what could have been, with this possible break-though album left in the vaults. Everyone should check it out because you sure can’t beat the price. From: http://saltyka.blogspot.com/2007/06/psychotica.html
