ARMAGEDDON

ARMAGEDDON were a four-piece British band featuring two former members of Renaissance. The band were led by singer and guitarist, Keith Relf, a former member of The Yardbirds who also featured on the first two Renaissance albums: "Renaissance" (1969) and "Illusion" (1971). Tragically, he was electrocuted by his guitar in 1976 at the age of 33, just before he was due to have recorded the first album with Illusion. Armageddon also featured his Renaissance bandmate Louis Cennamo on bass guitar, Martin Pugh (from Steamhammer) on lead guitar and Bobby Caldwell (of Captain Beyond) on drums. It's time now to do battle between the forces of good and evil and check out Armageddon's one and only 1975 album before the final Day of Judgement.

TAKE COVER!! There's a storming 8-minute "Blizzard" of pounding percussive, window-rattling Hard Rock on the way. This powerful sonic blast of apocalyptic music thunders along at an incredible pace. It's all thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening. These guys are on FIRE! You can do the fandango and skip the light fantastic to this thunderous non- stop "Blizzard" of Rock. This is like the 1970's equivalent of Speed Metal before Speed Metal had even been invented. Armageddon are a Revelation. This music is supersonic, soaring like the Concorde up into the stratosphere at twice the speed of sound! Wow!! We need a breather after that thunderous blast from the past, and what better way than with the 8-minute- long "Silver Tightrope". It's an altogether gentler melodic song in an album that's a delicate balancing act between an all-out sonic assault on the eardrums and some pleasant melodic prog. "Silver Tightrope" features a lush melody swaying on a high-wire of gorgeous vocal harmonies and a lovely-sounding chorus of electric guitars, although in reality, it's one guitar with a chorus pedal. It's a truly beautiful song and a complete contrast to the storming opening "Blizzard". This superb album is already heading for the accolade of acclaimed five-star status after the first two sensational songs. We're taking off and going supersonic again for "Paths And Planes And Future Gains", another pile-driving powerhouse of dynamic energy and pounding percussive power. It's a thunderous atomic blast, featuring an awesome four and a half minutes of unrelenting sonic assault and battery. Play it LOUD!!

Side Two opens with the 8-minute-long "Last Stand Before", which turns out to have more of a funky syncopated groove than the two thunderous Stormbringer songs on Side One. It's still a really energetic toe-tapper though with a hypnotic hook-line and a dynamic driving rhythm, so there's no peace for the wicked (or the good). Whether you're on your feet or on your knees, you won't be able to resist tapping your feet to this catchy upbeat tune. And now, it's time for the musical tour de force and ultimate highlight of the album, "Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun", a four-piece suite with a running time of over eleven minutes. This almighty music has all the unstoppable power and dynamic energy of an icebreaker in the land of the midnight sun. This is a soaring supersonic return to the storm and thunder songs of Side One, only this time it's over eleven minutes of unremitting, high-voltage Rock & Roll energy that hits you straight between the eyes like a battering ram, so crank up the volume and stand well back.

Armageddon is not the end of the world as we know it in the final Day of Judgement. No, Armageddon is an atomic blast of high- energy Rock & Roll with enough dynamic power to light up a city. Armageddon have gone nuclear with this stunning one-off album.

I was a bit surprised to find this album listed in PA and decided to give it a spin after a few decades away from listing to it.

It still strikes me as a hard rock album that former Yardbird vocalist and Renaissance founder Kieth Relf hoped would take him to the top. It did not and Relf tragically died the next year after being electrocuted at home. Armageddon was made up of fellow ex Renaissance bassist Louis Cennamo, ex Steamhammer guitarist Martin Pugh and American drummer Bobby Caldwell.

Pugh is the star of this album with the extended riffing intro to "Buzzard" signaling the hard rock riffing to come. Caldwell's manic heavy Motorhead style drumming adds even more excitement, with Cennamo, surprisingly, being just functionary. However, Relf's vocals are the weak link to this material. A slow blues based singer, he lacked the power and range of contemporaries like Robert Plant or Ian Gillan that was needed to drive these songs over the top, and Relf's lyrics are sub par when compared to the afore noted. However, his harp playing does help to give the music a distinct blues vibe that's missing in Pugh's aggressive searing "keep the wah peddle floored" playing.

Armageddon made only this album before quickly disbanding, but it's not a big loss, as Relf was better at setting trends then he was at following them.

Review Nº 84

Armageddon was a band formed in 1974 who released only one album, their self-titled debut album "Armageddon", in 1975. The choice of the name Armageddon was very symbolic and it does symbolise the site of the last final and epic battle between the good and the evil in the end of times or the positive and negative. Armageddon is somehow a super group due to their line up formed by Keith Relf (vocals and harmonica), Martin Pugh (electric and acoustic guitars), Bobby Caldwell (vocals, drums and percussion) and Louis Cennamo (bass). Relf had been the lead singer of Yardbirds throughout the 60's, which was a band with three of the best guitarists of all time Eric Clapton, Jeff Back and Jimmy Page. In 1969 he had been also one of the co-founders of Renaissance. Unfortunately, he was tragically killed by an electric shock, at home in 1976, when he plasticizing is guitar. Pugh had been the lead guitarist of Steamhammer. Caldwell had been the drummer of Captain Beyond. Cennamo had been the bass player of Renaissance and Steamhammer. Due to the dying of Relf, this project was unable to continue and "Armageddon" ended up being the only work released by them. "Armageddon" was well received by critics and fans, but due to the band didn't tour extensively, it sales suffered. However, due to the tragic death of Relf, somehow "Armageddon" became a cult album.

"Armageddon" can be listed as hard and progressive rock, though I believe that the hard rock sound is more obvious on it. In fact, four of the five songs have over 8 minutes long and suggest a progressive act, and it's true that the longest songs wander outside the usual standard rock song format, but much of the length is taken up by jam sessions and extended guitar solos. So, this album is mostly a hard rock affair with some great riffs, excellent guitar solos and a Caldwell's great drumming work. It was Caldwell's driving with his hard hitting beats that pushed the group into a heavier direction, which probably we wouldn't expect. These were probably influences of Captain Beyond. This is a deceptively complex, multi-layered album that demands multiple listens. It's an intriguing blend of bruising proto-metal riffs, progressive rock and heavy psychedelic blues. It really became a truly good album of the 70's.

"Armageddon" has five tracks. The first track "Buzzard" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf is an excellent opener to the album. The song has a very great heavy guitar sound by Pugh with the use of wah wah pedal, a very strong bass line by Cennamo and they're very well accompanied by the powerful drumming of Caldwell. This is really a very good song. The second track "Silver Tightrope" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf is my favourite song on the album. It's a very beautiful and long ballad with a very nice guitar's sound. Once more we have here a great job of Cennamo and Caldwell. The third track "Paths And Planes And Future Games" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf is a very powerful song. This is a song with a nice and energetic heavy sound with great individual performance by all band's members. Despite coming on the same line of "Buzzard" it's a less creative and imaginative track. The fourth track "Last Stand Before" written by Pugh, Caldwell, Relf and Cennamo is a good song, also heavy, once more very well performed by all band's members, and this time with good harmonica of Relf. Despite being a good song, in my opinion is a little bit repetitive and less imaginative. The fifth track "Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun" is divided into four parts: "Warning Comin'On" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf, "Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf, "Brother Ego" written by Pugh, Caldwell, Relf and Cennamo and "Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun (reprise)" written by Pugh, Caldwell and Relf. This is the epic song that should be the best song on the album, but it's my less favourite song. It's true that it's also a good song very well performed, but for me is, as the previous song, sometimes repetitive and with bored moments, which became very tedious, despite some good parts.

Conclusion: I know of this album since the time it was released, although I only bought it a few years ago. I must say that in those times, this album had some success among some of my best friends who liked heavier music. I confess that I personally have always been a man more connected to the symphonic genre. Anyway, I always had a very eclectic musical taste. "Armageddon" is a good hard rock album, very heavy for those days, with good guitar driven, a very interesting bass line and also with a very good drumming job. I think it's a very unique working and I must say that I always liked the cover of the album. "Armageddon" has, in my humble opinion, two great songs, "Buzzard" and specially "Silver Tightrope" and a very interesting song "Paths And Planes And Future Gains". But, the rest of the album is also good but it's more vulgar, repetitive and also has less imagination for my taste. However, "Armageddon" is an obscure album made by an obscure band in the 70's that deserves to be better known and appreciated. Perhaps it was the tragic dying of Relf that made the album lives so many years in such obscurity. It's now time to be discovered.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

This has long been one of my favorite Prog albums. I first heard this album when I was around 12 years old... the same year I discovered King Crimson's "In the Court of the Crimson King". In fact "Silver Tightrope" (the second of five songs on the album) is very similar to " 'Court". Both songs follow a mellow mesmeric dream state anthem theme. " 'Tightrope" is also similar to The Beatles' riffy repeated guitar ending in "I Want You (She's So Heavy)", in that they both use the guitar riff to virtually hypnotize us such that we never get sick of hearing it (lol). I'd loved this song so much throughout my teen years, I was enthralled when I, at last, purchased the album through a seller in Goldmine Magazine.

Also, around the time I was 12, I discovered Renaissance. Unbeknowst to me at the time though, was the connection between Keith Relf, the leader of Armageddon, and Rennaissance (I knew he was from the Yardbirds, however). When I did discover the connection, it just impounded the importance of this "one off (album)" band to me.

Armageddon's sole recorded studio contribution begins with the swirling guitars of "Buzzard". With garage band-like vocals, and Keith Relf's eerie harmonica, "Buzzard" opens the gateway to "Silver Tightrope", easily an important, soon to be classic Prog Anthem. Maybe it's just me, as I grew up in a medium sized town in the Southwest, where the skies are blue and wildlife was not far from your front door. The song reminds me of the early sunrise on the moutains and the clean fresh scent of early morning air. Again, like other Prog anthems, such as Pink Floyd's "Echoes", this one resonates with one's natural surroundings... and in both cases, the dreamstate sunrise as it opens up into the more intense day. " 'Tightrope" is followed by "Paths and Planes and Future Gains", sounding a little like a mellowed out Black Sabbath, this song closes out the first side on the original LP.

The second side of the original LP begins with "Last Stand Before". This one again uses a catchy mesmerizing guitar riff for an extended ending, and Keith Relfs wailing harmonica - and really, this song sounds like Peter G "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" Genesis (Just imagine Peter G doing the vocals and you will see/hear what I mean). The album closes out with "Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun", an epic written in four movements.

All the more I can say about this album is that it is Classic Prog and every single song on this album is a gem. Reading some of the other reviews, I see it is considered by a few to be "Hard Rock" (*chuckle*). Hardly. Because there are no keyboards and because the main instrument is a guitar, does not make it Hard Rock. This is easily one of the top five most important Prog albums of all time.

I was glad to find this album available on CD because I had been a fan of The Yardbirds since my high school days and I knew of Keith Relf's involvement with Armageddon. What I didn't know was that former Captain Beyond drummer Bobby Caldwell was also on this album. So that was a thrill to discover since I loved his work on the Captain's debut album.

As the story goes, Keith Relf left The Yardbirds along with Jim McCarty because they wanted to get away from the heavy direction Jimmy Page was taking the band and Relf was interested in doing more acoustic-centred work. He formed the original version of Renaissance with McCarty but after two albums he left and went on to produce for a few bands. One of his last productions was an album for Steamhammer and along with two of the members of that band, Relf left for California. There the three found Bobby Caldwell who had played in Captain Beyond alongside Iron Butterfly alumni Lee Dorman and Larry Reinhardt and Deep Purple MK I vocalist Rod Evans. They formed Armageddon and recorded this one-time album.

"Armageddon" is listed as both hard rock and progressive rock, though I believe the hard rock sound is more obvious. The fact that four of the five songs are over 8 minutes long would suggest a prog act and it's true that the longer songs wander outside the standard rock song format, but much of the length is taken up by jam sessions and extended guitar solos.

This album is mostly a hard rock affair with some great riffs, excellent guitar solos and Caldwell's phenomenal drumming. I do find the songs less engaging than Captain Beyond, however. Maybe that's because the Captain's debut was mostly short and blistering rockers and avoided long instrumental solo sections. Only "Silver Tightrope" steers clear of the hard rocking groove the band have going for most of the album. It is slightly reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "The Rain Song" but for me it's much less enjoyable because "The Rain Song" builds and progresses while this song just maintains the same slow flow. The gentle electric guitar riffs seem to go on for a couple of minutes more than necessary.

The other four tracks "Buzzard", "Paths and Planes and Future Gains" (two very awesome guitar riffs here), "Last Stand Before", and the four-part "Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun" are focused on hard rocking guitar music which to my ears sounds, very generally speaking, similar to Led Zeppelin's "Presence" album, particularly the song "Nobody's Fault but Mine". The music has that funky blues sound and the guitar sound similar as well. Real gritty distortion is only used between the 8:30 and 9:30 minute mark of "Basking...", at the end of part c) "Brother Ego".

As Relf played harmonica with The Yardbirds, it's not surprise to hear a little bit of mouth harp here as well. It fits in with the music well enough. The weakest point, I am afraid to say, is Keith Relf's vocals. It's not that his singing is particularly bad (except at the opening of "Silver Tightrope") but it doesn't have the power required for the music. Furthermore, I find his vocals a bit lost in the mix, meaning that the music seems louder than his voice. There is, however, one point that I am not clear on and that is who is doing the vocals at the beginning of "Buzzard". It sounds like someone is trying to imitate a young Lemmy Kilmister. When I first heard this I couldn't imagine that this was Keith Relf singing and I still can't as the rest of the album is sung in his recognizable voice.

It's unfortunate that Armageddon collapsed soon after the album was released but more so is the tragedy that Keith Relf died by electrocution soon after returning to the UK. I wonder if he would have taken part in The Yardbirds reunion that occurred with Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja in the 1990's or if he would have been part of the Box of Frogs project in the 1980's with McCarty, Dreja, and Yardbird's bassist Paul Samwell-Smith?

So here it is anyway. Armageddon's one album. Quite a good listen for many reasons and almost worth three and a half stars in my opinion. But I don't take this album out to listen to so much now that I am familiar with it.

A veritable super-group made up of former members of the British blues-based acts Steamhammer and The Yardbirds, American heavy proggers Captain Beyond and classical folk-rock exponents Renaissance, Armageddon were one of those promising outfits whose line-up looked great on paper yet for various reasons failed to truly develop their exciting potential. Only one album was produced - 1975's self-titled 'Armageddon' - and the group split after less than a year thanks to a destructive cocktail of personal issues and disappointing sales.

An intriguing blend of bruising proto-metal riffs, progressive rock and heavy psychedelic blues, Armageddon was in some respects an album slightly ahead of it's time, prefiguring the 1980s rise of heavy metal whilst also stealing a march on the punk explosion that was just around the corner. Featuring Keith Relf(harmonica, vocals), Martin Pugh(guitar), Bobby Caldwell(drums) and Louis Cennamo(bass), this was a group very much in the mould of hard-rockin' mid-seventies acts such as Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Quatermass and Deep Purple, only this quartet placed more emphasis on creating ambitious, progressive-style song-suites, a stylistic streak showcased on an impressive debut album containing just five interlocking pieces. As a result, 'Armageddon' proves to be an occasionally rather frustrating listen, yet there are many rewards for those who take the time to explore what is essentially an epic re-branding of British prog-rock.

Recorded in L.A., this is a deceptively complex, multi-layered album that demands multiple listens - the typical musical onion if you will - though it is not without its longeurs. The album starts with the quickfire riffery of 'Buzzard', Martin Pugh and Bobby Caldwell feeding off each other in a dynamic guitars-and-drums duel, before making way for the delicate intro of the atmospheric 'Silver Tightrope'. A nicely melodic and surprisingly tender track, 'Silver Tightrope' features a slower pace that almost belongs to another album, Keith Relf's yearning vocals undercut by twinkling keyboards and a sky-searching Clapton-esque solo from Pugh. Rather perversely it seems(this is a heavy rock album after all) 'Silver Tightrope' proves to be arguably the strongest track on the album, though it does eventually burst into heavier life during its fiery closing stages. However, it's a stand-alone piece.

Both the brisk 'Paths & Plains & Future Gains' - the album's shortest piece at four-and-a-half minutes - and the following 'Last Stand Before' revert back to the original, fast-paced metallic blueprint, before the album's crowning achievement, the epic four-part closer 'Basking In The White Of The Eye', takes the album to a different level altogether. A highly-charged proto-metal workout featuring extraordinary drumming from Caldwell, this final piece injects a strong dose of rocked-up blues into the equation, gathering together elements from each of it's four predecessors for a spectacularly muscular - and strangely mystical - blast of early progressive metal.

A mixture of pioneering blues-based heavy rock, epic soloing, crushingly powerful rhythms and earthy psychedelia, 'Armageddon' is a genuinely innovative - and rather original - statement that probably proved a touch rich for the American mid-seventies audience it was supposedly aimed at. The album fared little better in Europe, though thankfully it has survived through the ages to find a new set of fans in the 21st century. Maybe some it's lengthy individual pieces simply take too long to reach their sonic destinations, yet for those who can take the pace 'Armageddon' should prove an exhilarating listen. A flawed musical mixture then, but a brave one with much to recommend it all the same. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

2.5 stars really!!

Among some of these short supergroups made from well-known veterans, this Armageddon group (not to be confused with the German band or the heavy metal from much later) is a very short-lived one, since they disbanded after the on-stage death of ex- Yardbirds and lead singer Keith Relf, but given the boringness of their sole album, they wouldn't have survived any longer anyway. Made from Yardbirds, Renaissance, Steamhammer, Captain Beyond and Johnny Winter group ex-member, you'd have expected much more from these guys, especially on the four-part "epic" Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun. Coming with disputable War artwork, reminiscent of Warm Dust's album, this album was produced by relf himself (which hardly believable since his vocals are mostly drowned in the mix) and was on A&M in 75.

Part of this album's problem is Martin Pugh's mostly uninspired guitar playing, just reinforcing my opinion that Steamhammer's last two albums (where bassist Cennamo also played) were indeed poor. If Mountains was still correct, I always disliked the extremely sloppy Speech. Armageddon's album is more along the lines of the still- salvageable Mountains album. Actually the album starts at 100MPH with Buzzard, with an infectious guitar riff, but unfortunately repeated endlessly over the 8 minutes of the song. If Relf's vocals are buried in the mix, his harmonica solo towards the end is loud and clear. Starting much softer, Silver Tightrope, a boring and sloppily-written ballad, where Cennamo's bowed bass guitar gets some action, but will disappear as the track slowly builds up. Future games returns to an endlessly repeated guitar riff, even if this is the only shorter track of the album. Bad stuff as is Last Stand Before that opens the flipside, although there is an abrupt tempo change halfway through, but man is this heavy - in the clumsy and tiresome sense of the word, even though the second half is more interesting and might just be the album's high-water mark. The 11-mins+ epic mentioned above starts a bit in the same vein as its predecessor had ended: a prog intro before a 100 MPH guitar riff repeated endlessly covers Relf's vocals in the second section. The last two movements are more heavy guitars with harmonica responses, but although the group engages in more frequent tempo changes, it's become very tedious, despite some real heaviness.

Normally given the participants, this album should've been one of those hidden gems, but somehow, somewhere, things went terribly wrong. Armageddon's sole album is probably one of the neediest of a good remastering, and might even need a remix, and even then, that won't save it from getting a low rating. Best avoided, unless you're a fan of second- zone hard rock/heavy metal with slight prog touches.

"Armageddon" is the debut and sole full-length studio album by British/American hard rock act Armageddon. The album was released through A&M Records in May 1975. Armageddon were a kind of supergroup which consisted of Keith Relf on lead vocals, Harp and Harmonica (Yardbirds, Renaissance), Martin Pugh on electric and acoustic guitars (Steamhammer), Bobby Caldwell on drums, vocals, piano and percussion (Captain Beyond, Johnny Winter) and Louis Cennamo on Bass ( Renaissance, Steamhammer). Armageddon were brought to A&M records attention by Peter Frampton who was impressed by the band´s music. Armageddon´s career were very shortlived though as Keith Relf´s bad health and the drug abuse among some members of the group made it impossible for them to tour in support of the album (they actually only performed two shows in their lifetime) and even though the album was generally well received by fans and critics alike, Armageddon disbanded shortly after it´s release. Keith Relf returned to England and began a reunitement project of the original Renaissance called Illusion. He sadly died after being electrocuted while playing guitar in his basement/recording studio (and not in the bathtub as many sources claim). The guitar was not properly earthed. He died before recording any material for his new group (with the exception of "All the Falling Angels" which is featured on "Enchanted Carees (1990)" by Illusion. The other members of Armageddon went on to other projects.

The music on "Armageddon" is guitar driven hard rock. The tracks are generally pretty long which provides guitarist Martin Pugh a lot of room to show off his skills. The rhythm section is pretty fantastic too and I have to give a special mention to former Captain Beyond drummer Bobby Caldwell. His performance on this album is outstanding. The music style from the debut album by Captain Beyond comes to mind a couple of times during the playing time of "Armageddon". Don´t expect this to sound like Captain Beyond though as it´s just elements in the music I find that are similar. I don´t find the music on "Armageddon" to be as accomplished as the music on "Captain Beyond (1972)" either. This is mostly due to the vocal lines/melodies and the vocal delivery by Keith Relf which I honestly find a bit weak. The rest of the music is great even though some parts drag on a bit too long (the riff in "Silver Tightrope" just seems to go on and on and on).

The sound production is professional, organic, and suits the music well and all in all "Armageddon" is a solid guitar driven hard rock album with a lot of positive qualities. The vocals do drag my rating down a bit though and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is warranted.

3.5 stars.This is one of those bands I honestly never heard of until recently. They referred to themselves as a "supergroup" as they were former members of such bands as STEAMHAMMER, RENAISSANCE, THE YARDBIRDS and CAPTAIN BEYOND. I read the names of the four band members but didn't know any of them. I really think this project was totally about making some money (nothing wrong with that) instead of out of love for the music.The band themselves never really gelled as some were into drugs and some weren't. Keith the singer was already busy planning a new group after the record was released. Unfortunately Keith was killed while playing an electric guitar in the bath tub.The band broke up shortly after that. This is an album I should love considering the heavy style plus that those great sounding drums and guitar, but it just doesn't click with me. The vocals are a little weak at times although Keith did have some serious health issues including breathing problems which may account for why they seem so low in the mix at times.

"Buzzard" is such a great opener with the relentless guitar and pounding drums. Vocals after 2 minutes. Scorching guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. "Silver Tightrope" is a long (8 1/2 min.) ballad although the guitar after 7 minutes is a nice touch. "Paths And Planes And Future Games" has a nice heavy sound to it as vocals join in.The guitar is all over this one.

"Last Stand Before" is a catchy track with some incredible drumming. Harmonica from Keith as well. Great tune. "Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun" is where the vocals really seem distant. More excellent drumming and guitar. I like the way the harmonica and drums dominate 8 minutes in. Vocals return with the previous melody to end it.

I haven't given up on this one. I will continue to listen to see if my rating should stay where it is. Love the album cover on this one.

Armageddon should be one of the world wonders, honestly! Formed from members of Yardbirds, Steamhammer, Renaissance, and Captain Beyond, one could only expect a masterpiece and Armageddon exceeded that!

Buzzard - opens the album with a lot of wah wah and heavy guitar from Martin Pugh. Amazing drumming from one of prog's best drummers, Bobby Caldwell. The bass playing from Louis Cennamo is as powerful as Bobby's drumming. Hearing Keith Relf was surprise at first, considering I didn't even know it was him, he sounds so much more mature and powerful than he did with the Yardbirds.

Silver Tightrope - is a beautiful ballad. The song includes synthesized guitar and probably the most melodic singing Keith has ever done. Again bass and drums are superb, and to risk sounding redundant the same applies to every second of this album!

Paths And Planes And Future Gains - pretty much continues where Buzzard left off, in the sense that it picks up the heavy, wah wah guitar playing. Such amazing energy!

Last Stand Before - along with the epic Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun, is the heaviest song off this album. These guys are just wild.

Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun - is the closing number and what a way to end! From Paths and Planes and Future Gains & Last Stand Before, the heaviness is just unrelenting! This song is an epic in every sense of the word.

I recommend this not only to all Heavy Prog and Classic Metal fans, but also to people who need an album to make up for Captain Beyond's foray into jazz and departure from heavy prog. In my opinion this is one (if not THE) heaviest album ever recorded in the 70s. These guys could easily put Black Sabbath and Sir Lord Baltimore to shame!

5 Stars to a truly unique and unrelentingly heavy album!