DEATH WALKS BEHIND YOU

Lately I've been reading way too many positive reviews of this so called hard-rock flavored masterpiece of progressive rock. It feels as though I will need to make a statement on this peculiar issue.

I've had Death Walks Behind You in my collection for a couple of years but never considered it a remarkable album in any way. Having said that I don't find anything particularly wrong with it either. It's one of the earliest incarnations of the heavy progressive flavored rock sound performed by a power-trio line-up. But all of this just bring a feeling of indifference on my part especially since another far more superior heavy prog release from that same year by Quatermass scores a whole lot higher with me. Unfortunately I find it difficult not to compare these two albums when listening to them. Both have blues oriented rock in its core but while Quatermass manages to make this work in their favor Atomic Rooster, on contrary, have chosen to go for a much more commercially oriented sound. This might not be apparent on the excellent intro album-titled composition, nor the instrumental called VUG which follows it. The albums middle section of the album which consists of four tracks is, on the other hand, filled with this problem. These compositions sound not only commercial but also very dated in comparison to the rest of the album. Only once we get to Nobody Else do we get a new wave of great material, but unfortunately the album is almost over by that point.

Death Walks Behind You might not be the classic that so many consider it to be, still it does contain a whole side of material which might be worth exploring therefore a good, but non-essential rating fits it quite well.

***** star songs: VUG (5:00)

**** star songs: Death Walks Behind You (7:23) Streets (6:45) Nobody Else (5:01) Gershatzer (7:59)

*** star songs: Tomorrow Night (4:00) Sleeping For Years (5:28) I Can't Take No More (3:34)