ARKTIS

The final release from this band is another compilation album like the previous one of mostly unreleased tracks and live tunes. Some good music on here but this isn't as good as the previous record. Lots of guitar led songs but it gets tiresome after a while hearing mostly the same style over and over for over 74 minutes.

"Speed Boogie" opens with the guitar swirling before a full sound kicks in. Some good pickin' on this one. "Is It Real" is a catchy vocal track. It's okay but the best part is the instrumental section starting after 1 1/2 minutes. "Hey Boy" is another commercial sounding vocal tune. "Great Spring Feeling" is excellent as the guitar leads throughout this intrumental.

"Quak Quak" features lots of guitar noodling. "Very Progressive" is good with the guitar, bass and drums jamming away for some 18 minutes. "Furious Flight" is another good guitar driven track. "Slide Experience" is more of the same really. It's good but this is the fifth of six straight tracks in this style and these aren't short songs. "Just Walking" is the final instrumental.

"Student's Idyll (Live)" is a live version of a song from the debut album. "Sky Drive (Live) ends it wih another live tune.

This is good but when compared to the previous album it pales. If you like lots of guitar led jamming though you'll love this i'm sure.

After three failed attemps at getting signed to a label by releasing their own albums privately, ARKTIS called it quits.This particular release is a compilation of unreleased tracks, live tracks and a couple of long improvs. At 74 minutes this certainly has it's hits and misses but overall this is my favourite release from the band. I had mentioned earlier that I was surprised at how good the bonus tracks were on their first three albums and wondered why they weren't on the albums because some of these songs were not only amazing but better than the ones they used. Well here's more evidence that this band was very talented and maybe didn't always release the songs maybe they should have.

"Picture" is a favourite of mine with the melancholic guitar that is restrained. Vocals after 2 minutes are reserved. A little more energy but not much more before 4 minutes then back to that earlier mellow vibe wih vocals. "Rare Girl (Slight Return)" rocks out pretty hard then "Stepping Ahead" comes in with it's slow but raw style. It does pick up 1 1/2 minutes in and even more after 3 minutes.They are jamming folks.The guitar is lighting it up 8 minutes in.

"Guitar Emotion" sounds great with the guitar, bass and drums leading the way. It picks up 6 1/2 minutes in then settles as a bass solo takes over before 8 minutes.The drums and guitar then return. "Organ Growler" is catchy with organ coming in over top. Guitar before 3 minutes then the tempo picks up. "Highlands" has this laid back guitar and sound. I like it. It builds then settles back before 5 minutes.

"Rollin' And Grumblin" has these raw guitar leads that are fantastic. "Proud And Loud" has lots of ripping guitar in it. "Arktis Boogie" is just that.

"Space Walk" is much better. Killer tune. "Let The Music Play" isn't the best. A weak vocal track really. "New Rock (Live)" opens with the band or the song being introduced in German. Sounds like it belongs on the debut album. I like it.

Lots to like here but it is hit and miss with more of the former.

This was ARKTIS' third attempt at a self-released album in order to get a record deal. Unfortunately the third time wasn't the charm. Actually after the last album two important members being the lead guitarist and bass player left the band feeling disillusioned with everything.The female singer and drummer decided to keep the band going and recruited not only a new guitarist and bass player but a keyboardist.They decided to make this album similar to the debut with shorter songs on side one of the LP and a side long suite on side two. As usual Conny Plank gave some assistance in the studio. After this was released they were actually working on album number four but when the news came out that this was their worst selling album to date they folded up the tent and called it a day. I feel that this is the worst of the first three albums. Funny thing though is that the bonus tracks on each of the first three albums are in most cases better than one they decided to release on the actual albums. And this is proved by the following release called "More Arktis Tapes" which is a compilation of songs they didn't use on their albums. It's their best release by far !

"Dangerous Love" is an uptempo track with vocals. A guitar solo comes in after 2 minutes and again late to end it. "Since You've Been Gone" is another uptempo track with vocals similar to the first one really.The organ floats in the background again. Nice guitar solo 3 minutes in.

"Never Come Back" is where they slow it down with vocals and soaring guitar. Not a fan of this one at all. Way too long. "Please, Call Me" is uptempo like the first two with vocals.The guitar cries out to end it. Not a fan of this one either.

"Loneliness" is the side long 20 minute suite.The weird thing about this one is that it reminds me of THE CHURCH with those reserved vocals and that repetitive melancholic sound. I like the bonus song better than the album tracks.

I would have sworn with this album and the previous one that it was a guy singing. She doesn't sound at all like she did on the debut but she's the only one listed as the singer so...I guess she decided to sing in a deeper more reserved manner which was too bad really. A low 3 stars.

This is the second straight self-released album by the German band ARKTIS who were trying to get the attention of a label to sign them.There would be one more self-released album after this then they gave up as no label seem interested. Because they didn't get a contract based on their debut album released a year earlier in 1974 they changed their style on this one.They would do the same for the third album as well. Lot's of instrumentals on this one and Karin has changed her vocal style unfortunately.That heavy Psyche stlye is replaced by Boogie, Beat and other styles.There's more variety here which isn't a positive in my opinion. No side long suite either unless you included the bonus tracks which I don't.

"New Rock" is a top three and it reminds me of the debut with that dark intro as the female vocals then guitar join in. I really like the guitar that comes and goes over top. "Boogie" is a catchy instrumental. It's okay.

"Small Talk" is better with the strummed guitar, bass and a beat.The electric guitar comes in before a minute. Nice.The vocals on this one trade off with the electric guitar the rest of the way. A top three. "High Fly" is my final top three as we get some heaviness with the guitar playing over top.The tempo picks up before 3 1/2 minutes.

"Walkin' With My Baby" is the start of five straight instrumentals.This one is fairly simple with guitar and a beat. "Pique-Nique" is also a laid back instrumental. "Dan 1" is strummed guitar with a beat throughout.

"Deep In" is the best of the five. "Rock n Roll" is a short vocal track in German. It's fun and sixties Beat sounding.

A step down from the debut in my opinion but it's a pretty good record still.

This is a pretty cool sounding band from Germany listed under Krautrock here.This is very much a guitar driven, heavy Psyche album with a female vocalist. Not the proggiest album out there although we do a get a side long suite which is the highlight of this 1974 recording. I'm just a sucker for this style of music, especially the upfront guitar.This is a self-released album by the band as they were trying to get signed by a label. In fact the next two albums would also be self-released and they never could get signed oddly enough even with the help of Conny Plank.

"Student's Idyll" hits the ground running with a rumbling heavy sound and the guitar leading the way.The vocals join in quickly.They are in English throughout. I'm just not a fan of this straight-forward tune though.The guitar starts to solo before 2 1/2 minutes and continues until after 3 minutes when the vocals return. "Outcasted" has more of a focus on the vocals although there is still this good raw sound. It settles after 3 minutes as the vocals stop and the guitar leads. She's back after 4 1/2 minutes. It's okay.

"Jeff The Fool" has these lyrics that describe how bad he (Jeff) is and she ends the line each time with "...people say i'm crazy hey !". Oh boy. Another uptempo, guitar led tune. Love the guitar solo from after a minute until after 2 1/2 minutes.

"Rare Girl" is the over 20 minute closer. This is the one that saves this album from being very average. This has a darker sound to it as the guitar opens then bass, drums and vocals join in. She's even singing in a more serious manner and with some attitude. A change 2 minutes in to a brighter sound and no vocals until 3 1/2 minutes in. It kicks into a fuller sound at 5 minutes with the guitar leading and no vocals. It settles 6 1/2 minutes in with the guitar still leading and sounding great. A calm 9 1/2 minutes in then it kicks in heavily until 18 minutes in. Nice.Then the opening soundscape with vocals is reprised. Amazing tune !

3.5 stars from me, but it could have been so much better.

The excellent Garden Of Delights can't stop re-publish some of our favourite krautrock albums. This Arktis is an old obscurity that intensely makes an original mix of heavy garage bluesy-rockin' songs with emphasis on psychedelica sonorities. Tapes figure among the lost jam sessions of the band. This gloriously spaced out musical collective celebrates acid fuzz rock with heavy guitars, infectious grooves, really cool rhythmical sections and an hyper active sense of free instrumentation. Newrock opens the album with a surprising heavy-rockin' song with mind blowing guitar solos and with an evident influence from late 60's psych rock legends. The vocals are in the hippie-stoned like vein. High Fly figures among the strongest pieces, strictly instrumental with wha wha bluesy guitars and a massive psych-doom like heavy ambience. The GOD edition contains two interesting bonus tracks. Creative old school heavy rock with psych/prog accents. A particular contribution to the genre with omnipresent vintage, kick-ass bluesy guitars. A dynamic musical journey that also reminds some classic stuffs released by John Mayall, Peter Green, and Fleetwood Mac but with more aggressive, hell-ish guitar riffs. Recommended for those who like the heavy kraut epics of Blackwater Park and a few others.

Those who love lush, majestic sympho-prog will find little, if anything, to enjoy here. But those with a passion for stripped-down, gutsy basement rock will consider the first Arktis album to be a lost masterpiece. An aggressive, rough-edged power trio fronted by an assertive female vocalist, Arktis showed both sides of their nature on their privately pressed debut. On the first side, they offered three punchy, stripped down hard rock songs, and on the second cut loose with the astounding "Rare Girl" - twenty minutes of high octane rock jamming, mainly instrumental and principally the vehicle for guitarist Klaus Blachut, who cut loose with endless soloing and improvisation, providing a tour de force of progressive, psychedelic and heavy rock guitar styles, running the gamut from Ash Ra Tempel to Hawkwind, Black Sabbath and even Status Quo. The effect is simply breathtaking. For the CD reissue, Penner added three slightly later bonus tracks with more of an early new wave feel - once again, nothing for prog purists, but again great rock, especially on the very catchy "Is It Real?".

Enchanting 70s' heavy metal from Germany. "On the Rocks" was recorded in 1976. Although featuring simple melodies and not straight progressive metal with complex arrangements, such as, say, RUSH, ARKTIS' style is interesting for two reasons.

The first reason is that their powerful guitar playing sounds IRON MAIDEN-esque for a mid 70's band and catches the attention at once. The second reason is that the voice of Karin is both very powerful, enchanting and sounds androgynous, which give the tracks a feel of fairy-tales. The highlight here is "Loneliness", a beautiful powerful epic lasting 20 minutes. The tune is both heavy blues and melancholic passages in the vein of PINK FLOYD. The doomy bonus track Y.T.T is reminiscent of BLACK SABBATH and really rocks!

ARKTIS' "On the Rocks" is an album which with you can easily imagine knights fighting on the landscape drawn on the cover while listening to the music. It's a pity this band only made a few albums. Very enjoyable and accessible record. For all heavy and progressive metal lovers!