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.