WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME

Oh, my, what a great album! I´m not a psychedelic/space rock fanatic. I often think many os so called psychedelic bands are too freak out or simply too self indulgent or both to hold my interest for a whole album, be it vinyl or CD. But Hawkwind was a different story altogether and even though I don´t know much of their work, I liked a lot fo what I heard till now. I loved their sci fi themes and the heavy sound. However, I must tell that many parts of their CDs are also plagued by the aforementioned problems (too much dope?). A friend here on PA told me to get this album and I can only thank him so much. This is probably the group´s best work ever.

Not only the band was very inspired but also Simon House inclusion was defintily a plus for their sound. It is incredible how his mellotron and violin work enhanced the music, giving their minimalistic approch a strong symphonic texture that fits like a glove. And now I see how much this album has influenced other bands and artists (notably Arjen Lucassen´s works. It is small wonder he decided to pay homage to his heroes on the Space metal CD recording a meddley of Hawkwind songs). The compositions are among Dave Brock´s best, although the spoken parts done by Mike Moorcock on two tracks drag the musical flow a little. But I guess this is part of their philosophy, isn´t it? The performances are also superb, with a strong rhythm section consisting of drummers Allan Powell and Simon King and bassist Lemmy Kilmister, nice sax and flute interventions and some of Brock´s best guitar and synth work to date.

If you´re new to this space cowboys (the original ones!), Warrior At The Edge of Time and Hall Of The Mountain Grill are the albums you should own first. The band was on their peak and certainly on their most symphonic thanks to the presence of Simon House and some real inspired songwriting. Excellent work. Rating: something between 4 and 4,5 stars. Highly recommended.