Armaggedon. 1970 Germany

Truth be told, much of what we now revere as Krautrock, was nothing more than simple blues rock drenched heavily in psychedelics. Whether with studio trickery or the band's ingestion before performances. Armeggedon gives us an example of what that sound contains prior to treatment. This is raw and heavy blues rock played with passion. Frank Diez is on fire here, laying out incendiary guitar licks anywhere he can. Interesting to note that their cover of Spooky Tooth's 'Better by You, Better than Me' is just as heavy as Judas Priest's version some eight years later. These guys weren't kidding around. Of course, one can fantasize what their sound would have been in an early Guru Guru like setting. And it's because this album wasn't the Kosmische I was so enamored with, it took me many years to get my head around this one. But if the UK blues rock underground is your bag, starting with Cream and ending with Elias Hulk, then Armaggedon is a sure fire bet.

Ownership: CD: 1991 Kuckuk. Jewel case

2009 (first listen); 3/22/12; 3/30/16; 1/29/17 (review / new try)