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Rock, Progressive, Jazz Fusion |
URIAH HEEP certainly comes to mind when you hear LUCIFER'S FRIEND, as do LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and BLACK
SABBATH to some extent, although you can't accuse the FRIEND of cloning them as none had attained their notoriety as yet.
The band started off as ASTRIX in 1970, with frontman and future URIAH HEEP vocalist John Lawton teaming up with guitarist
Peter Hesslein, keyboardist Peter Hecht, bassist Dieter Horns and drummer Joachim Rietenbach. Through various personnel
changes over the course of twelve years - including Lawton exiting in '76 and then returning for a last gasp in '81 - the ...read more
URIAH HEEP certainly comes to mind when you hear LUCIFER'S FRIEND, as do LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and BLACK
SABBATH to some extent, although you can't accuse the FRIEND of cloning them as none had attained their notoriety as yet.
The band started off as ASTRIX in 1970, with frontman and future URIAH HEEP vocalist John Lawton teaming up with guitarist
Peter Hesslein, keyboardist Peter Hecht, bassist Dieter Horns and drummer Joachim Rietenbach. Through various personnel
changes over the course of twelve years - including Lawton exiting in '76 and then returning for a last gasp in '81 - the band
released nine studio albums and two compliations. In '82, they split up but reunited in '94 for a night album.
Their earlier releases are aggressive and raw, not unlike The SCORPIONS, JANE or LONESOME CROW. Living up to their sinister
name, they performed heavy, mean, keyboard-based rock that should please LED ZEP, SABBATH or PURPLE fans. Then came
their absolute masterpiece, "Banquet", in 1974, which focusses on epic prog numbers with complex instrumentation, complete
with string and horn arrangements, and Lawton giving his full-throttle vocal performance. This album perfectly pulled together
the many different elements of their sound: prog, soul, jazz and hard rock. If you want to sample some LUCIFER'S FRIEND,
you could try their compilation albums; if you want to hear LUCIFER'S FRIEND at their proggiest, go for the "Banquet" - their
subsequent releases received mixed reviews, particularly "Sumogrip" in 1994.
Fans of URIAH HEEP or those interested in the roots of heavy metal definitely ought to get their hands on some of these
items.
Source: http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=963 « hide |
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