Armageddon
Armageddon

Release Date: 1975 | Tracklist

Armageddon is an English hard rock band formed in 1974. The choice of the name Armageddon was very symbolic and it does symbolises the site of the last final and epic battle between the good and the evil in the end of the times, or the positive and negative. The group recorded only one album, their self-titled debut album “Armageddon”, released in 1975. However, after that first release as a vinyl record, the album inconspicuously disappeared without leaving a trace, until Esoteric Recordings unearthed the album in 2009, to the new CD format. I know the album since it was originally released.

The line up on the album is Keith Relf, Martin Pugh, Bobby Caldwell and Louis Cennamo. Armageddon is somewhat a super group. Relf had been the lead singer of the Yardbirds throughout the 60’s. As many know, the Yardbirds was a band with three of the best guitarists ever, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. In 1969, Relf has been also one of the co-founders of Renaissance, participating on the first two albums of the group, “Renaissance” and “Illusion”, the albums of the first Renaissance incarnation. Pugh had been the lead guitarist of Steamhammer. Caldwell had been the drummer of Captain Beyond. Cennamo had been the bass player of Renaissance, he played with Relf on the same both Renaissance albums, and had been also the bassist of Steamhammer playing with Pugh, on the Steamhammer last work, “Speech”. Unfortunately, the life of Armageddon was very brief. Relf tragically was killed by an electric shock, at home in 1976, when he was playing his guitar. At the time, it was said that Relf was in the process of putting back together the original Renaissance line up, which would eventually be called Illusion. However, after is death, the remaining Renaissance's members, of the first incarnation, formed Illusion and released two albums “Out Of Mist” in 1977 and the self-titled “Illusion” in 1978. Recently, Illusion released a new album called "Through The Fire" in 2001.

Armageddon was somewhat out of time when their album was released. In 1975 the musical environment wasn’t exactly conductive for a band taking their first steps on the heavy rock/prog scene. With punk a little over a year away and many of the bigger bands entering a fallow patch of creativity, if not popularity, the omens weren’t good. Add to that a record company who were unwilling or unable to give the band the push and promotion needed, and an album cover that made the band look like a very heavy metal act. So, all had already been started to be inscribed on the wall, that it would be an unknown album, and consequently, a commercially big failure. And it was really a shame because the album is a fine hard rock album with some progressive elements, despite they’re somewhat a little underplayed.

“Armageddon” can be listed as both, hard and progressive rock, though I believe that the hard rock sound is more obvious on it. The fact, four of the five songs are over 8 minutes long and would suggest a progressive act, and it’s true that the longer songs wander outside the usual standard rock song format, but much of the length is taken up by jam sessions and extended guitar solos. So, this album is mostly a hard rock affair with some great riffs, excellent guitar solos and a Caldwell’s great drumming work. It was Caldwell’s driving with his hard hitting beats that pushed the group into a heavier direction, which supposedly we would expect. Those were probably influences of Captain Beyond.

Recorded in L.A., this is a deceptively complex, multi-layered album that demands multiple listens. It’s an intriguing blend of bruising proto-metal riffs, progressive rock and heavy psychedelic blues. “Armageddon” was, in some aspects, an album slightly ahead of its time, prefiguring the 1980’s rise of heavy metal whilst also stealing a march of the punk explosion that was just around the corner. The final result is an album much in the mould of the hard rocking mid-70’s acts, such as, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. The mainly difference is that this quartet placed more emphasis on creating ambitious, progressive style long suites, a stylistic streak showcased on an impressive debut album containing just five interlocking pieces of music. This really became a truly great album of the 70’s.


Conclusion: “Armageddon” is an obscure album made by an obscure band in the 70’s. However, the band had almost what was needed. They were a great group with great experienced artists. Yet, two things changed drastically the story of the band, the time and the circumstances, which were the punk movement and the tragic death of Relf. Both events brought the album and the band to the obscurity, until the arrival of the 21st century, when it was brought to the light of the day by the hand of the Esoteric Records. So, thank you Esoteric, for have rescued a great album from the obscurity. However and despite “Armageddon” is a great work of the 70’s, it isn’t really an album that would sit comfortably alongside collections that are only comprised of blues albums or classical rock releases. It’s certainly mainly for those with wider tastes and who are not adverse to the heavier side of the music. Now here is the opportunity for people to catch it.


Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)

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3.7 great