Various Artists — Heavy Kraut Volume 1 1970-1976

Here's a double CD release with a comprehensive German language booklet featuring some of the heaviest German rock from between the years 1970-1976. 

As a fan of 70s rock in general and especially of the genre known as Kosmische or Kraut Rock this collection really piqued my interest when it dropped through my letterbox. It contains a comprehensive booklet with colour images of record sleeves, band shots and a short bio about each of the artists featured. Alas, I can’t really judge the contents of the text as it is in German, but the whole package seems pretty nice.  If we look at it from the perspective of the music it’s a very interesting package indeed, alongside classic German rock bands like proto-metal monsters Lucifer’s Friend, The Scorpions, Birth Control and prog masters, Eloy you get tracks from less well-known bands like New Lords, Cindy and Bert,  Frame and Lady, as well as underground classics from the likes of Night Sun, Janus and Blackwater Park, whose reputation was cemented when Opeth borrowed their name for their 2001 Progressive Death Metal masterpiece. Anyway, without any further chat, let’s dig into the wealth of interesting music on display here.

First up is Asterix (an alternative name used by Lucifer’s Friend), with "Look Out", a classic slice of early 70s hard rock taken from their excellent self-titled Decca album. This is followed by Lucifer’s Friend "In The Time Of Job When Mammon Was A Yippie". It sits firmly in the same territory as early Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. It’s a classic slab of hard rock with a pretty huge organ sound. The New Lords are up next with the song "Fly Little Jeanie", another heavy slab of hard rock/proto-metal that continues the strong start to the album. They’re a band I wasn’t familiar with before this, but I will be seeking out more music by them after hearing this absolute cracker of a track. Message are next with "Smile", a bluesy slab of hard rock that would sit comfortably alongside the likes of the Pink Fairies. This is followed by another heavy blues number from power trio Silberbart. The song featured here, "Chub Chub Cherry" features some killer guitar work from Hajo Teschner. The strangest release so far is up next, this is Cindy and Bert and "Der Hund Von Baskerville", which is quite literally Black Sabbath’s Paranoid with different lyrics, sung by Cindy. Whilst it sounds like a bad idea to steal Black Sabbath’s music, it’s performed well and the new lyrics work well.

One of the more well-known bands to feature are up next, Toad like Lucifer’s Friend are a much-loved cult band from the era and the track featured here, "Stay!" is an absolute banger of a tune. Their self-titled album is an underground masterpiece that commands a pretty hefty price tag. Wind are up next with their song, "What Do We Do Now?" Taken from their album Seasons it’s yet another excellent slab of proto-metal madness with some very progressive leanings and a gorgeous mellow mid-section. Birth Control are next with "Pandemonium", another excellent slice of Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster-esque proto-metal goodness with some excellent organ work from Reinhold Sobotta.  Up next are Julian Cope favourites, Hairy Chapter with the track "You’ve Got to Follow This Masquerade", a wild ride that takes in some pretty heavy and progressive influences including Sir Lord Baltimore and Led Zeppelin. Light of Darkness and their track "Movin’ Along" are up next, it’s a raw, bluesy slab of hard rock that evokes memories of Cream or a slightly more restrained Blue Cheer with Captain Beefheart on vocals. Eloy are next with the track of the same name, from the album of the same name. Not quite as heavy as most of the other tracks we’ve heard thus far however it’s a strong track from one of the biggest names in German progressive music, the song’s mid-point breakdown hints at their future proggier direction. Megaton have the perfect name for a heavy rock band, however their song "Coo Cookie Choo", sounds more like Free than it does Atomic Rooster or Black Sabbath. That’s not to criticise it, it’s a fine song with some great Paul Rodgers-esque vocals from Jimmy Bilsbury and some fine guitar work from Peter Hesslein. The first disc is brought to a close by Weed and the song "Sweet Morning Light", a Uriah Heep/ Free crossover that absolutely rips. The guitar playing is exemplary and the organ adds so much power to the mix. A great way to bring the first disc to a close. 

Disc two gets underway with one of the biggest-selling bands in German rock history, The Scorpions. Taken from their 1972 debut album, Lonesome Crow, "In Search of the Peace of Mind" is a little more psychedelic sounding than we’re used to from them, featuring a complete tonal shift around the midpoint that just hits from nowhere. The second half of the song highlights Klaus Meine’s impressive vocal histrionics. Frame are next with their song "If", mixing classic Deep Purple style hard rock, right down to the Ian Gillan-esque vocals with mellower jazzy passages and John Lord style classically influenced organ sounds, this is outstanding stuff. One of my personal favourites is up next, Night Sun with their classic "Crazy Woman". An enormous slab of technically brilliant heavy rock that sits at the top table as far as I’m concerned. Every bit as cool as Lucifer’s Friend, Atomic Rooster, or Black Sabbath. The mighty Blackwater Park are next with "Mental Block", taken from their excellent Dirt Box album that has become one of the most celebrated underground rock albums of the time, even giving their name to Opeth’s masterpiece of the same name. Next up are Twenty Sixty Six and "Then with At My Home", taken from their ultra-rare collectable masterpiece Reflections on the Future. This song is the blueprint for high-quality ‘progressive hard rock, and should be in every self-respecting prog/ hard rock fan’s collection. That’s followed by Gift and their track "you’ll Never Be Accepted". One of the heavier, slower bands on this collection with almost doomy riffing at times. Janus are up next with "I Wanna Scream", sitting somewhere between Blue Cheer, The MC5, The Stooges and Led Zeppelin, their brand of punked-up hard rock is perfect for fans of those aforementioned bands. Tiger B Smith is next with the heavy blues rock of "Tiger Rock", a heavy, uptempo number that does what it says on the tin.  That’s followed by Kin Ping Meh and the track, "Come on In", imagine a bluesy heavy rock band with Rod Stewart on vocals and you’d be somewhere close to this. Great stuff! Puhdys are next with "Vineta", a Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep influenced number that features all vocals sung in German. "Queen of Spades" by Curly Curve is up next, and it’s an uptempo number with more than a hint of Uriah Heep and John Lord about it. That’s followed by the Black Sabbath-esque Black Mass and their song "Spread Your Wings". This track was drawn from their unreleased debut album, but surfaced years later on a reissue of their second album, Back to the Music, with the band having dropped the Black from their name and recording just as Mass. A move probably conducted with the backlash that Black Window and Atomic Rooster had both received for their occult leanings in mind. It’s nevertheless a great slice of hard bluesy rock with loads of great guitar riffing.

Electra are next with "Bemuhe Dich", another excellent hard bluesy rocker. Lady and "On The Road" is next and sounds somewhat more mainstream than the other tracks on this set, good solid hard rock with great melodies and slick production. Finally, the album is brought to a close by Dirk Steffens and "Things and Thoughts", Steffens was the former guitarist in Birth Control who would go on to produce albums for Accept, Running Wild and Pink Cream 69 among others. The song is taken from his 1976 solo album, The Seventh Step and gives an indication of where rock and metal’s future lay. Slick production and a more polished sound point towards the sound that hard rock would take into the final years of the decade and beyond. 

Overall, this is a wonderful set, packed full of classic hard rock and proto-metal music, much of it underappreciated and too much of it ignored and forgotten for too long. It’s great to hear these bands being given a new lease of life. I know many of the featured artists are underground cult favourites that have become collectable over the years and it’s great to have so many of them collected here, but the real joy for me comes from those less well-known artists who I am hearing for the first time, or who I have only ever heard a song or two from. If you like your 70s rock music to be of the heavier, progressive type then this album is an absolute must-own. I find myself usually skipping tracks on most compilation albums, however at no point did I ever feel like doing this. It’s wall-to-wall quality hard rock that deserves to be heard by anyone with even a passing interest in Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Free, Uriah Heep or Atomic Rooster. Absolutely glorious!