Lucifer's Friend

Alongside Bang!, Budgie, Cactus, Captain Beyond, Dust, Pentagram and Sir Lord Baltimore, another old time heavy rock/proto-metal band I dig is Germany's Lucifer's Friend, which in its Nixon era heyday, blew international minds away far and wide with its bass fuelled brand of boogeyman boogieing at times evocative of an off kilter carnival or travelling freak sideshow - much like its wacky cover. This was never more prevalent than on the trio's wilder-than-Amazonian-jungle on LSD 1970 debut, an eight track whopper of debilitating proportions featuring a slew of unorthodox, Deep Purple-meets-Led Zeppelin style riffs imbued with no end of funky, jitterbug synths (the musical, not artificially intelligent or sentient kind). Additionally, the sizzling pentatonic guitar solos throughout combine classic late 60s/early 70s innovation mixed in with futuristic dexterity, phrasing and speed. Again, the prominently grooving bass is often star of the show, whilst the drums also pack a helluva punch.

In fact, Lucifer's Friend is so heavy that 3 Inches Of Blood covered its extensively titled ode to Mamyun, the Prince of Greed i.e. "money demon", but just the opening volley of abstrusely trumpeted "Ride The Sky" is enough to demonstrate the Teutonic sleeper's preemptive metallic grasp. Guitar wise, Budgie's Tony Bourge comes to mind, as the unrestrained, fluid playing is heavy in its own crazy, out-of-this-World way, not in a more traditional sense like Black Sabbath. As band defining as its introduction is, brace yourselves for the walloping jangle of "Everybody's Clown", which tucks within its woolly confines all these neat little, Wicked World type licks. What further puts Satan's Pal head and horns above the rest is how seamlessly the songs coast from one wizened section to the next, with the guitar doing its darnest to keep up with bull-charging keyboards and battery combo, a force to be reckoned with if following banger "Keep Goin'" is any sign.

Even the longer title track and cryptic "Toxic Shadows" retain one's full, waylaid attention thanks to their ever-shape shifting, foot tapping lucidity. As far as highlights go, the entire bass line to "Free Baby" is up there while lyrically, "Baby, You're A Liar" greatly parallels Pentagram's equally bass-memorable and swinging "Lazy Lady", from fabled Americans' First Daze Here compilation, Volume 1. To reiterate, Lucifer's Friend first instalment is hands down their most unique and captivating (yet am still partial to 1981's Mean Machine, particularly "Hey Driver" and "Let Me Down Slow", with their gripping leads). If you've yet to wig out to it, allow me to amicably suggest to do so.