(Y) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Yesterday's Children: (same) 1969 Map City Records (US, Italian & French Pressings exist)
Killer Heavy Rock classic from yet more super talented East Cost Axemen. Like the band Euclid, the members of Yesterday's Children originated within the fertile hotbed of the East Coast's Garage/Punk/Psych scene. There is not a bad song on their one and only album and certainly leaves one wanting MORE. It's a a true shame that we did not get to hear ongoing efforts from these great musicians as a group because their musical chemistry seems to be rare & exact. While it's a well known fact that the group were from Connecticut, unfortunately not much more is known about the musicians themselves. The music they recorded on their only album is powerful & diverse guitar oriented Heavy/Hard Rock. The label that they recorded on, Map City Records, contains some rich history to be found within it's commandeering & ownership. Peter Andreoli & Vince Poncia started the label in the late 60s. They had been a successful song writing duo for a number of years and were also members of several notable 60s groups as well. They wrote various pop song and soundtrack related material that artists as potential as Elvis would perform. Peter Andreoli, who later used the last name Anders, for the most part retired in the early 70s. Vince Poncia continued working in the recording aspect of the music business and became considerably "in demand" a as a Producer. Some credits for production appear on (of all people) Peter Criss's 2 solo record albums and two Kiss records to boot! He now does mostly movie soundtrack related composition. There are several CD/LP reissues available and I really cannot recommend this title enough.

(X) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

(W) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Wit's End: Rock And By God Roll (Snow Drop Records 1979)

Wit's End was a local Dallas band that won a "Battle Of The Bands" contest at the Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park with the prize being a recording deal that resulted in their one and only LP. The song "That's The Way" got local airplay. They broke up less than a year after the LP was released.

!!!!!A HUGE Thanks goes out to Rich Haupt of Rockadelic Records for the above information.

The music itself is Heavy scorching guitar oriented Hard Rock with every diverse aspect of this group's assembled talent being drawn on. The vocals are excellent as is the musicianship throughout the 9 recorded songs on the album. It's truly a shame they didn't do more! This is certainly one of the best obscure local Texas band efforts to come out of the late 70s. No reissues to date.

Wages of Sin: (same) Sant Records 1986

A killer offering from one of the very cradles of primordial Heavy Rockdom. Hailing from Ann Arbor Michigan and very much having that crusher "Detroit" sound , Wages of Sin were a three piece Heavy Rock/Metal group that released one record on the Sant label. Obviously a private effort, with the label name being the same as that of the Guitar/Vocals member Eugene Sant. Currently there is very little known about the group or if they they did much playing "out". The music itself is exceptionally impressive if not incredible, although just a bit subdued in the drums/bass department. The guitar, vocals & song writing in general are superb and are certainly the best private release effort I have ever heard from Michigan. The music sounds like a cross between The Hand of Doom meets Judas Priest. It has struck me midst heavy recent consideration, that this could be one of those "One guy does it all and releases the album like it were an actual band" efforts. The same as the White Boy & The Average Rat Band. Please check back for more details as I am currently doing my best to track and locate Eugene Sant.

(V) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Venom: (same) Venom Records 198?

Decent, nothing too stunning or energetic however. The music is straight forward and somewhat tight guitar oriented Southern (ish) Heavy Rock. 1 or 2 real winners amidst some mediocre tunes and some complete duds as well from this US band from Florida. The record is very short in length with the less than 30 minutes of music as a whole. This is one of those LPs that needs to be rated and priced for what it is rather than what it's mysteriously hyped up to be. No reissues to date.

(U) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Utopia: (same) Kent Records 1970

Utopia were synonymous with the group that would 4 years later go on to become Growl that basically re-released the same album on the Discreet label. The music itself is guitar oriented, somewhat "snotty" Blues based Hard/Heavy Rock. A decent effort to be sure and can be obtained via CD/LP reissue thanks to in most part, Clark Faville. Clark not only set up the reissue between the Lead Vocalist & the independent Italian label Akarma, he supplied the original Kent Album from which it was made. It's interesting to note that the original tin that contained the 1" master real tape of this album was found in an old abandoned warehouse by a curious garbage picker. As fortune would have it, the same tape contained a good portion of Bob Smith's "The Visit" as well! Obviously they both had been recorded within a very approximate time frame.

(T) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Think: Variety 1973

This album is great psychedelic nutrition for hungry heavy heads with a predisposed preference for multi-colored musical edification. Don't get the wrong idea though, this is NOT just some over rated, useless & busy cerebral background filler of an album. Neither is it one of those that has every possible Far East Indian string & percussion gizmo being played all at once. However, it is an amazing and somewhat if not completely, unique Heavy German Prog/Psych classic like no other. The group Think were comprised of Hungarian, German & Czechoslovakian musicianship. The end result of their amazing collaborative recording was to be completely unpredictable in a comparative sense. For me the results liken themselves to the very best US West Coast Psychedelic influenced Progressive Rock my ears have ever heard. Imagine an instrumentally diverse Rock & Folk version of Captain Beyond crossed with the group Bread. All the while being saturated with a very real lysergic aptitude. Now, with one ear's foot just outside your armchair bound spacecraft door, you are at least partly in a nearby musical universe! This album from start to finish is masterful to say the very least and represents one of the most fateful of musical assemblages ever. The group sadly only existed while the music was being recorded and is in fact shrouded in mystery as few acknowledged details exist. The musicians themselves were in part touring Germany within a Hungarian Orchestra troop when they were apparently struck with a streak of repressed rebellion and decided to defect. After talking with the label owner of the German based record label "Menga", the wondering musicians hooked up with another musician or two and proceeded to render their only known official release. This is a MUST for fans of the genre and reissues do in fact exist.

(S) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Solid Ground: Made In Rock 1976


Solid Ground were a group of young Swedish musicians that made one very "up front" Heavy Hard Rock album. The music completely guitar oriented to be certain with just the right amount of talented raw sincerity for this great group to have crafted a fine memorable piece of Heavy Swedish Rock history. A CD has been reissued on the Mellotronen Label and the sound quality is superb with the band having agreed to it's release.

http://www.solidgroundtheband.com/

(R) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Raven: Going Back To Ohio Blues 1975 (Owl) & 1994 (Rockadelic)

There are at least 3 or 4 groups that were around in the late 60s & 70s that went by the name Raven. The "Raven" that is mentioned here is going to be the "Raven" of greatest interest to fans of completely damaged & WASTED Heavy Rock. There are few other albums that I am personally aware of that carry the blazing torch of the US rebel Biker Underground the way this incredible recording does. This is not just some party till ya puke, died in the hemp woven wool, Basement Hard Rock Psych tinged effort. This is a true badge of Heavy Psych that mirrors the clubhouse interior, and the territory exterior, of the last of the electric cowboy's & their vigilante code of outlaw justice. Just as you would expect it should be from these highly dosed subculture mercenaries of blown Biker wisdom. The music consists of long bluesy drug influenced guitar/bass/drum oriented depravity in song, with wasted vocal frontage. No CD reissue at this time.

(Q) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Q65: Afghanistan (Negram 1970)

Q65 were a monumental & long spanning group from the Netherlands. Being originally formed in 1965, their earlier material was "Stones like" RnB/Beat oriented & is not my consideration here. However the secondary phase of their existence, beginning in 1970 with the release of Afghanistan, most certainly is. At this point, when the lead singer formerly with Group 1850 was added, the music took a turn for the Heavy & somewhat Psychedelic. The music that Q65 played during their "Negram label" years in the early 70s superbly exemplified the Heavy "free spirited" Dutch underground. Musically, the Q65 is a very straight forward amalgam of guitar driven Bluesy Psych Rock that rhythmically locks down and grooves deep, dark and hard. The vocals conjure up what is a simple yet intense common man's social plight into and amongst the many sensual and merry details of hash smoking, repression, lots of sex, and more hash smoking. It' not surprising why this band was loved and followed so intently wherever they played as you really can't help but smile while you listen. A few reissues exist of this time period within Q65's musical history with the best being on the quality Pseudonym label.

(P) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Parish Hall: (SAME) 1970

Excellent quality Power Trio Blues based Hard Rock band from California. Had one album released in 1970 on the Fantasy label, not to be confused the Jazz label of the same name from the same state! There are at least three different reissues available on CD.

(O) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Orang-Utan: (same) 1970

The group Orang-Utan consisted of an amalgamation of talent. The best musicians from several other notable dissolving bands that had been playing in the North of London in the late 60s were to be the contributors in combination. The story behind this group is just as interesting as the music they played itself. This group of musicians recorded their album's worth of material at what was then a 16 track "state of the art" studio facility in London. For somewhat unique and intriguing starters, this British band's only s/t album was released on the US Bell Records label in 1970. The odd thing about the whole thing being that until the group found out quite by accident, they had zero knowledge of their own release! Adrian Miller was the person that claimed the producer's title on the Bell album release in the United States. Unfortunately, he was also the person responsible for stealing this material from the musicians and getting it released without the group's consent or knowledge. Adrian even secretly convinced the group's unsuspecting manager at the time, to suggest to the band to change their name to Orang-Utan. At the time the band were still going by their original name "Hunter" which they had taken from the famous Albert King song. It's a real shame that it all went down this way in the history books because this group really showed promise. Had they been managed with any real degree of integrity & professionalism, they quite possibly would have went on to do bigger & better things as a group. The music itself consists of well played and diversely crafted heavy guitar oriented rock. It is not of a Psychedelic nature, or Acid Rock based as some have claimed. There was only one member that even smoked hash regularly. Several of the songs are nothing short of brilliant and serve to show what incredible talent these young 19-20 year old musicians possessed. Most all of the music was written and composed by Jeff Seopardie who was the drummer, with the majority of the guitar & bass riffs being developed and played by Mick Clarke & Paul Roberts respectively. There actually was a second guitarist that played on the album, but unfortunately he was sacked for personal reasons right after the material was recorded. Therefore with so little actual band member involvement within the album's US release, he was lost to obscurity and never credited. Although, I do know his first name to have been Sid. Another large added benefit to the group's impressive efforts are the powerful and well suited vocals. For having such a seriously strong singing voice with excellent pitch, the vocalist Nobby Clark (NOT to be confused with the vocalist from the Bay City Rollers with the same name!) only had one lung! It certainly didn't stop him belting out his excellent & energetic voice like the best of the other vocalists that he was in league with at the time. Nobby was actually the second vocalist for the band & demos do indeed exist from the band line up that proceeded him.

I have to comment on this remarkable group in retrospect: It's pretty damn sad that after having paid for the recorded studio time that went into making up this excellent early Heavy Rock album themselves, with zero credit whatsoever at the time and now having several subsequent CD reissues since, that these same actual band members of which some are still active musicians today have yet to receive a single cent for all their hard work!

(N) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Navasota: Rootin' 1972

Obscure Hard/Heavy Rock group from Texas that released one album consisting of decent Southern Rock material. The group was greatly aided by various members of the studio based group Steely Dan. These musicians included Walter Fagen, Michael Becker & Jeff Baxter. The latter of whom would go on to play with one of the Doobie Brother incarnations. Becker & Fagen helped to pen most of the material for the group. They and Baxter along with a few other studio notables joined the group to record their album for ABC Dunhill in LA, California. The music as a whole has a good time Southern feel amidst various wasted, wild n reckless, bluesy motivated simple themes. The music in and of itself, in accord with a basic guitar oriented, hard driving Southern Rock tradition, is none too shabby. The appropriately fun, high spirited vocals leave no barrel chested, gut bustin' stone unturned either. There is a marked quirky defect in the recording however. The tune penned and given to the group exclusively via Becker & Fagen, "Canyon Ladies", seems at first listen to be the written and produced "stand out" song on the album. But, if you listen quite closely towards the middle of the song, you can hear a major low end disturbance as if one of those Canyon Ladies had a little too much to drink and passed out in the studio landing on a drum mic! After having listened to several different copies of the album, both promotional copies and commercial, the disturbance is "there" no matter. This needs a reissue boys, so get with it!


National Flag: Thank You Very Much & Good Night

In short, this is THEE BEST private pressing I have ever listened to, bar none. Whereas many collectible private pressings wallop you upside the noggin after several listens, some after several years, this record started growing on me instantly. It really is amazing for such a completely unknown recording. The first and obvious question becomes: Who the heck were these guys and more importantly, where are they now? The music itself is authentically UK. As soon as one delves into the playing and begins to contemplate the writing & style influences within the record, it's obvious which side of the big water the musician's influences are drawn from. The guitar bares out that English "old school" well crafted culture, albeit somewhat a wasted culture with just the right amount of a "ragged edge" to command & firmly plant it's boot in your "you know what" The bass is just perfect for this group sounding like a cross between Michael Anthony & Boz Burrell. Both he and the drummer lock down like nobodies business and proceed to floor you with their thunderous tight unison. The vocals are both precise as well as a powerfully complimentary asset to the band. It's hard to imagine any real greater attribute than the perfectly combined band, but there is. That is the very quality that makes this record for me the king of all Hard n' Heavy private pressings that I have listened to so far. This magical composite quality is the result they achieve of driving "home" the feeling they are obviously convicted to deliver. In this sense it's a total "Mission Accomplished". There is no question that this is fine Hard Rock, but I am not lying when I tell everyone that this record is also... H-E-A-V-Y

It will have the juices flowing & the goose bumps on the rise in a matter of a solitary audio listening experience. In short: It KICKS ASS!

(M) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Masters Apprentices: Undecided 1967(ep), Volume 2 1968 (ep), Turn Up The Radio 1969 (ep), The Masters Apprentices 1967, Masterpiece 1970, Choice Cuts 1971, Nickelodeon 1971, A Toast to Panama Red 1972, Now That It's Over (Best Of)1974, Hands of Time 1981

The group Masters Apprentices are one of the most respected Australian Rock acts of the 60s & 70s time period. Those using this data base as a curio for prospective Heavy Music collecting should be aware that just a select number of albums from their catalog will be of interest. Namely those being, Choice Cuts, Nickelodeon & A Toast To Panama Red. By the time these 3 albums had been released, with Nickelodeon being a live album that captured them at their peak, the Masters Apprentices, a band that started out playing Garage Beat music, had become an incredibly competent guitar oriented Heavy Rock band that had amassed a huge following inside and outside of Oz. The band unfortunately seemed to encounter one business set back after another. They never really "synced up" with the label heads in order to get the kind of backing and promotion that would have helped to ward off the tribulations that came with a demanding practice and performance regiment. It seems as though for a band with as much promise as any could hope for, that (not) quite surprisingly the corporate incompetents at the various record labels never managed to wise up in time. All three of the aforementioned albums are amongst the best examples of Australian Heavy Rock ever made containing superb song writing craft and musical talent. Although Masters Apprentices somehow at times get labeled a "progressive" band, the majority of what they did post 1970 was straight up Heavy Rock. A Toast To Panama Red does have definite Heavy Prog leanings, but it's all seemingly based on typical evolutionary defusing of their previously styled efforts.

(L) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Legend: From the Fjords 1979

Excellent record made by a band that would rather remain "lesser known" than do a legitimate reissue of their album. The music is solid proto Epic Prog Metal exuding great playing and vocals with typical Prog Metal lyrics. Original copies of the record album command serious loot.

(K) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Krokodil: (SAME) 1969, SWAMP 1970, AN INVISIBLE WORLD REVEALED 1971, GETTING UP FOR THE MORNING 1972, SWEAT & SWIM 1973


This is an unusual & special entry to be certain. Krokodil (German for Crocodile) were a band from Switzerland that played predominantly in Germany during the German or "Kraut" Heavy Rock & Prog movement that came of age in the 70s. The music they played was extremely diverse, ranging from Psychy Pop, to Blues(ish) Rock to what would certainly be an appropriate inclusion in this data base of Heavy Rock of various sorts. Their one and only time period official album release that really merits mention here is nothing short of a masterpiece. The album is entitled An Invisible World Revealed and it certainly lives up to it's name. Containing all kinds of exotic ethnic influence and superb recording technique, this album hails as what might be the best Psychedelic/Progressive/Experimental Rock recording to ever come out of the aforementioned "Kraut" scene. If your thing is a "Heavy Trip" of a recording, this album HAS to be heard and will anything but disappoint. It's also well worth pointing out that early taped sessions have been recently released for the first time of Krokodil. These have been released on CD and are entitled "The Psychedelic Tapes". These recordings are very much of the same spirit and texture that An Invisible World Revealed consisted of. All of Krokodil's material has been reissued by the top notch "Second Battle" record label.

Krokus: (same) 1976

Anything that anyone knows about the Hair Metal metal that this band would go on to successfully become, can throw that out the window right now. This first LP from the band that would soon be headed in commercial westerly direction is some of the best progressive heavy rock these ears have ever heard. This album contains numerous rich influences. One of which is a very unlikely attribution via the guitarist, who brings, (believe it or not) a very Western, almost southern Duane Allman styling to this musically progressive round table of of an album. This is NOT to say this is some Lee Pickens type album, but rather it's a much more adept and truly progressive rendering with a distinct European richness. Continuity is upheld in what is a fast paced listening adventure amid super competent & diverse music. There are both moments of sincere sadness and triumph as well as fantastically conveyed imaginative fun. In a most satisfying sense, the album just doesn't potentially "let up" from start to finish & is certainly an obscure progressive classic "in the wings". One odd thing is that Pokora's book gives this 1 disc in terms of it's rarity rating, but it's quite unusual to see the album sell for much less the 300 USD. M- copies normally fetch closer to 400.00. A legit CD/LP reissue is WAY overdue.

(J) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

J. Teal Band: "Cooks" 1977

Decent mid to late 70s styled Hard Rock band that released one album on the Mother Cleo label. Although the album commands a pretty good sum of money in collector circles, this is mostly due to hype. The music for the most part is mediocre Hard Rock with minor Heavy Southern Rock leanings. No real Psych or Prog moves whatsoever. It's a somewhat decent & rare album for certain, but make sure you seek out a "burn" or taped copy prior to dropping the asking price for the record. No reissues at this time.

(I) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Incredible Hog: Vol. 1/(SAME) 1973

A great (once) obscure British Heavy Rock band with the slightest of Progressive leanings. I sometimes think the term "Progressive" gets heaped upon just about any Heavy Rock band that doesn't play the most mundane of compositions consisting of monotypic stylings. The Incredible Hog's musical palette offers up some tasty material that contains both energetic Heavy Blues rooted guitar riffing, as well as some darkly textured Folk passages. There are also various taped sound passages of boiling cauldrons and winds howling as their songs begin. All in all, some damn fine song writing to be found on this record. One interesting aspect of this band's legacy is the fact that the original issue's album cover art consists of at least 3 separate released versions. This has served to confuse the mind of more than one up and coming Heavy Rock hound, and if that's not enough, there have been somewhat qualified claims of even more cover versions! It's also rumored and most likely quite true that they had material completed for a second album but could not find a label willing to sign them at the time. It seems a real shame but we may yet see this material issued for the first time (Hello!) by some quality reissue label like Second Battle. Unfortunately as time currently stands, the Incredible Hog only officially released the one album. It's considered by most to be a very solid Classic Heavy Rock effort & there are about 10 different reissues to prove it as it has been lifted up from obscurity and now maintains an ongoing & strong adhered to cult status.

(H) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Headstone: "Still Looking" 1974

Headstone were a band from Ohio that released a single album on Starr Records that is now somewhat sought out by collectors. It consists of moderately heavy longish guitar/organ songs that sound as though they were recorded earlier than 1974 by most standards. It's very possible that they also had several singles but I cannot confirm this. The album has been reissued on vinyl & on CD.

(G) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Geeza: Streetlife 1977

Geeza were an Australian Hard Rock band that released one album in 1977 on the RCA sub label Laser. The album consists of mainly Heavyish Hard Rock songs that rebelliously glorify the under current of the Sidney Rock n Roll lifestyle. The songs are great group efforts without all the glamorous Guitar God "One Upmanship". This is a band that wrote and played in the truest of the tough streetwise spirit for which great Hard Rock from around the world is famous for. Geeza were noted for their killer "no holds barred" live shows that they put on & were sure to bring the house down most every night.

(F) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Freight Train: Just The Beginning 1971

Freight Train were a super obscure and very competent US Heavy Blues Rock band. They recorded one album in 1971 on the Philadelphia based Fly By Nite label. If you recall Sacred Muschroom's version of the Otis Rush song, "Mean Old World" on their one and only album, you get an excellent "feel" for what this band's style put forward. Tight and groovin' hard guitar oriented Blues Rock with that GREAT period sound. All and all, I can't think of a better or more solid US Hard/Heavy Blues Rock album. Sad that Freight Train only squeezed out one record, but certainly not surprising.

(E) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Edge: (same) Nose Records 1970

Edge was one of the many late 60s/early 70s bands that were making the transition from the Psych scene to the Heavy Rock scene. Their one eponymous musical effort on the very obscure "Nose Records" label is a decent effort to be sure. It consists of good "down to earth" heavy guitar driven tunes that also contain some keyboard work with appropriate raspy, guttural vocals. This album for whatever reason has never been reissued on vinyl or CD.


Euclid: S/T 1970

Euclid's one and only album is amongst the very best in it's genre which is most certainly Heavy Rock at it's best. The musicians themselves were of an excellent caliber & very experienced, coming from a diverse New England Garage & Psych rock background. Groups from which they haled prior included the noteworthy Garage acts the Lazy Smoke & the Cobras. One of the coolest things about this album is the overall evidence of it's group members various background influences on it. In Euclid, you get the very best of it all. You have the raw & ferocious high energy Garage element mixed with a very clear and real psychedelic conviction of the drug use saturated times. These over shadowing characteristics combined with their new heavy/hard rock discipline & focus, resulted in one of the best early Heavy Rock albums ever recorded in the United States. The combined member's various instrumental contributions is equally matched by their amazing crystalline vocal harmonies. This was all offset by the lead vocal's "take no prisoners" brutal male vocal stylings. The production on this record is absolutely top notch and can't help but to give the music it's unstoppable heavy forward momentum. Very much living up to the group's namesake, the guitar, bass & drums on this record, in typical earth moving fashion, musically command the attention of the listener & level any and all resistance in it's path. The album itself stands to this day as a perfect monument of that which musically represents the US transition from Hard/Heavy Psych to Hard/Heavy Rock. In short, the group Euclid were one of the true "unsung" fundamental cornerstones in the emerging FM oriented commercial US Hard Rock movement. KILLER! From start to finish

(D) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Dark - Round the Edges 1972

Dark was a British band formed in the late 60s by a few musicians that met while at school in Northampton. Their famous and incredibly rare album (because of original pressed numbers)was recorded in just two days. The guitarist & vocalist Steve Giles had a keen interest in photography and is responsible for the initial 12 gatefold copies with the woman's picture on the couch that are worth the most. A good deal of mystery surrounds the album and 90% of it was generated via the Kissing Spell label trying to squeeze every nickel they could out of group's "then" unpublished recordings. Some of which would have been much better never heard. Their one real album entitled "Round The Edges" is actually a very good guitar oriented melodic rock album with the mildest of progressive & psychedelic underpinnings. The tone of the album at times does reach "into" somewhat heavy territories, but it seems to be the scattered mildly fuzzy guitar outbreaks with competent bass & drum accompaniment that give the album this vague appearance. There are about 5 reissues available on CD and 2 or 3 on vinyl.

(C) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus


Captain Beyond: Captain Beyond (same) 1972, Sufficiently Breathless 1973, Dawn Explosion 1977.

This group, after being intently locked away in a house they were renting in LA, practicing 8-10 hours a day for about 8 months time, recorded in just 2 days what may be the best Heavy Rock/Psychedelic/Progressive album ever recorded. The first Captain Beyond album is without question not only amazing in musical content from start to finish, it's also an absolute anomaly of a recording within Rock Music's history. This being because it powerfully and seamlessly blends the Heaviest of Rock with a mesmerizing obvious Psychedelic fabric that is a woven journey via stunning guitar oriented Progressive precision. The degree to which no other known group of musicians from the US ever had or have since. The musicians Captain Beyond consisted of originally were nothing short of an amalgam of super musicians all coming from a somewhat Heavy Rock background. Rod Evans the Lead Vocalist had been with Deep Purple, Bobby Caldwell on drums had been with Johnny Winter, Larry "Rhino" Rheinhardt on guitar & Lee Dowman on bass had both been with Iron Butterfly. The group initially formed in 1971. As one can imagine with such tremendous talent all assembled in one place, it must have taken a miracle for the group to remain together long enough to record the first album. After the initial album's release, because of extremely poor management & representation, after several line up changes the group eventually evolved to the point of extinction. Sadly none of their albums post 1972's self titled release even bore a remote resemblance to their preceding masterpiece.

(B) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Bang - Death of a Country 1971, Bang (same) 1971, Mother / Bow to the King 1972, Music 1973, RTZ 1999, The Maze 2004

Guitar driven Heavy Rock with minor Psych leanings. Good power trio riffing in the Sabbath vein with very good playing from all involved. All their material has been reissued on CD including a 2004 reunion CD.



Blackfeather: At The Mountains of Madness 1971


Blackfeather's "At The Mountains of Madness" is certainly one of the very best hard psych records to come out of Australia during the 60s/70s. It features the remarkable talents of ALL the band members, but one John Robinson on guitar is absolutely astounding. John's guitar playing is so intense & his musical arrangements so precise on this record, that the record literally has an intoxicating "buzz" all it's own that you'll certainly not be building a tolerance to any time soon. At The Mountains of Madness possesses that magical characteristic of great psych records where the listener is transported on a journey from it's start to it's finish. In short, it's a masterpiece. The album has been reissued both in vinyl & CD form several times. Listeners and fans of Blackfeather often complain of a somewhat substandard sound quality, even from Festival Music's legitimate version. Although, I find these claims to be a bit exaggerated, I agree that for instance compared to Kahvas Jute, yes they could have done a slightly better job. I am sure of one thing however, that any and all would find these priceless recordings more than enough to elicit the best "trip" possible within the realm of the mind's ear.

Bull Angus: (same) 1971, Free For All 1972

Bull Angus: S/T is an all but forgotten masterpiece of brutal well written and executed Hard n Heavy Rock. The founding members of Bull Angus were in Delaware when they decided to form a band. That's where Franke Previte, originally from New Brunswick, New Jersey was going to school at Goldey-Beacom college to earn a business degree. He was in a band at the time called The Oxford Watch Band. (catchey eh?) He and the drummer, who was in fact a native of Rochester NY, decided to form what would become Bull Angus after The Oxford Watch Band broke up. By the time they had advertised and located the rest of the of the new band members, they settled into a little berg in New York called Rhinebeck where the three other members were from. Rhinebeck is about 20 miles north of Poughkeepsi NY and the band rented an old farm house to live in and practiced in the barn. This Rhinebeck area is rich with Angus (a type of beef bred cattle) grazing pasture and this is where they took the name from. Every song on this album, is "stand up" grade A certified American Heavy Rock. You won't be asking "Where's The Beef"? on this one!

(A) The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Ambrose Slade: Beginnings (Phillips)/Ballzy (Fontana) 1969(Same album - Different name & country of release)

This was the pre-Slade version of the group that released one album that had two different names. Entertaining but consisting of mainly cover material that the group were then performing when signed to the German Phillips label. The music consists of a "good time" competent guitar based Boogie Blues style that just touches upon the Hard Psych element of the time.


Amulet: (same) 1979

One of the absolute best Hard Rock efforts from the Private Pressed late 70s frontier. The group was from the Midwest area of the United States although I am uncertain where exactly. The album was originally released on vinyl and is extremely rare and sought after. There is a legit CD release that sounds as good as possible. The music consists of very competent, excellent & tight guitar oriented hard rock tunes. The vocals are superb. The over all feel of the album is quite heavy and not so FM aimed mainstream that it lacks the guttural,
"take no prisoners" sincerity that great Hard Rock consists of.

THE GRAVIS MUSIC SUB HUMUS

meaning:

The Heavy Music Underground



Being a fan and archivist of Local independent, Private Pressed & Obscure Major Labeled Heavy music, I have become familiar to a certain degree with many an esoteric title within this broad musical aptitude. After contemplating where and how to best start a basic data base to help illuminate the paths of other collectors and vinyl venators, I decided at least temporarily that this blog would make a great format for just such an undertaking. What I will do is to start with the letter "A" and over a 26 day period of time, progress to the letter "Z". Each day's entry will represent a single letter in the alphabet. Each entry will in turn represent an amendable alphabetized filing system in which those viewing this simple database will be able to locate esoteric bands or artists they are curious about. I absolutely encourage amendments, corrections and additions via email to this database.

To submit any of the above, please email me at: gravissubhumus@yahoo.com

There will be zero limitations other than each entry must be at least of a somewhat Heavy & Obscure Rock Music nature. All countries, time periods & sub genres of Heavy Rock Music will be permitted & encouraged other than commercial post late 70s Glam, i.e. "Hair" Metal.

If you found this site via a web search, please take the time to "book mark" and add this site to your list of "favorites". This is going to be an ongoing process of continual updates and expansion. It will never stop growing!


Welcome to: The Music Encyclopedia of The Gravis Sub Humus

Typically my favorite type of music is somewhat "Older & Heavy" in nature. What I have done here is to basically outline the difference between variations of this type of music.



Heavy/Hard Blues Rock: I.E. Bands & artists like Savoy Brown, Killing Floor, Moloch, etc. consist of music of a heavy or hard rock nature whereas the music as written and played is predominantly blues based. Very easy to discern.

Heavy Psych Rock: I.E. Bands like Maypole, Blue Cheer, Q65, Golden Dawn, Cream, Blue Mountain Eagle, Captain Beyond, etc. consist of music that is not overly mainstream or pop oriented, often consisting of highly talented musical underdogs. The music is often more philosophical in approach, rather than focusing on the relating of personal experience alone. The music tends to have more of a thud n thunder effect and usually does not focus on one primary instrument, but rather has a powerful "wall of sound" combination of drums, bass & guitar. The songs tend to be "longer" in nature and the music & lyrics are psychedelic drug culture oriented.


Hard Psych Rock: I.E. Bands like Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix (first three albums & only so because of commercial pressure placed on him by management), Amen Corner, Art, Brain Police, Chocolate Watchband, etc. This music tends to focus on dominant musicianship including vocals. It's most often the guitar that gets front and center in terms of instrumentation, but vocals are important as well. The songs are shorter and more radio friendly. Often the subject mater is social in nature with emphasis on personal experience and relationships either one on one (sex & getting high) or one as related to the many (the outcast effect and/or protest). The songs often consist of a rebellious "call to arms" that is easy to relate to and tend to illicit a "yeah man, right on"! reaction. Very seldom is fantasy an attribute of "Hard" music. It's one that deals much more commonly with human experience.

Heavy Rock: I.E. Bands like BLACK SABBATH, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin ( a bizarre hair slitting group by definition if ever there were one), Euclid, Chariot, Rush, Night Sun, Jeronimo, Blues Creation, etc. Drugs played a HUGE part in this music. Of this, there is no question. The element that sets these groups apart from traditional Heavy Psych is that we find them condoning the usage (and over usage) as much as we do condemning the same degree of use. In other words we find tons of time line based (fate) human experience mixed with just as much socio political, apocalyptic and out and outright fantastically based song/story content. Certainly human relations of a sexually based nature are not exempt lyrical content, but in no way is this found to be a dominant theme within the scope of these band's output. Heavy Rock is most always a equilateral combination of each musician's prowess. It seems as though a fateful chemistry was destined to bear out all the combined parts (musicians) to equate a greater whole or group identity when joined. These bands often fuse prevalent musical influences such as Classical, Celtic, Jazz, Blues, etc. into what is the musical recipe that each band is responsible for. This can and does often lend a very real progressive name tag to their music but the bottom line is the fact that this is a form of rock that is hands down the heaviest of them all.


Hard Rock: I.E. Bands like Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Foghat, Stepson, Robert Savage, AC/DC, Bad Company,Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kiss, etc. These groups have an unmistakable guitar/lead vocalist orientation and most often offer up a smorgasbord of sex, freedom & rock n roll forever mentality. Almost always dealing with the ego in one way or another, their material is extremely relative & appealing on a youthful hormone driven level. Naturally they were the more commercially "successful" of the hard/heavy genres because their songs were often shorter (other than an occasional signature anthem like Free Bird that were often cut in length for radio airplay) and to the point. These groups mostly helped to "pave the way" for the ongoing successful radio domination of rock music & along with their more sophisticated and heavy brethren, were first wave of AOR driven rock groups. Glam was a very real, and only in the most minor of senses, sub category of Hard Rock. IMO, Like Iommi points out, along with Proto, it was the pre "German Metal" bands like Saxon, Iron Maiden, Accept, JUDAS PRIEST, Krokus, etc. that started Metal. Metal was born a hybrid from a combination of the *Denim & Leather motorcycle/military mentality. (*not to rip off Saxon) The term Heavy Metal was most likely first "penned" by William Burroughs and then spun by underground sub context journalists to describe certain loud speaker rock concert events. Many referrals to early linguistic similarities like "Iron Man" & "Led Zeppelin" as well as Mars Bonfire's "Heavy Metal Thunder" made famous by Steppenwolf, were actually cultural references pertinent to various motivations for this or that. Heavy Metal became a real definable musical identity when the intricate duel metal guitar onslaught/double bass drum came into play. I would say that most likely, Priest and Maiden were the first bands to "punch through" (direct as Sir Lord Doom would say) the somewhat commercially repressed packaging that was the European Hard Rock scene. Rob Halford was the leather clad lead singer poster boy for Heavy Metal whereas "Eddie" was rather the poster freak for a band that just plain loved to hang out drink ale, play pool & darts while retaining the comfort and sweat free environment that their jeans offered.

The Layer Cake

It seems like there are 5 layers to the cake that make up eBay sellers.

Layer 1: Excellent Sellers/World Class = Solid Communication Skills, Consistently Offering Desirable Sought After Collectibles, Reputably Dependable & Knowledgeable Descriptions, Accurate Conservative Grading, Timely Delivery w/Strong Safe Packaging.

Layer 2: Above Average Sellers = Same as above but slightly looser grading, a mix of very collectible items and common place stuff, slight wavers in described accuracy or absence of information.

Layer 3: Average = Exact Hits & Occasional Misses in terms of grading, knowledgeability & dependable delivery times. Communication & Packaging are still above average. 80% of the time dealing with this type of seller yields satisfactory results. The averages are on the buyer's side.

Layer 4: Below Average = Inconsistent Grading, Packaging, descriptions & timely communication skills. Satisfactory dealings with this type of seller are 50/50. This seller normally has a few negatives but will try and take care of you if you have a problem. He gives partial or complete refunds.

Layer 5: Poor = Sellers w/Rude & Violent communications, Grading & Packaging from this seller can be a complete risk, just receiving what you have won is a risk, sellers provide either (a)false information in auction descriptions, or (b) intentionally does not include information such as warps or other obvious information the buyer should be aware of. Pictured items and descriptions are also often like east and west in relation to what you receive. Seller has a reputation for dissatisfaction and is extremely slow to provide communication, product or service.

Vinyl Grading-What Did You Expect, Accuracy?



Today, the Venator covers a small but very important aspect of the savage's quest for vinyl. This being the dreaded mail order. Whether it's the "old school" dealer mail order lists, or the newer trend that is eBay dealer's auctions, in either case, your gettin' them rekkids through the mail.

While the more sporting and less obsessive of us might consider this form of hunting much likened to shooting fish in a barrel, or perhaps hunting & trapping on a game reserve, I for one do not. After all if your after the "big game" like, lions, tigers & bears so to speak, unless your property butts up to your local zoo your not going to have much luck "back yard" hunting in New Jersey.

Often times once you have located that "trophy" the biggest element of dissatisfaction in terms of collecting your vinyl prey through the mail comes from poor grading. NOTHING sucks more than to have a record that you paid top dollar for arrive in notably less than it's described condition.

To me a record is accurately graded M- when it's been opened but appears "new". This being both in relation to the cover & the record itself. Some VERY experienced dealers seem to think this grading should be left up to their interpretation. Personally, I think that's BS. Please read the following relevant portion of an email that was in reply to a letter I sent expressing my dissatisfaction with this highly experienced seller's grading. This being after I purchased a tidy sum of records from him in the last month and a half.

From the desk of a highly respected long term experienced record dealer:

*The majority of Lp's I deal in are used and about 30 years old. Even Sealed Lp's have sleevelines , especially US major Labels like Bell, Atlantic, Capitol etc.. Does a barely played record with some faint sleeve lines or occasional angelhair with no affect on sound still qualify as M-. In my grading scale, yes.*

Gee, that's not what it says in Goldmine & I HAVE received quite a few records in my short career collecting them that appear "new" and don't have these "acceptable flaws". Most genuinely sealed records that I have encountered look new, don't have "angelhair", "sleevelines", scuffs or spindle marks. The ones that don't appear clean and shiny are normally the albums that have either (a) suffered obvious mishandling or weathering as evidenced by their covers, or (b) underwent a surface splotching or discoloration due to a long term chemically induced reaction. Many sellers are quick to note such conditions. What am I missing here?

*If I was just dealing in Reissues this might be a different story . You can pretty much take any record and if you hold it under a 100 Watt light bulb find something wrong with it. Maybe the M- grade should be left out completely and we should just use EX as the highest grade. Might solve a lot of arguments and complications.*

Screw incandescent lighting my friend, this is the 21st century. For the average person, florescent lighting provides the closest likeness to sunlight and you don't even need any heat to achieve it. Screw wattage. What is this seller really saying here anyway?

#1) I know I am too lax when it comes to grading, maybe I should just use the Ex grade and leave the M- to other sellers that grade more strictly????

#2) Because my records are generally older original copies that cost the buyer 3-15 times as much money as a reissue, the same standards for grading don't apply to them????

#3) When you buy a record from me, always employ the Dale Carnegie method in which we ease the pain of disappointment by expecting the worst.


Why do we make excuses for people that make the mojority of their living selling records? And they wonder why eBay is kicking their little asses as of late...

Last weekend, because of my musician activities, sub humus (under ground) audio remastering & vinyl venatio (hunting), I only managed to archive 2 LPs. In short, I had a lot going on. One must perform 3 separate tasks to achieve and maintain ongoing archival custodia as I regularily do.

I call this 3 part process, "ut excipio , transfero & rememdium".

1.ut excipio) The act of hunting obscure heavy vinyl with the intent to capture is simple. You merely go down to your favorite used record "keep" and capture as much as you feel merits your interest and whose weight is justified via the arduous trek back to your den, cave, or basement lair with said records in tow. Now, the act of semita (tracking) is where the hunt gets extremely challenging, but I will "go there" later.

2.transfero) This is the process of acclimation whereby the captured vinyl prey is physically cleaned, *proof listened & then transferred (recorded) via a high standard dedicated turntable to a computer's hard drive via an audiophile grade external soundcard or "dock".

3.rememdium)This term translates to "cure" and this in turn translates in this applicable case to an audio "ReMastered Rough Draft"(RMRD). This is to say that the Album's side long wave files are broken down into smaller song files. These segmented or indexed smaller files are then further ^"batch processed". These sequential multiple digital processes insure that the analog warmth and distinction of the original recording is preserved as best as is possible while removing surface noise and vinyl imperfections. The result is a rough but suitable digital audio rendering. This allows the smaller file material to be archived in a undiminished or "compressed" high quality audio format in one of 3 ways that I choose. Either, (a) on the hard drive of the computer, (b) on a CDR disc, or (c) on a DVDR disc.

The latter two options have four major advantages:

1. Physical Storage Portability

2. Conserves Storage Space On The Hard Drive In Place of Using The Hard Drive As A Storage Medium.

3. Multiple Application In Various Players (you can listen wherever you want)

4. Zero Loss of Quality via Compression as In The Case of MP3s, etc.

* Proof Listening is just that. Like "proof reading" the archivist is "proofing" audio material in terms of it's potential interest or sound quality.

^Batch Processing is a computer program feature that allows you to place numerous files in a queue or specific "holding" area so that each file can be effected via an identical sequential process consisting of various digital effects, filters or "treatments".

It seems to me that when we are all together, we are alone as just one person, or as a group of many. Either way, I choose now to be one here, just one nut's case for the exclusive purpose of conveying my lone soul road's undertaking. I am...

Ignotus Gravis Recordatio Venator


but you can call me Ven for short.