Throwback Thursday: "Lucifer's Friend", by Lucifer's Friend

The late 60's/early 70's were a very pivotal time in the history of hard rock and heavy metal. A lot of the most influential bands were just starting to get up and running and making a real impact on the world. Some times though, there were bands that unfortunately seemed to slip through the cracks and be lost to history from the mainstream. One such band is Hamburg, Germany based hard rock band Lucifer's Friend who in 1970 put out one hell of a fantastic debut album Lucifer's Friend.

Lucifer's Friend sounds like Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath somehow managed to get together and have a four-way love child. It has the ginormous riffs of Zeppeling and Sabbath and the slightly sinister feel of the latter, the wall of organ of Purple and Heep, and the vocal prowess of all of them. Contrary to what you may think however, NONE of the songs are about supporting Satan in the slightest.

"Ride the Sky" starts off with some of the most foreboding vocal harmonies that then lead into a rather unexpected brief horn section. It doesn't take long though for it to kick into a Deep Purple-like heavy rock swing with some rather Zeppelin/Scorpions type vocals. The organ solo section is pretty sexy. It's dissonant, yet just melodic enough to be followed throughout its monstrous build-up into the next section. This is a great tune to head bang along to for sure.

The title track "Lucifer's Friend" definitely has a spooky foreboding intro, but rather than vocals it's done on various instruments. This leads into another heavy early 70's rock groove. This one is a lot more organ heavy, though the guitar still plays a prominent role as well. Vocalist John Lawton absolutely kills it here. He manages to be melodic, belt, wail, and have the right level of intensity for each part of the song.

If you're someone who loves obscure gems or just hard rock/heavy metal from the 70's in general then Lucifer's Friend is right up your alley. It has the best elements of all of the biggest bands of that era while still managing to do their own thing. It's an absolute shame that so many people have overlooked this treasure of an album and a band in general. The name might be a bit off-putting, but if you can get past that you're in for one hell of a treat.

Lucifer's Friend, by Lucifer's Friend receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

1. Ride the Sky
2. Everybody's Clown
3. Keep Goin'
4. Toxic Shadows
5. Free Baby
6. Baby You're a Liar
7. In the Time of Job When Mammon Was a Yippie
8. Lucifer's Friend

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Lucifers-Friend-LUCIFERs-FRIEND/dp/B003F0VM6I/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518151448&sr=8-2&keywords=Lucifer%27s+Friend