Search - Lucifer's Friend :: Lucifer's Friend

A Crushing Classic Of Heavy Rock

Chris Gerbig | Ontario, Canada | 09/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This German hard rock machine, with British belter John Lawton, (later of Uriah Heep) gave birth to one of the best heavy rock albums of the early 70's. From the screaming vocals of "Ride In The Sky" (with its brass opening reminiscent of Zeppelin's "The Immigrant Song" and an almost "thrash metal" riff) to the progressive/hard R&B of "Toxic Shadows", to the lumbering, Sabbathish doom of "Keep Goin", this album never lets up for a second. Fans of Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin must have this in their collection! Lawton is one of the best singers in hard rock, and the musicianship of the group is tremendous. Very heavy indeed for a 1971 release. The bonus tracks show the more mainstream, rock 'n' rollin' side of the band, but the instrumentals "Horla" and "Satyr's Dance" (taken from B-sides) really cook. Do yourself a large favor and check this one out."

The Greatest 70s Album You've Never Heard

Michael A. Beyer | Chicago, IL United States | 02/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They just don't make records like this anymore. From start to finish, these songs are chock-full of heavy, no-BS guitars laying down awesome riffs. It passes my simple test: the melodies are strong and the guitars are loud. Lead singer John Lawton would go on to greater fame with Uriah Heep, but he absolutely scores here with Lucifer's Friend.



In addition to the Sabbath-influenced guitars, the bass-playing also jumps out here, more so than the organ. Lawton's singing is tremendously powerful throughout. This album passes the following tests with ease:



The Headphones Test: A+



The "Driving Around In The Car With The CD Cranked" Test: A+++++



Lyrics Test: A solid B just on the strength of "In The Time of Job When Mammon Was A Yippie". But really, who listens to Lucifer's Friend for the lyrics alone?



The "I Realize I'm On The Train, But I Just Gotta Bust Out The Air Guitar for This Solo" Test: A++



I've been listening to this album in tandem with Captain Beyond, Bloodrock, Uriah Heep, Thin Lizzy and Andromeda. Here's how I rank them:



1. Thin Lizzy, "Fighting"

2. Uriah Heep, "Demons & Wizards"

3. Lucifer's Friend, "Lucifer's Friend"

4. Bloodrock, "Bloodrock 2"

5. Captain Beyond, "Captain Beyond"

6. Andromeda, "Andromeda"



A tough group of albums to rank, and a ranking that changes all the time. Safe to say, Lucifer's Friend rules. Let's get to the tracks:



Ride In The Sky -- I knew this album was going to rock hard and rule the planet the minute I heard the trumpet blasting the intro to "The Immigrant Song". A short, quick-and-dirty intro. 8 out of 10.



Everybody's Clown -- Here's where the band gets down to business. This song is a six-minute clinic. The guitar solos come in quick bursts at the beginning, then the band slows it down in the middle for some serious guitar attacks. The bass on here is so awesome, and I never usually notice the bass on tracks like these. 7 out of 10.



Keep Goin' -- A slow, drawn-out jam. The guitars here are heavy and thunderous, and the organ is a great touch. Kind of a bump in the road here, relatively speaking. 6 out of 10.



Toxic Shadows -- Put plain, this is a table-busting jam. It starts and stops in the beginning, but once it takes off this song is a monster. And then it goes on for seven minutes!!!! Heaven. The beginning of the 4-5-6 punch. 10 out of 10.



Free Baby -- Table-Busting Jam, part deux. Can't decide whether THIS is my favorite song (10 out of 10), or whether it's:



Baby You're A Liar -- They have that mid-tempo, Zeppelin-esque heavy beat down to a science. The drums here aren't quite so heavy as Bonham's beats for Zeppelin, but it doesn't matter. The Table-Busting Trilogy concludes with this relatively quick rocker. 10 out of 10.



In The Time of Job When Mammon Was A Yippie -- Somewhat of a comedown from the previous three songs, but not by much. 9 out of 10.



Lucifer's Friend -- The album roars to its all-too-soon end. The great thing is that these songs clock in at an average of six minutes long. The bad thing is that this is the last song. 9 out of 10.



This is simply a criminally overlooked album, especially if you think bands like Wolfmother are cool. In fact, if you're a rocker with any respect for yourself, then you need this album."

This is a great album.

Chris Gerbig | 07/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Listened to this first in the 70's. They were realtively unknown. Some friends in a local Chicago Southside band played several of the songs. Guitar solos very good. Long live that early German rock. It's great! Rate it with some of Zeppelins early albums. Overall a solid album. Not one clinker in the bunch. Don't know about the bonus tracks, though. Wonder what the kids of today might think of it. album recommends playing at maximum volume. How can you go wrong with that? On Billingsgate Records, I think. Their logo was a guy with a big boot about to kick someone in the a$$."