Armageddon

Artist: Armageddon
Label: Repertoire
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 766484449024
EAN: 0766484449024
ASIN: B000024Z9Y

Release Date: 2002-09-24

Armageddon

Related Categories:

General

| Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock

| Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General

| Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Buzzard
Silver Tightrope
Paths and Planes and Furture Gains
Last Stand Before
Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Warning Comin' On/Basking in
Basking in the White of the Midnight Sun (Reprise)

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Captain Beyond
Armageddon
Sufficiently Breathless
Cactology: The Cactus Collection
Sea Shanties

Album Description

1998 reissue on Repertoire featuring all five original tracks, including the four part suite 'Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun'. The band features ex-Yardbirds members, including Keith Relf. The album was first released on A&M in 1975. Also contains the original cover art. This was the group's sole LP.

Album Details

The One and Only Album from the Power Rock Band Formed by the Late Keith Relf (Ex of the Yardbirds), Martin Pugh (From Steamhammer), Drummer Bobby Caldwell (Who Had Worked with Johnny Winter...not The Singer of 'what You Won't Do for Love' Fame) and Bassist Lou Cennamo.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not Brilliant.......2006-07-07

5 stars is out of the question, but this deserves more than 3. Although other reviewers have different opinions, without "Buzzard" this album would be in the bin of "also rans". It's "Buzzard" that makes this album special, the rest is listenable with some good and bad moments, but all in all, everything that follows "Buzzard" is a serious come down after the blitzkrieg of that opening track!

My favorite heavy metal album.......2006-01-02

I bought this album back in July 1975 after hearing a few tracks from on a local college FM station and hearing a recommendation from an acquaintance. At the time, I found most heavy metal to be boring (exceptions: Led Zeppelin, some Deep Purple) where it was loudness, speed, distortion, etc. for its own sake. I bought Armageddon and loved it. The music had feeling to it. Keith Relf played some excellent harmonica solos. His voice was stronger than it ever was with the Yardbirds. Martin Pugh is clearly underrated as a guitarist. I recently purchased all 4 Steamhammer albums also. Likewise for Louis Cennamo (who previously played on James Taylor's first album recorded for the Beatles' Apple Records and on Colosseum's third album "Daughter of Time" as well as with Renaissance). Their playing and interplay is very tasteful. Buzzard starts out with an improvement of a riff that Pugh and Cennamo performed on Steamhammer's final album and ends with some great harmonica work by Relf. Next, comes "Silver Tightrope" which is the mellow song on the album (the song seems to be about death and the afterlife). Side 1 closes with the 4 minute "Paths and Planes and Future Gains" which is the short song on the album. Side 2 begins with "Last Stand Before" which features some harmonica work by Relf. Finally, there is the 11-minute, 4-part "Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun". This is one of the songs I heard on FM. I sounded vaguely like Traffic but heavier. I wondered who it was for a few months. This album would not have been the same if it weren't for the drumming of Bobby Caldwell. His ability to play odd time signatures is what makes Captain Beyond's first album sound interesting (along with Rhino's guitar work). At the time I bought this album, my friends and coworkers were listening to Kiss and Rush. I told them this album blows them away.

Mark Miller,
Wheaton, IL

Excellent progressive/hard rock album............2006-01-01

Another example of a great group getting little to no air play. I really don't know why FM radio exists anymore. All they do is play the same stuff over and over. For young people today the current and recent music being pushed down their throat's is basically worthless and has little creativity and musicianship. Give a listen to this album if you want to have a glimpse of what musical creativity was like back in the 60's and 70's, the finest era for all of rock music. There were so many good groups back then and the music was phenomenal. This album is an outstanding example of great musicians and writing. These aren't songs they are compositions. It is just a shame this was their only album. Progessive/hard rock at it's finest!

Keith Relf's swansong is his finest work ever recorded.......2005-10-15

Armageddon (1975.)

INTRODUCTION:
In the sixties, Keith Relf was moderately popular as lead vocalist for the Yardbirds, a band that featured many wildly-famous musicians (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, etc.) prior to their musical primes. The Yardbirds were a fairly popular group, and Relf was one of the longest-lasting members they had. Following the disbanding of that group, Relf participated in a variety of other musical projects early in the seventies. Toward the middle of the new decade, he met up with former Steamhammer guitarist Martin Pugh, bassist Louis Cennamo, and drummer Bobby Caldwell, who had worked with Johnny Winter and Captain Beyond. The quartet took the name Armageddon. They released their only album in 1975. The album didn't do that great on the charts, and shortly after its release, Relf died from an electric shock he received while practicing the guitar. Lack of popularity aside, how does Relf's swansong measure up? Read on for my comments on the one and only LP Armageddon released!

OVERVIEW:
Armageddon released their only album in 1975. The band consisted of vocalist Keith Relf, guitarist Martin Pugh, bass player Louis Cennamo, and percussionist Bobby Caldwell. The album's tracklist consists of Buzzard, Silver Tightrope, Paths And Plains And Future Gains, Last Stand Before, and Basking In the White Of The Midnight Sun.

REVIEW:
The final material Keith Relf recorded prior to his death is also the finest. Armageddon is awesome, no questions asked. The quartet of Relf, Cannamo, Pugh, and Caldwell sounds like a rather strange combination for one of the hardest and heaviest bands of this era, but guess what? It just works! I was skeptical at first too, but my first listen to this album changed my mind. At the time I write this review I haven't owned the album very long, but it hasn't left my CD player yet. And it might not be, any time soon at least. Only five tracks can be found on the album, but every one of them is a masterpiece in its own right. Let's take a look at them.

-SIDE A-

-Buzzard: You'll notice many places that give comments for Armageddon's album tend to praise the opening track. And once you give it a listen, you will see why. Here the group serves up straight-up, fast-paced hard and heavy rock and roll - definitely heavier stuff than a lot of bands of this day and age were pulling off. It's hard to believe the Keith Relf, the guy singing this song, was in the Yardbirds, a British Invasion POP outfit just ten years earlier! Essentially, if you like hard and heavy rock, you will like this song.

-Silver Tightrope: The second track on the album is about as different from the first as could possibly be. This track is the "outcast" song on the album, being that it differs drastically from the others found on the album, and yet, in its own right it is still an excellent track. Essentially, what the band gives you here is slow-paced, melodic and acoustic rock. With the softer, more melodic musical approach and Relf's higher-than-normal vocals, this one actually reminded me of Yes in many places. But at the same time, manages to maintain its individuality and then some. So what if it's the outcast on the album? It still rules.

-Paths And Plains And Future Gains: After a one-track break from the hard and heavy stuff, we get right back to it. This is vintage classic metal the way it was meant to be heard. The song is so hard and heavy, in fact, that I could easily picture Black Sabbath, Judas Priest or any of the other early metal acts of the day recording it! Hard and heavy rock never sounded so good.

-SIDE B-

-Last Stand Before: Here we have an interesting track. It's a hard rocker, with a more down-to-earth feeling, giving it more of a classic rock feeling than the other songs on the album. The harmonica playing is a nice touch, too. Once again, the whole band shines, but you wouldn't expect anything less from these guys, now would you? Overall it makes a fine addition to the album.

-Basking In The White Of The Midnight Sun: Closing out the album is this lengthy track, which clocks in at over eleven minutes. The track is broken into many different suites, and from start to finish the whole track proves to be a damn fine closer. Through its lengthy duration and transitions between the many suites, the song remains fresh and interesting. All in all, the band could not have finished off the album on a higher note.

Overall, Armageddon's album is one of the finest in rock and roll history. It's just a damn shame Relf met his demise just a year later. If he had not died, Armageddon could have gone on and become one of the superpowers of hard rock. It's just shame this, the last thing he ever recorded, is pretty much unknown, while his hit-and-miss Yardbirds stuff remains what people remember him for. If you're gonna remember Keith Relf, remember him for this album. If you're a fan of classic rock, hard rock, or both, buy this album. You won't be disappointed.

EDITION NOTES:
This album's lack of popularity results in its availability being extremely low, which is a damn shame. This album is long overdue for a reissuing treatment in America, but with the popularity remaining in its low state, that isn't very likely to happen anytime soon. All we can do is pray...

Music Album:

Music Album

Music Album

Music CD

Changes Two ~ Charles Mingus

Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me ~ Cootie Williams

You Made Me Love You ~ Harry James

5 by Monk by 5 ~ Thelonious Monk

Beyond A Dream ~ Tony Jones

Estudando o Pagode ~ Tom Z%C3%A9

Ich Sage Was Ich Denke ~ Trude Herr

Classicos De Carlos Gardel ~ Carlos Gardel

Beautiful Songs: Cool Beauties ~ Various Artists

Newest Hits ~ Ayako Fuji