WEIß DER TEUFEL

This was RUFUS ZUPHAL's debut released in 1970. It was recorded live in the studio so we get a fairly raw and unpolished sound that I like.They had a very good rhythm section (the drummer would go on to play with KRAAN) and prominant flute.

"Walpurgisnacht" hit me right away, the first time I heard it I thought "What a great sounding band". The vocals and flute both sound outstanding. Some nice contrasts in this one. Guitar leads the way 1 1/2 minutes in. "Knight Of 3rd Degree" has this heavy rhythm as flute plays over top. It calms right down 2 minutes in. Reserved voicals before 3 minutes. This is all melancholic sounding. It kicks back in before 6 minutes as the song ends just like it began. "Spanferkel" is more aggressive with lots of flute. Great sound ! It's funny when the song ends you can hear the flute player take a deep breath. "Freitag" has a Blues flavour to it. The drums start to dominate after a minute with flute. The guitar comes in and I really like the flute melodies here. The guitar starts to rip it up and a good rhythm follows as the style of the flute changes. The guitar is back ! "Weiss Der Teufel" is the over 17 minute closer. It opens with flute and some heaviness. A good steady rhyrthm follows as guitar plays over top.The flute replaces the guitar. We get a 2 minute drum solo that's actually pretty good. Vocals after 5 minutes with prominant bass. It turns psychedelic with some crazy vocal expressions 8 minutes in.The insanity lasts for about a minute. The song kicks back in at 12 1/2 minutes to a fantastic sound ! It settles again before kicking back in to end it.

This is a good one that's well worth a 4 star rating.