EISZEIT

Günter Schickert / guitar, vocals, trumpet, + Axel Struck / guitars, vocals, + Michael Leske / drums, percussions, sums up GAM. A "Krautrock" trio, which around 1978, came up to what it seems a second and last album. A masterpiece of an album, in fact. RE-ISSUED again, with all merit in 2005.

Why is it lost in oblivion? Even to Krautrockers?, As far as now, almost all reviewers, official and not, wonder the same question. The art of the album cover makes it look like something that has been designed to be overlooked, I could agree on that. The rest is still a mystery.

Anyway, this project gets an annual review, here in PA, and now its my turn. The album opens up with the haunting, raw and ethereal "Tropfstein" and in some way it fortells where this project might lead and sound like. The second song " Sepp Oben Ieh Unten" is what "Pulz" (Gunther Schickert's " Überfällig" 1st song) will have sounded from start to finish, without those 2 boring last minutes. The creative use of a drone-like and electrified trumpet, turns this song from dynamic to mysterious, in a blink of an eye. So we are up to an extraordinary starting point.

The motion slows down in "Geige", the 3th song, which may probably sound, to younger ears, like P.T. or Steven alone, but of course this is 1978 and nothing like that has happened yet. The 4th. song "Demons" is like an exotic and short visit to Germany's "Rock in Opposition" scene.

From here the dynamics of Schickert's guitar playing counterpointed by Leske's drumming, evolve into a fast paced, eerie and yet inviting composition, "Wilderness", one of the many creative highlights, they will eventually cover all the way through. The atmosphere by now, although it becomes dense, still conjures an amazing array of simmultaneous, melodic lines by Schickter and Struck, which have no need to "fake" any other Prog "legend", as some reviewer has already pointed out, and I add up, setting the road for future bands, as relevant as P.T. and others.

The ballad-like "Verlass Mich Nicht" appropiately, invites a more slow paced reflection and the insisting wah-wah background guitar work is counterpointed with an exquisite guitar riff and a very ethereal and austere use of voices as disperse words more than real singing, superb, like a "Krautblues" if you wish, superb. "Ich Bin Ein Teil" this album last song, visits again the melodic line of " Sepp Oben Ieh Unten" but with an extreme charge of, to call it somehow, fast-paced "Heavy/Prog" with the wild side of "Krautrock", a perfect last song for a project of this stature....

So here we go again with the annual "GAM - Eiszeit" , PA review and another *****5 star rating for this masterpiece of Prog. And the same question. Why is it lost in oblivion?

Don't miss!