CREATION

First opus by German obscure quintet WERWOLF, "Creation" offers a nice musical trip in the vein of their progressive symphonic fellow countrymen. Despite being released in 1982, the style and instrumentation remind the aforementioned German bands of the mid/late 70's, such as ELOY, for the cool bass lines. Although not as complex as their English elders', the compositions features different ambiances, alternating pastoral, spacey, enchanting and hard rocking moments. A bit late for the 80's, however really good, accessible, inspired and rather homogeneous in terms of quality. Furthermore, the dominant female vocals enhances the fairytale impression.

Side 1 is the most remarkable. The instrumental "Flying High" could have very well escaped from ELOY's "Dawn" with its synthesizers and sonorities typical of the late 70's. A good space-rock opener! Best track of the disc, "The Journey to the Land of the Flying Pigs" is a genuine magical voyage. Opening with a medieval acoustic guitar, this gentle fairy song possesses a very catchy melody, supported by various soft and energetic passages. Beautiful! "Way to paradise" follows the same style, on a more heroic tone. The beat and overall orchestration slightly approaches neo-prog at times.

Side 2 is a bit weaker but still good. The instrumental "Daydream" can be divided in two parts: the first half sounds like typical mid-70's ELOY, with its vintage spacey keyboards and fast-paced guitars, while the second half is slower and melancholic. Pleasant. On the contrary, "The game is over", another instrumental, is quite soapy, despite its jazzy accents. My least favorite title of the record. The album concludes with its longest track, "The Eighth Day". Less rocking than the other compositions but more varied, this ender contains numerous different sections and tempos, as well as charming folk incursions.

The 1997 Garden of Delights CD reissue is rather worth the listen. It features the three mini-epics recorded in 1979 for the band's first demo. Although called this way, "The song" is instrumental. Not bad but does not really catch attention and too lengthy. The two other demo tracks are more interesting. With its 11 minutes, "My story" is more original and elaborated. The title is quite heroic, rockier, but folkier too, including many changes within the song and... a saxophone! Furthermore, Gitta Loewenstein's voice goes pretty raging here! Also featuring the wind instrument, "The dreamer" opens with surprisingly fast heavy guitars. Cool!

German musicians are definitely unpredictable. In 1982, darker and more aggressive styles such as cold wave or heavy metal became more and more popular, prog's decline started long ago. Then finally WERWOLF released its first opus, the deliciously dated and charming symphonic "Creation". Not very original and five years late, but really nice and inspired, with gorgeous bass lines and delightful melodies. A rich and colorful music, as well as a genuine promenade through the fields of an imaginary land, in a world of fairy tales....

You are very invited if you enjoy mid/late 70's German symphonic / melodic space rock, especially ELOY's "Dawn".

Personally, I'll do the journey once again...

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