SPARTACUS

"Spartacus" is the third studio album of Triumvirat and was released in 1975. This is a conceptual album based on the story of the Roman gladiator Spartacus who led the third slave uprising in the Roman Empire in 73?71 BC. This is an album in the same vein of Emerson, Lake & Palmer but it isn't a clone. It was certainly inspired by their music and style but the music of Triumvirat has a personal touch of their own. "Spartacus" is considered by many their best album, deserving many reissues in different countries all over the world. It was also the band's greatest commercial success.

The line up on the album is Jürgen Fritz (Hammond organ, moog synthesizer, Steinway grand piano, ARP string ensemble and electric piano), Helmut Köllen (vocals, bass, acoustic and electric guitars) and Hans Bathelt (drums and percussion). After this album Helmut Köllen left the band to start a solo career. However and unfortunately, fate decreed that two years later he died dramatically of carbon monoxide poisoning when he was in his car, when he was listening to his own studio musical compositions on his car's cassette player while running the engine of the car in his garage.

"Spartacus" has nine tracks. The first track "The Capital Of Power" written by Jürgen Fritz is a magnificent and very powerful overture for the album. It's an instrumental epic piece of music which leads us into the ambient of the concept and also of the atmosphere and music on the entire album. This is an excellent instrumental musical section. The second track "The School Of Instant Pain" is divided into four parts: "Proclamation", "The Gladiator's Song", "Roman Entertainment" and "The Battle". All were written by Jürgen Fritz and Hans Bathelt. This is an incredible and brilliant multi-part epic piece of music. Musically it's a song very diversified with great individual works performed by the trio of the band. It has also a fantastic and powerful ballad, an interesting jazz section, and in the end, Hans Bathelt performed a massive drum solo so typical on the albums of the 70's. The third track "The Walls Of Doom" written by Jürgen Fritz is another instrumental song. We can divide this song into two distinct parts. In the first part the music is dominated by drumming work and has also a very nice bass line. In the second part the music explodes and has an excellent keyboard work in the style of Keith Emerson, but with a very own approach and style. The fourth track "The Deadly Dream Of Freedom" written by Helmut Köllen and Hans Bathelt is a very sweet and beautiful ballad, essentially made of vocals and piano, very well accompanied on the back by a very beautiful guitar work. Despite be a song with a different style of music, it keeps totally the musical cohesion of the entire album. The fifth track "The Hazy Shades Of Dawn" written by Jürgen Fritz is another instrumental song with the music style of a march. It's a progressive and complex track, very majestic and grandiose in the style of Emerson, Lake & Palmer but once more with the very own Triumvitat's approach and style. The sixth track "The Burning Sword Of Capua" written by Jürgen Fritz is another great instrumental track. Despite be a very small song, it's very complex with several musical changes, what makes of it a brilliant piece of music. The seventh track "The Sweetest Sound Of Liberty" written by Helmut Köllen and Hans Bathelt is a very short ballad in the same vein of "The Deadly Dream Of Freedom". Once again, this song is a break in the kind of the music of the album, but it also keeps in totally the musical cohesion on the album. The eighth track "The March Of The Eternal City" is divided into three parts: "Dusty Road", "Italian Improvisation" and "First Success". All were written by Jürgen Fritz and Hans Bathelt. It's another multi-part epic song very diversified. This is a song with some extremely complex parts with crossed rhythms and complex keyboards, has also lengthy instrumental sections and has also some improvisation musical parts. It's a very progressive track. The ninth track is the title track "Spartacus". It's also divided into three parts: "The Superior Force Of Rome" written by Jürgen Fritz and Hans Bathelt, "A Broken Dream" written by Jürgen Fritz and "The Final" also written by Jürgen Fritz. Like the previous track this is another mini epic track. This is another very progressive and complex song, very powerful and full of contrasts and musical changes. It has some musical sections very frenetic where others are more soft, nostalgic and sad. This is a nice way to end this great album.

Conclusion: "Spartacus" and "Illusions On A Double Dimple" are, without any kind of doubt, the two best releases of Triumvirat. These are two masterpieces with a very unique and own sound, despite the clear influences of the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Both albums placed Triumvirat as one of the best German progressive rock bands in the 70's. Both albums also made of Triumvirat a classic and necessary progressive rock band to check, even in our days. The genius of Jürgen Fritz and his virtuoso musical performances, and the technical superior drumming of Hans Bathelt are absolutely unique, fantastic and completely unforgettable. So, the only thing I can do, in this moment, is to recommend strongly both albums and the band to all prog heads. Both albums must be in your collection if you are a real prog fan.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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