THE WORLD WILL END ON FRIDAY

This record has a very German sound: it is almost progressive hard rock. It consists in cold & melancholic high electric guitars notes and in a mix of vintage and some more "modern" keyboards. If it is classified as progressive rock, then it is a very basic, simple and straightforward one. The songs have a unique sound, and the compositions are not bad at all, although they are not outstanding. The very punchy bass is rather pleasant and elaborated, and the drums are surprisingly varied and elaborated, despite they are not very fast. The good lead vocals have just a slight German accent.

There is often a gentle background organ a la Nektar (A tab in the ocean), and a lightly distorted floating organ a la Focus. The straightforward electric guitars have no significant pedal effects, so that the miscellaneous lazy solos sound a bit like the ones from early Eloy (circa "Inside"). Speaking of the Eloy of the 70's, some keyboards sound a bit the same. There are some acoustic guitars parts like on the "World will end on Friday" track. The electric rhythmic guitar riffs are rather rare. The music has a few elements from Amon Duul 2, except that Amon Duul 2 are much more progressive, elaborated and varied.

Rating: 3.5 stars

This is a mysterious, enigmatic and highly achieved progressive rock album from Germany Underground. Due to the omnipresence of a lyrical sense of the melody, we can not consider Shaa Khan as a krautrock band, nevertheless this is an efficient evocative musical adventure throw higher "cosmic" spheres. Their style is an original intrication between the musically expressive / fantaisist dreamworld of Genesis, the spacey-rockin waves of Pink Floyd and Eloy connected to explosive, furiously trippy & heavy guitar leads. With obvious influences taken from progressive rock classics, this band successed to describe their own musical world, really original and powerfuly emotional, passionate with a large range of atmospheres and moods, describing different states of human sensibility, from pain, fear and anger to love and spiritual illumination. Beyond the "kosmische" rock, this album is a top class standard of progressive rock, reaching the pinnacle of this specific musical universe. White room opens this ravishing musical trip with a cosmic- like symphony for gorgeous instrumental sections, tragical & theatrical lyrics and majestic heavy-rockin' melodies (closed to things written by the germans of Dschinn). The self title track is an other imaginative travel exploring human subconsciousness and the multi-facets of his personality thanks to a great dose of mysterious, fragile, moody, epic, atmospheric ambiences for synth / e-guitar duo and beautifully immersive lyrics. Graveyard is a subliminal evocative, tormented introspective proggy-piece that reminds me Jane or Novalis at their darkest moments. The melodies are deeply expressive, pefectly composed for intense organ chords, impressively emotional, crying vocals, heavy & floating guitar leads. Almost lost in time, this album remains an ulimate masterpiece and highly recommended for all prog-heads.

Duisburg-based SHAA KHAN began their career in 1970 as a school band,initially having a heavy rock sound close to the likes of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin,soon to add some jazz elements to their music.However it wasn't until 1974 when the band finally had a stable line-up with the addition of Heiner Waldmann, Horst Schlechtriemen and Klaus Grandt next to founding members Roland Soltysiak and Walter Kaulhausen and the bassist Jochen Gutermuth (who was a member since 1971).In 1977 SHAA KHAN enter the studio to record their first album "The World Will End On Friday",released in 1978 on Sky Records.

STYLE: SHAA KHAN's music is very melodic,yet it maintains a typical Kraut feeling throughout,maybe because of the vocals and the obscure organ work.Opener ''White room'' has an impressive spacey/kraut feeling well hidden under the melodic guitars and the light keys,while the eponymous track is driven by acoustic guitars,haunting mellotron and the fantastic vocal work.On ''Graveyard'' the band sounds very British,again the track lies somewhere between Space and Kraut Prog with heavy bluesy riffs,smooth rhythm section and plenty of organ deliveries.Surprisingly ''Ocean'' is a number with lots of theatrical sides,featuring nice spoken parts and Hackett-ish guitars.''Season'',the longest of all tracks,alternates between melodic acoustic instrumentation and typical Heavy-Kraut Rock riffing along with the usual organ solos,trademark of the band.Five mostly long tracks with plenty of emotional tastes.

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: It is almost impossible not to think of ELOY listening to this album,while the heavier moments contain hints of BIRTH CONTROL.Add also some GENESIS elements to the mix to get the full picture.

PLUS: A very strong and uncommercial album for 1978,seems it was recorded around 1974,1975.Intricate and romantic acoustic passages.Very decent vocal work despite the somewhat accented vocals.Good and melodic work on guitars,even better is the keyboard work with some great parts.A nice mixture between Space,Kraut and Symphonic rock.

MINUS: Again we have to deal with a band without a strong personal sound (however to record a pure prog album in 1978 is alone a triumph).The same atmosphere dominates all tracks.The album lacks a bit in energy,propably due to the mellow rhythm section.

WILL APPEAL TO:...as the album comes like a mix of different styles it should certainly appeal to Classic Prog,Symphonic-Space and Kraut Rock fans.

CONCLUSION: ''The World Will End On Friday'' is not an exceptional album,yet it hold lots of interesting moments to satisfy the prog listener,while the year of its release makes it even more attractive.Very nice but definitely not absolutely essential...3.5 stars in my books.

Shaa Khan's `The World Will End On Friday' could easily be listed as Neo-prog in addition to heavy prog! To me it sounds quite similar to the later neo bands like IQ, and therefore of course Genesis, with lead vocalist having a tone quite similar to IQ's Pete Nicholls in the quieter and more emotional moments. The band frequently uses majestic melodic guitar similar to that band too. There's a bit more emphasize on harder rock moments, with spacey moments similar to Pink Floyd and Eloy, in addition to other harsh vocals much like Birth Control. But they do have their own sound, and are not mere clones of those other bands in any way.

Beginning with strange electronics, gentle percussion and subtle bass, `White Room' sets up a very eerie mood similar to `Nursery Cryme' era Genesis. Whispered vocals enhance the drama, the band comes a little closer, with twins vocals from lead Klaus Grandt and Heiner Waldermann really unleashing and getting unhinged! Next up, the title track has a restrained and emotional lead vocal from Grandt, with subtle Eloy like keyboards washing the background and lovely guitar work that reminds me of the classic early Genesis albums. It also has a gorgeous choir Mellotron fuelled middle section and outro, before a really abrupt fade out. `Graveyard' begins with a majestic electric guitar melody that repeats throughout the track, reminding me of similar parts of the terrific Pentacle `La Clef Des Songes' album. The two vocalists share this piece, and there's a hard sound to their singing. A beautifully emotive guitar solo in the middle of the track, with a more wailing one nearer the end, backed by plodding bass and steady drum-work. Still seems to finish too soon, though, with another quick fadeout! More problems with that on the second side too...

The very over-the-top `Ocean' on side B is full of wild theatrical vocals and spoken word pieces in various characters, creating a very fantasy-like dream-world. There's an oddly campy quality to this piece, but I'm not sure if it was intended that way! Terrific rattling bass and rapid-fire drumming throughout, with a fiery guitar solo to go out on. `Seasons' has a very pretty melody contrasted with riff-heavy breaks. The track has several instrumental sections, with dirty bass, quirky keyboards and fuzzy hammond organ breaking through all the time. That IQ-like neo-prog sound pops up in the final minutes of this one again too, with highly dramatic and threatening vocals, before a completely stupid fadeout while the music and vocals are still going! No big finale or grand climax - it just disappears! A real error in judgment there. The band are credited to the production themselves, so I don't know what they were thinking. Being their debut album, perhaps just inexperience.

I used to unfairly dismiss this album, based on the wild expressive vocals. I'm not a massive fan of all the harsher sections, and they frequently have a really high-pitched wailing tone as if they're from a metal album! They work much better when they're toned down, where they have quite a pleading and thoughtful quality. The shared vocals do give the album a very unique and interesting sound, though.

Despite how uneven the singing is, and the fact that several of the tracks are let down by sudden and unnecessary fades, Shaa Khan are a tight band of solid musicians playing imaginative high quality progressive rock with a special harder sound. The negative elements I've mentioned on this album are outweighed constantly by the snappy playing, energetic solos and clever arrangements. It's well worth checking out if you find it at an affordable price. It's also great that, for an album released in 1978, the music is uncommercial and defiantly progressive rock.