AARDVARK (AKA: PUT IT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT)

Aardvark's debut sounds like the album Deep Purple could have made in 1970 if Rod Evans had not been replaced by Ian Gillan and if they kicked out Ritchie Blackmore instead. The sound is typical for 70's heavy rock, similar to Uriah H and D Purple and with some notable roots in the 60's rockabilly and acid rock. Especially vocalist Dave Skillin has that typical warm and full voice of early hard-rock singers such as Purple's Rod Evans and Iron Butterfly's Doug Ingle.

The songs are all nice heavy rock grooves with typical organ solos and sing-along tunes. However the songs are nowhere near as remarkable as those from Deep Purple or Uriah Heep, who both nailed down this type of proggy hard rock much more convincingly back in 1970. The most noteworthy of all would be that this band didn't have a guitar player and created their sweeping heavy rock with just drum bass, piano and Hammond organ.

It's nice album for fans of early 70's heavy rock - a section of the population I could count myself in as well - but there's much better stuff you should explore before seeking out this one. Like the band's name though, EarthPig in English, sounds cool.