I adore the organ. That I do. It is one unbelievably versatile instrument capable of anything from tender caresses to thundering disintegration of your bones. Wonderful! So, being a follower of the Church of Organ I dived headlong into this album. It has taken me some years getting my head 'round it. How good is it really? Am I seduced by the organ or is there more to it than that?
Released back in 1972 it harks back to the glorious days of majestic organ and I am not at all disappointed in the massive amount of that particular instrument. It is there in abundance. On top of that the sound of the organ is very impressive, heavy and all conquering. The ground on which the music is built is one of heavy rock. This is really heavy music, for the most part. It is the missing link between Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, with a healthy dose of Black Sabbath as icing on the cake.
At times I think it is dumb-heavy. It is almost heavy to the brink of being dumb. I don't know. I haven't really made my mind up as yet. Anyway, heavy. That is the keyword and all sort of basic in approach. The music really is a mixture of hard rock and traces of blues rock can be heard, as on \"Opening of the sealed book\". Gravy Train-ish, in a way. That don't mean there isn't enough progressive leanings to please me or anyone else into prog. The oopening track, \"Dance on a volcano\", is to me the best track and that one really is the finest example of this band's approach. You have the omnipotent organ smashing it's way through the speakers while the distorted guitar wreaks havoc on the listener. It is heavy but groovy. Built in sections the song goes into a solo piece on spanish guitar, just prior to a piece of gentle and very pleasing organ over soft drums. This gentle passage is soon dealt with and the opening heavyness takes over again. This is a very good track. Progressive, heavy and varied. It also displays the closeness between hard rock and progressive, as displayed by other bands in that genre. Both Deep Purple and Black Sabbath grew more progressive as times went by. (The latter even more so.)
Most of the other tracks are good stuff but fails to reach the heights of the opening track. \"Dead life\" is an ominous piece which yet again brings back the Gravy Train-ish influences, also going into some jazzy latin part. It is quite a good one. The title track is a bit more mellow, heavy on percussion. It suits the overall sound and offers some release, being a bit slower and gentle in nature. \"I try to change the world\" is very jamming but is a good one aswell. The ending \"Titish child\" has similarities to the opening one.
As a whole this is a good album but not really excellent and certainly not essential. It is a nice slab of heavy prog and I enjoy listening to it, though it's mostly down to the organ. I suppose that my search for depth is over. There is prog to be found in Gomorrah's second album and there is vision but it is not enough to give me the goose bumps I am looking for. I feel at times it drones on. Like a hesitant guide in a landscape he or she is not entirely familiar with, Gomorrah stumbles around in the faint hope of reaching the final destination. Certainly good but definately not an excellent addition to any and all prog collections.
