killer progressive German private pressing from 1982. Sounds more like early to mid-70's - near Birth Control! Had been released in a very limited edition! Rare & hard to find!
Thanatos' sole album, Alptraum, is yet one more small label pressing coming out of Germany during the early 80s. Despite sporting a cool cover, and the evocative title meaning \"Nightmare\", the album is surprisingly conservative. For the most part, Thanatos are a straight forward rock group with some fine guitar leads and little else. Vocals are split between German and English, presumably as a hedge to which market they hoped to break big in. Too safe, I'm afraid, for any kind of bust-out on the world stage. There are 2 notable exceptions here though: 'Morgenrot' and the closer 'Leere-gefuhl'. Both of these tracks are fine progressive rock oriented numbers that bring in plenty of compositional ideas, meter breaks, and some excellent organ work. But, like the language issue, it seems yet another hedge play as to what music market they want to be in. And yes, like all such market plays, this stock went belly-up not long after.
