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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy classic from the 70's, November 17, 2002
Armageddon was the last decisive battle for ex-Yardbird Keith Relf. The former lead singer and harmonica player of the band that launched Clapton, Beck and Page, Relf had abandonned his blues-guitar band roots when he founded Renaissance in the late 1960's. Relf left Renaissance after two albums (actually half way threw the second album) due to frustrations with the music business and being tired of touring. However, when he created Armageddon, he was involved with one of the best guitar rock albums of the 70's.
After the disolution of Steamhammer, Relf, and ex-Steamhammer members, Martin Pugh (guitar) and Louis Cennamo (bass) came to L.A. and hooked up with ex-Captain Beyond and Johnny Winter drummer Bobby Caldwell to form Armageddon. Armageddon combined the complex drum patterns of Caldwell, with Pugh's heavy and stylistic riffing and Relf's insightful and searching lyrics to create a haunting and enduring piece of heavy rock.
Criticized as sounding "dated" when initially released, this is one of the strong points of this album. Many of the best hard rock acts of the time (Purple-Stormbringer, Zeppelin-Presence, Sabbath-Sabatoge, etc) were moving on to slicker production of less gritty songs. Armageddon sounded like it was from an earlier and more "real" musical time.
The opening song "Buzzard" is usually listed by fans as the highlight of the album. Borrowing a riff from Steamhammer's "Penumbra," Pugh's guitar soars with speed, control and precision, while Relf's intelligent lyrics rap around the crashing, thunderous drums of Caldwell. It is an exhilarating eight minute flight worth taking over and over again.
While "Buzzard" is one of the album's highlights, it is by no means the sole reason to own this disc. Other particularly strong moments include: the beautiful and stylish "Silver Tightrope," which features an echoing guitar and more contemplative lyrics from Relf, and "Last Stand Before" a Zeppelinesque (Physical Graffiti era) rocker with descriptive and prophetic lyrics. In this one Relf sings "Lost a friend, met his end, way before his time" and "my brother's falling catch him if I can. I see him falling you can join him in his last stand," it makes one wonder if Keith was aware of his own fate.
It's too bad that this proved to be the last stand for Relf and Armageddon. Relf returned to England due to poor health shortly after this was released. Relf's health and reported drug use among some of the band lead to Armageddon failing to release any more material. Relf died shortly after returning to England, when he was electrocuted while playing guitar. He did record one more song "All the Falling Angels" that is included on an album by Illusion called Echanted Caress. (Illusion was the name the original members of Renaissance chose when they reunited. This was because Anne Haslem and her crew had become Renaissance).
Armageddon remains a powerful reminder of what artists where able to due when they were given the creative control to explore.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An unknown CLASSIC!, November 28, 2005
Not to be confused with the 1970 German band Armaggedon. Bought this on 8 track and have been telling everyone to buy this ever since! Lead guitarist Martin Pugh (from Steamhammer)is AWESOME! "Buzzard" is one of the heaviest songs ever recorded. Though I'm not a huge fan of ballards, " Silver Tightrope" will send chills and sweat up and down your spine. The late Keith Relf of the great Yardbirds sings and though this album came out in '75, you would swear it is from the great 1969 - 1970 heavy/ hard rock period. Bobby Caldwell on percussion is super and it's a shame Relf died before a 2nd album could be made. If you dig Early 70's heavy Rock, BUY THIS and if you don't think it's GREAT, I will buy it off of you.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Best Hard Rock Albums Of The 70's, September 3, 2000
This was Keith Relf's (ex-Yardbirds and Renaissance) last stand before his untimely death in 1976. He has never sounded better than on the haunting, melodic "Silver Tightrope" (which, uncannily, is a song about death). Guitarist Martin Pugh (ex-Steamhammer) is superb, particularly on the tremendous, driving riff of "Buzzard". He deserves to take his place alongside such 70's axe-Gods as Ritchie Blackmore and Jimmy Page. Louis Cennamo (ex-Renaissance and Steamhammer) lays down a solid bass foundation and the great energy of Bobby Caldwell's spitfire percussion (ex-Captain Beyond and Johnny Winter) rounds it out to make this a real tour de force of hard rock. Combining elements of heavy metal and 60's psychedelia this album absolutely wails!!! A classic masterpiece long overdue for a proper CD reissue. Fans of the Yardbirds, Captain Beyond, Budgie, Steamhammer or Hawkwind will not be disappointed. In my opinion, this is one of the ten best hard rock albums of the 70's. The two opening cuts are well worth the money in themselves. R.I.P. Keith Relf. If the Yardbirds didn't assure his immortality, this record will!
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