Plain and Fancy: Lazarus - Lazarus (1973 austria, heavy underground prog psych rock, 2013 remaster)

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Lazarus - Lazarus (1973 austria, heavy underground prog psych rock, 2013 remaster)

Lazarus was founded by Peter Glatzl, his career began in mid 60's, as member of various Austrian bands, such as The Tornados, The Beacons, and after serving the Austrian army he joined Chromosom in 1969 along with Walter Spacil (the drummer from Lazarus).

At the end of 1970 Lazarus played many gigs in Austria with various line-ups until 1976. This amazing album was recorded in Vienna in 1973 in a professional studio for Rex Records. Only 15 sample copies were pressed and only five copies ended up with the band members. Rex were known for releases of German folk music and schlager, so they didn't know what to do with this far-out recording and did not release it. Among collectors, Lazarus was a big mystery since nobody had ever found a copy for the past 25 years.

The cover artwork was made by Peter Hohenwill, an academic painter. It isn’t a typical psychedelic cover at all, but it is an optical mirror of the tunes. It shows outside what you hear inside. there were many different musical influences at the time. If I look at it from today I can’t deny that there are main influences such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Mountain, Wishbone Ash, Nazareth and Frank Zappa on the other hand. Also we hear some psychedelic elements.

Hans Pokora (Record Collector Dreams) managed to locate an original LP and the band as well, and Shadoks was able to work out a deal. The label was amazed with the great music and the professional compositions and recording. The story of Lazarus is told as a psychedelic opera of a being who emerges as a monster from his grave to spread terror and horror. Features All-English vocals, amazing fuzz guitar, Zappa-style arrangements, great vocals, tons of effects and tight drum sounds. This is pure underground with a good dose of psychedelia.