Lucifer´s Friend-Where The Groupies Killed The Blues (1972)

Following their fantastic debut, the German band Lucifer's Friend subtly moved away from psychedelic heavy metal to delve into the realm of progressive hard rock, following in the footsteps of British bands like Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, and Atomic Rooster. Their style here is based on a perfect blend of blues, rock, jazz, and avant-garde elements. The jazzy touch of bassist Dieter Horns, the sharp heavy rock guitar of Peter Hesslein, the massive and ingenious organ sound of Peter Hecht, and the soaring vocals of John Lawton noticeably enrich the musical palette of this legendary group. On this second album, ironically titled "Where The Groupies Killed The Blues", released by the British label Vertigo in 1972, Lucifer's Friend adopted a more progressive approach, with abundant use of keyboards (piano, Mellotron, Moogs, and Hammond organ), orchestrated passages, and extended instrumental developments. All of this is reflected in tracks like "Hobo", "Rose in the Vine", "Mother", "Where The Groupies Killed the Blues", "Summerdream", and "Prince of Darkness", which also showcase Peter Hesslein's blistering guitar work, giving the album a crushing and heavy final sound. Along with their self-titled debut album and "Banquet," released two years later, "Where The Groupies Killed The Blues" is undoubtedly one of the high points of progressive hard rock.