Cosmos Factory-An Old Castle of Transylvania (1973)

Taking their name from the legendary Creedence Clearwater Revival album, Cosmos Factory was another of the seminal Japanese psychedelic and progressive bands of the 1970s, releasing four albums between 1973 and 1977. Their lineup consisted of Tsutomu Izumi (keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vocals), Hisashi Mizutani (guitar, vocals), Toshikazu Taki (bass, vocals), Kazuo Okamoto (drums and percussion), and Misao (violin). Their debut, "An Old Castle of Transylvania", was their most progressive and ethereal work, driven by the sounds of a galloping Hammond organ, a soaring electric violin, and a fiery electric guitar. Songs like "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" evoke the most psychedelic and underground Pink Floyd, while the title track is a 20-minute epic that moves between the heavy sounds of hard rock, space rock, and symphonic rock. With their subsequent albums, this Japanese group presented a different style on each one, from the intricate and complex "A Journey With The Cosmos Factory" (1975), to the heavy rock-oriented "Metal Reflection" (1977), and the more experimental "Black Hole" (1976).