Lucifer’s Friend’s self titled debut was an album I spent long and hard searching for when I was a younger. Each time I tracked a copy down I wasn’t willing to drop the $60 being asked for it. Thanks to the digital age I eventually got Lucifer as a friend and couldn’t have been happier with him.

What made this album one of my earliest sought grails was a few things, one the band’s name, two it’s creepy as hell cover and three the endless comparisons to Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. I love Stoner Rock/proto-metal especially the organ drenched, riff heavy sound of Deep Purple which seemed to always be on in my house growing up.

When I finally got a hold of this album I was bracing for a let down because of a few reasons… one being since Lucifer’s Friend were German that this would be more Krautrock than Stoner Rock, and that I probably unfairly built up my expectations for this album after probably a decade of wanting it. Thankfully though none of this was the case. This album is a straight rocker with some killer guitar and organ work and while not better than Machine Head, Master of Reality or Demons & Wizards it is in their class as a stoner classic that just never got the kind of attention Purple, Sabbath or Uriah Heep garnered.

Lucifer’s Friends subsequent albums started to veer more and more into the prog rock spectrum of things adding long orchestration and even jazz elements into their sound. But those of who feel you’ve grown a little bored listening same old Sabbath, Purple & even Zepplin albums and just need a new fix then look here, you’ll find what you’re craving

Lucifer’s Friend – Lucifer’s Friend