Gravestone - Doomsday mp3 album

For many years we'd known of Gravestone as a heavy metal band of the late-1980's, so it was a surprise to learn of their more progressive roots. Although starting a bit dodgy with one of the album's two songs, Doomsday itself suggests an album in the Harlis/Jane/Epitaph type vein. But, thereafter, it's largely an instrumental affair, more towards the style of British heavy progressives like May Blitz or Clear Blue Sky. There's also a feel close to the bonus tracks featured on the Arktis TAPES CD. A whole album up to the calibre of the second track Life In The Coffin would be awesome. There's some drop-out and speed fluctuation in this track, which is slightly annoying, and further tracks are of varying recording quality. All these instrumental jams seem to be extracts or condensed reworks of longer freak-outs. After such a large instrumental slab, Stone Age seems a bit out of place, as a much more typical Teutonic heavy prog ballad. A clue to the band's roots is found in the CD bonus track, a version of the song section from UFO's classic opus Flying. The overall feel of DOOMSDAY is not of a properly conceived album, but more a collection of demo's and jams that could have been superb made under better conditions. So, overall it turns out to not be the reputed classic, but one that is well worth hearing, and possibly a must for fans of German hard-rock.