Музыка и песни Rotomagus / Rotomagus

album from the early 70s. Being on the lookout for all sorts of interesting proto-punk/demi-metallic excursions that have spanned the globe during those wild n' wacky early-to-mid-seventies (and ever-so-slightly before or after, depending on the musical sitchy-ashion at hand), I was pleased as pie when Mike Snider tipped me off to this French heavy metal bunch who according to said tipster were one of the few groups anywhere in the very-early seventies who professed an actual Iggy and the Stooges love and devotion (albeit they certainly were not a "French Stooges" as I was originally misquoted as saying)! And, having been driven right by the stellar European rockist tactics of such continental delights as Can, Mahogany Brain, Amon Duul, Umela Hmota and Ton Steine Scherben amongst a few hunnerd others I decided to actively seek out these Gallic minstrels' recorded wares not only because Rotomagus seemed like such a hot shot rock excursion, but because kicks STILL are getting harder to Record Label: Lion Productions Style: Hard Rock

There's no way to know why CBS Records unceremoniously dumped Rotomagus and the Chico Magnetic Band after one single apiece; suffice to say that decision was a poor one, as both bands have (quite rightly) developed a cult-like following over the years. All in all, the artistic trajectory of Rotomagus was peculiar: they started out as a harmony pop-psych band, shifted through a brief Jimi Hendrix-ian interlude (`The Sky Turns Red'), straight into a Vanilla Fudge groove; they then went down in flames as a hair-raising monolithic heavy rock power trio. On Julian Cope's excellent Head Heritage web-site, the Seth Man raves about Rotomagus thus: "The first time I heard this track (`Fighting Cock'), I did not freak out. I merely walked into a nearby closet and screamed my head off for a minute solid, beat the floor and ripped my t-shirt... then I cowered when it hit me: this thing came out in 1971? Before "Raw Power"?! I just lost my mind... The only thing that predates this monster in terms of being a full-on amassing of all things heavy are all the many key points on Sir Lord Baltimore's "Kingdom Come" LP and THAT'S it, brother." French magazine Rock & Folk was succinct: "Rotomagus create an emotional music, violent, even aggressive." Violent. Aggressive. Intense. On this disc we bring you the entire output of Rotomagus, including an album-length demo from 1971, the band's tumultuous, thunderous swansong, recorded as a super jam (live with no overdubs). Our Lion Productions and Martyrs of Pop edition of Rotomagus comes replete with a bi-lingual 32-page booklet, with the entirety of the Seth Man's article on the band, plus the band's history in both English and French, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper, manufactured using biogas energy. Hard to believe this is all pre-1971, as much of the demo is not just proto punk but proto hardcore-with enough fiery attitude to make you want to scream along. The vocals are wild, while the guitar riffs and grinds and approaches a Stooges via Motorhead apocalyptic grandeur. Amazing! Record Label: Lion Productions Style: Psychedelic Rock