Reviews (page 2 of 8)
Beautiful mix of we have Jimi Hendrix at home and a Jack white solo project, both of these thoughts taken from other reviews. I enjoyed it until I got bored of it and then I wanted it to end quickly and it was only 30 minutes. Weird feelings on this one. Might be worth a 4, but I’ll see if I ever revisit it.
An interesting listen. Not my favorite but I can appreciate the ways in which it clearly influenced many things that came after it.
Pretty standard white boy blues-based rock
Bit of a slog to get through. Liked some of the fuzzy, distorted guitar work, but generally a bit self indulgent and laboured.
I can definitely identify where the heavy metal label comes from. For me, this album lacks a bit of sophistication and majesty of the following bands, like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and I'm not so keen of the "garage" style referneces. I did like some of the guitar solos. Surprisingly, I'm otally unaware of this band. Best track is the Summer Time Blues cover.
I like that the hole band are on the same wave length.
More boring psychedelic rock. Fun. Half of this was just annoying jam tracks that made this 32 minute album feel a lot longer. The distortion was fine at first but then they just went way too overkill with it. Favorite Track: Summertime Blues
It's groundbreaking, but nothing that I'd recommend.
I mean this was fun wasn't it? Loud in the right way. I've heard a million covers of Sumemrtime Blues and this was a perfectly fine one. Can see how this set the scene for stoner rock in the future. Lovely guitar noise on things like Parchment Farm. And love a short album that isn't all random shit (looking at you, Zappa).
didn’t hate it, didn’t love it. solid 3
Not bad late 60s fuzz blues rock. Not as tight as some of the bands I'm more familiar, sounds like a clear Hendrix influence to me, but without the songs or the pure talent he possessed. Reading up there is a lot about them starting heavy metal which sounds like nonsense to me. I'm sure they influenced some people, but if you compare this to Sabbath's first album which was dark and ominous from the get go, this feels somewhat whimsical in comparison. Overall not bad, not bad vocals, not bad sound. I felt the playing could have been tighter. Didn't blow me away and there several others in this genre I prefer.
Loved it. Well, most of it. Bought this album new and wore it out!
We. Love. Big. Dumb. Music.
surprisingly amenable to the muddy, primordial sludge of this. would be completely unremarkable if it was mixed normally and they could play their instruments but thank god, it's not and they can't!
apparently invented heavy metal and this is the first heavy metal record! Favorite track: Rock me baby other picks: summertime blues, doctor please, parchment farm
Pure rock and roll
It's alright. I'd probably have loved it if this was the 60s
Shrill. The opener sounded like Alice Bowie. No thanks.
Blues is maybe my least favorite, sprinkle of psych rock and surf doesn't make it more palatable.
Me recordó mucho a Zeppelin
ok?
p140. 1968. 1 star. Proto late 60s heavy metal, not very well done. Average band produced average album of covers and average songs. Just because you can play loud doesn't mean it's good.
OK proto-metal, psychedelic rock. Nice example of post-Woodstock rock.
I appreciate what they are doing but I just wound up turning on Black Sabbath
Эхх, так хорошо начиналось, что я думал наконец 9, даже добавил трек в основной плейлист, но потом гитарист сказал: "смотри что могу" и начался пиздец. Красиво с точки зрения мелодии пока гитарист не начинает делать слишком шумно. Вокал по большей части хорош. Начал задаваться вопросом: хард-рок конца 60х - 70х весь такой? Как бы то ни было - 6/10. По трекам: добавил первые два - Summertime Blues и Rock Me Baby (его даже в основной). Хоть и не добавил но отмечу Second Time Around как апогей всех выебонов гитариста.
Половину песен слушать тяжко, но дух хэви метала жоско вытаскивает альбом. Несколько раз за прослушивание ловил себя на том, что слышу гитары Black Sabbath, влияние очевидное. Топ 1 - Rock me Baby Топ 2 - Second time around
Sweet Christ. It might have been groundbreaking at the time, but it’s unlistenable crap now. No one should have to listen to this. It has no redeeming features whatsoever.
A weird psychedelic rock thing. For all I know it has members who went on to be internationally famous rock stars in massive groups. This feels like a hippy sixth form group from the late 60s. It's not very inspiring and even slightly amateurish, a bit dull really.
This is a band I’ve never heard of, and I’m glad I got to listen to this album. I definitely get hints of the Blues, as well as Black Sabbath and The Doors. It may be a little rougher than some of the stuff that was inspired by them, but I enjoyed listening to this bit of rock heritage that a lot of people don’t know about.
Nothing too out there (perhaps only the last song).
Enjoyed discovering this one. Not my favourite but so many clear influences on bands that preceded. Possibly the first metal sound?
This is interesting. Blues-based Heavy hard rock released 2 years before the first Black Sabbath album. It is only a bit too repetitive to stand out on its own, however it was very groundbreaking for its time.
This is heavy blues/pysch rock but despite it's influence and importance as an early hard rock album it's not got strong songs or jams.
never heard of them before. this album is not really my thing, but a few songs were okay.
An album that was almost certainly more provocative, original, and exiting at release than it is today. A lesser Hendrix, and an early template for metal.
Yawn.... Zzzzzzz
Even 3.5 out of 5 stars for Blue Cheer. This album is all like if Hendrix was allowed to play what he wanted instead of making 3 minute pop songs. The riffs are proto heavy-metal, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sabbath was influenced by them. These guys are awesome and I like the album.
4/5 voooovoooo this is fireeee
The rawness of the album and its obvious influence on hard and heavy music that was demands incredible respect. The opening cover track is legendary and sets you up very well for what follows. This isn't a perfect album, it's a very good album, but its flaws are obvious too, from the dated production to the songs being a little thin as this was a 3 piece band. Still, for the songs themselves and its historical importance, it's a 4/5!
Nothing spectular, but solid
Oh great more white uncle classic rock. Lost a star for audio quality, gained one because it sorta sounds like Jack White.
Ok
Another treat in that it fills in some missing music links I had. This is the precursor to so many bands I enjoy a ton, including Black Sabbath who plainly listened the shit out of this. Problem is, hearing this only makes me want to go listen to those Sabbath albums instead. But they kept it short if not punchy (punchiness is never an adjective used on these solo-heavy bands), so I'll give em that.
When people talk about the San Francisco music scene in 1966 when Blue Cheer formed, Blue Cheer are never mentioned. I imagine the hippies might have been freaked out by the extreme volume and distortion and neanderthal simplicity of Blue Cheer’s music. Rather being associated with a particular place, Blue Cheer loom in the shadows as a key proto-metal influence. 55 years later, they’re clearly even more than that, as key influencers on proto-punk (MC5 and Stooges), grunge (Mudhoney) and all variations of stoner and doom psych. Pentagram were heavily influenced by them in the early days. I was fortunate to get to see them at Intonation in 2006, a few years before Dickie Peterson died. Outsideinside, released seven months later in August, arguably has better songs. Despite their debut being half covers, it’s just so visceral and heavy in a way that no other album in the 60s managed.
Album is fine. Fuzzy psychedelic blues rock… clearly pointing the way to metal. Summertime Blues cover is an all time great, but the rest of the album falls short.
Every Blue Cheer song sounds like a bad imitation of a Hendrix riff. 3
Ha, what fun. This is the Sensible Chuckle of Heavy Metal
GOOD OLD FASHIONED EARLY METAL #MUSICSKY #albumsky
I was already familiar with this album before listening. It is a fuzz-drenched blues/rock album, directly out of the late 60s San Francisco scene. I can understand this is an acquired taste for some people but I do enjoy it. This album showcases some nice guitar work and has some cool jam sections. I would listen to this album again for sure.
Unexpectedly fun
One thing I really dislike about this list is how it's supposed to be artists/albums that were highly influential or broke through the mold. Then I get something like this, which is a very obvious attempt at trying to be The Doors that it leaves no room for anything original in the least
6.2/10 Liked the first 2 songs but they’re both covers, the others at the time were a first I imagine, it’s quite heavy stuff for the 60s so it gets some praise from me for that. Black sabbath would could around not too long later and show them up. 6.2 is fair because I say so
2/10 = feel a bit harsh but i actually could not deal with this it felt like such a drag, i saw the vision but his flow was so awful to me and felt like there was no pay off to any of the build ups, couldn't work out what the hit was even meant to be, i do appreciate they set up the genre a bit though
I did not enjoy this album. The reviews suggested this may be the case but I had to hear it for myself. Sure, it may be one of the first "metal" albums (kudos to them for experimenting), and I am guessing that is why it is on this list, but that doesn't mean that it's good. The album is a vehicle for the sound, they were hardly trying to make a Pet Sounds here, at least I hope they were not. After the second track, you pretty much heard the whole album. Biggest Hit - Summertime Blues Biggest Miss - Doctor Please Hidden Gem - Out Of Focus
I like rock, but that was just annoying.
They say proto metal and I get that a bit but for me this leans much more towards the blues side of things. It’s ok but certainly nothing special. Not a fan of the Cochran cover. Context is important I guess. 2.5
What are people oooon? This is below a 3? Some people credit it as the birth of hard rock and stuff. And what a way to introduce it? I was debating giving it a 5. This is a strong 4. Super strong
This just seems like a recording of a jam session. 3 of the 6 tracks (Summertime Blues, Rock Me Baby and Parchment Farm) are covers, and Jimi Hendrix is an obvious inspiration (eg. Foxy Lady-like bits on Summertime Blues).
This album is at its best when it's sludgey, noisy jamming. Cut out the lyrics and this would be better. 3.5/5
Psychedelic rock and proto-heavy metal built from overloaded guitar distortion, pounding rhythms, and rough-edged vocals feels like watching an old muscle car tear down a dirt road with the engine permanently in the red—raw, unapologetic, and entertaining enough for a bar while focused on other things.
Alright psych fra '68.
Kick ass heavy fuzz garage rock. This is the next link in the chain of proto metal after Hendrix and The Cream and before Zeppelin and Sabbath. It must've been pretty mind blowing back in '68. Really excellent for what it is.
When heavy metal still had a little bit of melody...
The Good: Vince’s Bus Erupted, but was not destroyed! The Bad: The Bus’s eruptum was a belch… The Ugly: Blue Cheers… is a sob… According to Wiki, this is where Heavy Metal started… odd.. the entire time I was listening to this album I kept waiting for Jimi to start singing. Can you blame me, as it really sounds like Jimi on the guitar… Anyway, this is no heavy metal for me. It would be blues rock, if anything… it wasn’t bad… but it got stale for me after 2 songs… and there are only 6 to listen to. So, guess that this means I don’t agree with all them experts out there hailing this as an excellent HM album… 3*
I can see why their sound was influential but they didn’t really have the songs to go with it.
For some reason, I always assumed these guys were some obscure nobodies who only get talked about because it's too simple to say that Black Sabbath was where it all began, but it turns out this album actually charted higher than Black Sabbath's debut! Personally, I don't see it as that much closer to metal than someone like Vanilla Fudge, and like Vanilla Fudge it's an unspectacular psych album with a hit cover song. I just can't bring myself to care about heavy psych, no matter how cool it sounds like it should be.
Pre Listen: Neat album cover, I'd listen to something like this offhandedly if it was recommended to me based on the cover alone. Never heard of them before though, no expectations. Notable Tracks: Second Time Around - Least favorite song on the album, especially that last part good god. Very thankful that this was it. Post Listen: Wasn't as great as I was hoping. Blended together quickly, glad it was a shorter album. This album felt like proto-punk with a blues angle to it. It had a heavy garage-rock sound, which I guess for 1968 is neat? Problem is I think Punk and Garage Rock are perhaps the worst genres of music to ever claw its way into the human psyche. Just free-jam meaningless noise spanning 2 minutes or so, interluded by repeating the same couple lyrics again and again. There were parts in most songs where it wasn't really bad, but I can't honestly say I enjoyed a single song as a whole. It wasn't unlistenable or anything though, and again, for 1968 this kind of sound is somewhat impressive I guess. Won't be returning to these lads, will probably forget every song I heard here by tomorrow. 2/5
If you could ask ChatGPT to generate you a 60s rock album you’d get Blue Cheer
Pleasantly surprised
It just felt disorganized but still cool for the 60s
Very early American metal music. Summertime Blues cover is interesting and fitting for the style. Its short and not that great or memorable.
Apparently these guys invented the power trio? Well thank you for that… Small but mighty album here, heavy blues based psychedelic songs that don’t feel overly special but are still a good time. Feels like people took this style and ran with it but thanks for the inspiration. Also, wish the production was a bit better.
I was ready to give this 3 stars on my first listen. Had the review written in my head and everything. Decided to listen a few more times and on the 3rd or 4th time my brain lit up. I love the mix of hard rock and blues. 4 stars.
теперь я в теме про хеви метал блюз, вот спасибо!
It was very funny reading about this album on Wikipedia being cited as having a "heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal" because I kept thinking "wait isn't this just a pretty good example of 60s San Francisco psych?" and sure enough!
Some early early punk vibes in here
I only knew the first song on the album but would not have known prior who did it. I enjoyed listening to the whole album.
This album is like going back to school in the new year, and listening to a guy you know to be a habitual liar as he tells you all the stories of the amazing and cool stuff he did over the holiday. He didn’t do any of it, he’s just trying to convince everyone at school that he is cool.
Like listening to a band jam on their garage. Interesting at times, but you got over it pretty quickly. Though knowing their place in history, was good to listen to to better understand to progress towards HM.
Excited going into listening to album that is proclaimed to be the one that beat Black Sabbath to the punch of being the "First Heavy Metal Album". I'm sure they were a very heavy band, especially live, but Jimi might have something to say about their sound and MC5 did it a bit better. Black Sabbath maintains their rightful place upon the throne of starting heavy metal (and for good reason). 4 stars... because I can.
The Vince Bus is coming
I can’t really say I hate it. But I do not mind listening again.
not my style
I really enjoyed this. Like playing in mud.
Cool album…like the history of these guys and the whole SF scene .
Not quite my cuppa. Interesting to see this exists, but I’ll never once feel like coming back to listen again. I thought, well, this is a lot like Jimi Hendrix, maybe they influenced him… my google search said nah, brah, you’ve got it backwards. Blue Cheer were massively influenced by Hendrix. Like they wouldn’t have been a band without the decision to take that fuzzy freakout guitar sound and push it forward. So, do I salute Blue Cheer for being a perhaps essential stepping stone for the evolution of hard rock? Or do we think nu metal would’ve happened anyway? I guarantee you it would’ve happened anyway. Just listen to Jimi instead.
This was wild. Definitely raw and energetic. I liked the overall sort of "amateur-ish" sound of it all. It worked well and kept me guessing. Super cool. 7/15/26
This is a metal album? It sounds like every other rock album from the 60s but even more generic. Idk much better stuff from this time period in my opinion.
so meh
Cool like proto deep purple
An ounce of respect for being one of the first heavy metal albums, but other than Summertime Blues, this wasn't at all enjoyable.
This was pretty annoying. I am not a fan of this very abstract jam band. The guitar tones were soooo muddy. Just not great. It had moments, but I will not be returning. Their cover of "Summertime Blues" was bad. Actual rating...1.5 Liked Songs: "Rock Me Baby" and "Doctor Please"
yet another important influence from the 60s that helped shape Rock and Roll into what it is today..why do they all sound so similar LOL and never as good as the ones that 'made it' 2.5 here.
I see vast clouds of dust being kicking up into the air from the feet of concert goers around a bonfire. Dancing. Feral. All moving frantically and yet in a dreamlike unison. It smell like sweat.
Big brother and the Holding Company without Janis. Hendrix without the genius. Sabbath without the songs (the devil has all the best tunes)...or Ozzy. The Stooges with the adventure...or Iggy. In the end your left with "controlled chaos" and a lot of fuzz bass.
minus 1 star for the wife shooting part
OK. I listened. I can move on. 2/5
It did not sound good, but at least the sock themselves were bad as well. What's up with the listmaker's 60s-70s rock obsession?
i can hear why this is important, but i was pretty bored by it. in 1968, would i have been as bored? hard to say, but i've listened to plenty of music from that year and from centuries before that i love
Sloppy, dirty garage rock, and I’m here for it.
Really wanted to like this one, and it has some moments with some crazy riffs, but overall it was foegettable.
Zzz
I get that this was super early and they were experimenting with their sound but man a lot of this is not pleasant to listen to. There were some great performances on here but it's really not for me.
Blue Cheer was the heaviest band in the San Francisco psychedelic scene. Perhaps their answer to The Stooges but with a crazy amount of 1960s guitar distortion that only Hendrix could overpower. I listened to Vincebus Eruptum quite a bit growing up, don't fully remember how I found out about them but they still leave a great impression on me. You just don't hear a lot of guitar jamming in 'Doctor Please' that you can find in the 60s. The Beatles weren't being as hectic as that in Helter Skelter. Aside from the classic Summertime Blues cover, my favorite track would be Parchment Farm. Great heavy blues energy.
The most interesting stuff on this album is the harsh feedback and production value. Obvious comparisons to Hendrix, but that is doing them both a disservice I think. I would 100% learn a couple of these tunes to jam with friends. 3.5/5
This sounds like every other album.
It's badly produced and rough, but it's definitely cool
Very psych rock album, not too bad but compared to a lot of albums around this time the production and style of music really date the sound of this album and it sounds like a 60s album
I think it's like.... "blues metal lite". Which is fine, it wasn't super offensive but it also didn't really hook me at all. I think it's just okay, but very cool that it sounds raw and real, almost like a live album! Songs were just a little too jam-y for me.
A lot of reviews saying they sound like so and so but then trashing the music. Guys, I hate to break it to you, but these guys did it first. It may not be pretty and polished, but I like it raw and original.
Idk, maybe this is here as an artifact of its time, but now it doesn't do anything for me. 2* Someone described this as another Jack White side project, and I can't unhear it.
3/4
Good album. Very interesting. I enjoyed the cover "Summertime Blues" (probably my favourite track), "Doctor Please" or "Second Time Around" . It's in the range between 3 and 4 stars for me. And, in any case, I think it really deserves to be included in this project.
This is why I follow this list - a band I'd genuinely never heard of! I actually found it a bit underwhelming, and in the wider span of the expanding heavy blues it really falls down a bit in comparison with Led Zeppelin, Cream and so forth.
Enjoyed this proto metal time capsule!
High school garage band
The production is too fuzzy throughout for me. High 2.
Not at the level of The Who , Sabbath et al (low 3)
Some great moments. Must have been dynamite in 67/8
The tone of the instruments and general aesthetic of Blue Cheer are tremendous. There’s a good energy to the performances which sound very fresh for 1968. Unfortunately the compositions don’t do anything for me and I found myself checking for when the album would be over when it’s only 32 minutes long. They sound like pioneers but not the finished article.
Low 3 for me, helped to turn it up really loud
This is a happy and rare instance of record meeting the reputation it trails for this listener. Ostensibly half of the songs are covers, but Blue Cheer twist them into their own grooves, scaffolding for a sound kin to later Japanese noise-rock bands like High Rise or Les Rallizes Desnudes. Pure stuff, crude, better for it.
Sounded like Cream to me, and not in a particularly good way.
Highlights: Summertime Blues, Rock Me Baby, Out Of Focus and Doctor Please. 3.5
Might be a bit Out of Focus with this review, but read it the Second Time Around and see if it’s better.
Y this on list
Proto metal, proto grunge or proto whatever, these guys did sound like something good and fresh for its time.
Rv
They certainly are noisy. It's very haphazard and the recording doesn't sound great. There isn't anything that stood out as something that I like. I suppose there are tinges of early metal and I'm sure some far better bands were influenced by the sound at some point.
This was a pretty cool listen. Touted as one of the first heavy metal albums…I can hear it.
It was noisy but I liked it
Interesting hard rock sound, like Cream and Black Sabbath wrote a mediocre album together. 6 songs and the two best are cover songs.
Se oli aika rouheaa soundia. Varmaan taas sillon kuuskytäluvulla ollut melkoinen juttu. Nyt kuulosti vain siltä että tuotantovaiheessa on menny vähä vikaan.
Tää on taas sitä aikaa. Jotain psykerokin tapasta mikä ei oikein varmaan nappaa kiinni jos ei oo jotain henkilökohtasia siteitä kyseiseen levyyn. Kuulostaa todella raa'alta ja miksattu jotenkin ärsyttävästi. Kitarat on korvan sisällä ja rummut on jossain toisessa ulottuvuudessa, laulaja rääkyy täysiä päälle. Ei oikein istunut ainakaan tähän hetkeen, kerran kuunteli läpi, mutta tuskin tarvetta kuunnella tämän enempää.
I really did not get this album at all. It just sounded like noise thrown together. There was really nothing interesting about any of it, and I'm just glad that there were only 6 songs that I had to sit down and listen to. I found it hard to find any part of the music I enjoyed, and there was just nothing to pull me in and keep me entertained. Maybe I don't like this style in general, but that doesn't change how little this album gave me to enjoy. If anything, it was just disappointing. The guitar parts sounded very out of tune and just noisy... this was probably intentional, but it wasn't nice to listen to. I thought the mix was absolutely horrendous, especially in 'Second Time Around'... you could barely hear the vocals because the guitars were just way too loud and you couldn't coherently hear anything else in the track.
The two covers are the start are the best. It's loses its way after that. The band are good and it sounds almost like a live recording. I don't mind the production. I think it enhances the music. Would have scored higher if the bands composed songs were better quality.
I don’t know this album.
If Mystik Spiral ended up releasing a debut album, it would sound more like this than a Doors/Nine Inch Nails hybrid. Overall: 1/10
5 -AVERAGE
Raw, power trio, blues, rock, metal. Sounds good to me.
It was alright, average album from the 60s
We all need a raw 60s heavy blues rock album every now and again. Comparisons abound to Cream, Jimi Hendrix etc. I enjoyed it for what it was. Definitely influential to the development of heavy metal. Reminds me of Wayne's World.
Meh.
🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 (rounded down for exhaustion) Went out on a limb with this one and was kind of disappointed about it. I normally love this type of music, which might be why I'm so harsh on it, but this feels like it's sort of the flattest version of 60s hard rock. Though the sounds are similar, this and Hendrix are night and day, right? And sure, maybe it's evil to compare Hendrix to this, but I mean... I don't know... Sabbath? Love? I don't know man. The vocals were fun and the guitars were fun but boy did nothing come of them. Ran me down by the end of it and put me in a bad mood. 1: Bad | 2: Okay, No Desire to Revisit | 3: Good, Conditionally (OR Inconsistent Mix of Qualities) | 4: Great (OR Technically amazing but missing the sauce emotionally) | 5: Amazing
Wait what??? Why did I like this???
4 stars but I am pretty sure in a year I will have listened to it a dozen times and wish I gave it 5 stars
It may be important to metal fans but it’s not very good
Did not enjoy at all
This was ok
These guys were doing what Jack White has been trying to do for years and they did it very well on a technical level. But the songs just aren't there and, when the best one is their cover of "Summertime Blues," that says something. This is fine proto-metal or whatever you want to call it but it's no Zeppelin or Cream. One of rhe main reasons is that the drums sound terrible in the mix. No complaints about the guitars, though: this is feedback drenched nirvana.
This challenge has showed me there seems to be a real quest to find the first heavy metal band. Does it really matter? Seems silly at this point, like these guys dont rock harder than Hendrix, barely harder than Cream even. Anyway, enjoyed this fine, loved their rendition of Summertime Blues. The rest was good but a bit forgettable really, especially when you factor in how much late 60s/early 70s stuff sounded like it. Bay Area Zep with less interesting vocals. Solid shredding though
Rough sounding psych rock: I liked it
Not bad musically, but the singers voice just doesn’t do it for me me.
Like Hendrix lite, I feel it would have been fun live. The recording is dated, which doesn't help, and has a live feeling to the album as it's raw.
3.2 I started off loving this, but it quickly fell out of favour. Firstly the highlight: it seems to have kickstarted Heavy Metal, Stoner Rock, Grunge, and I've never come across it before! On paper - wow. However, reality bites hard. The fidelity is far too poor to properly enjoy. Yes, I get it's 1968, and lo-fi can accentuate some music, but stuff was being released at a similar time with orders of magnitude greater clarity which would have helped this out a lot. The production as well doesn't help. Leaning far too heavily into the stereo set up, with drums entirely on the left channel and guitar entirely on the left channel at times. With headphones on it just sounds a bit shit. All for playing around with the equaliser, but all or nothing just detracts in my opinion. Finally, the songs themselves just run out of steam a bit. Drag on a bit too long, and the self-penned ones just lack some power that the covers provide. Glad this exists, but it got a hell of a lot better after this.
Clearly influential, as an album its pudding
all the songs have the same sounds. Not very creative.
I can see how this is a link in the evolution of music but on a personal level it was not for me
Not my cup of tea. Never been a fan of heavy metal. Didn’t get far with this.
For the second time, I have bailed on an album part way through. Summertime Blues was fine, Rock Me Baby was kind of annoying but not terrible, but then halfway through Doctor Please I gave up. It's an 8 minute song that mostly just sounds like a disorganized mess. I moved on to Out Of Focus, got partway through, then called it. I get this is here because it's basically the first heavy metal album, but thank god we moved on from this ASAP. Funny that the most annoying album I've pulled so far happened to be ALBUM SIX SEVEN AAAAAAAAAAAA SIX SEVENNNNNNNNNNNN
I like rock as much as the next person, but at some point there is no point. Summertime Blues is just a great song and these guys did it justice, but from there I found myself losing interest. They even made Parchment Farm yawning. Better than Tical though...3 "white dudes wailing" stars.
I think it is super cool this is the first heavy metal album! I didn’t enjoy any of their songs. I liked the riff in Parchment Farm, but that was the only thing that really stood out to me.
This is one of those albums that I can appreciate as being ahead of its time and inspirational without being a massive fan
The best ones the cover song
I'd never heard of this but I enjoyed it - thought it was quite compact and attention-grabbing. Maybe not quite three starts but not far off
A touchstone but not a record I’ve ever been able to really love. Two stars. Tom.
im sorry what
eeeh
album #58 honk shoooooooooo (that's me sleeping) ꩜ album rating: ★★☆☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,031 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 31 ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 12 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 46
One song. 30 minutes of filler
def noise
Like if the Beatles "Helter Skelter" got stretched to six songs, and then they all forgot how to play them properly.
I like these gritty early psychedelics. Has Animals or Iron Butterfly vibes.
Some of the songs here delve into that long, repetitive feeling I've started to be less tolerant of. That said, I really like them for the most part. The guitar and drum work is very well done imo.
I listened to this album on my drive to work; I got there early so I could leave in time for an underscores concert. I was immediately intrigued by what this album had in store for me; the cover art and general time period suggested an early rock album, but the name "Vincebus Eruptum" reminded me of the Latin naming conventions typical of many metal albums. In keeping with this observation, the music itself sounded way heavier than I would expect from a rock album of the era, marrying the lyricism of those early rock songs with a heaviness and distortion adjacent to metal. I quickly realized that this album must have been right at the crossroads between these two genres, the nexus point where heavy metal sprang forth from classic rock; a little bit of research revealed that my assumption had been correct, as Vincebus Eruptum is often considered one of the first heavy metal albums (it was released in 1968, the same release year as the first heavy metal song, The Beatles' Helter Skelter). Throughout this project, I have grown accustomed to stumbling across these early albums from established genres and finding them a little underwhelming, but this album was right up my alley. I imagine that I would find this album a little tamer if I was deeper into the metal scene, but this level of heavy shredding and booming drums with prominent blues and rock influences still shining through is exactly the mix of these elements which I find most enjoyable personally. I could understand this album getting on people's nerves with its long and winding riffs, but for some reason, I find myself particularly invested in these droning passages. Even the covers feel particularly transformative in a way I appreciate, as this new soundscape they find themselves in lends them a new sense of musical identity. This album was an absolute dark horse to me, but I found it wonderfully enjoyable. Highlights: Summertime Blues, Rock Me Baby, Out Of Focus, Parchment Farm, Second Time Around
Rock blues avec des airs de led zeppelin, j'aime bien !
Sympa
J'ai pas du tout aimé
Not a good sign when I was looking through Wikipedia trying to figure out why this album was included. Apparently it’s very influential to future metal bands, which I guess makes sense but I can’t say I was super impressed with a bunch of guitar wanking covers of blues songs (though that may also describe Led Zeppelin so what do I know).
3.3 Proto-fuzz rock. Pretty cool tone but alot of wanking in the solos. The songwriting for the originals was pretty standard and the rest were covers.
When Led Zeppelin exists, why bother with this trash
The beginning of the riff for “Summertime Blues” sounded like the inspiration for “The Riverbottom Nightmare Band” from Jim Henson’s “Emmett Otter’s Jug Band Christmas.” Real ones will know.
early heavy
Ok. 2.5/5.
Not sure what to make of this, couldn’t quite get into it, as I thought I might, never heard of the band of album, so it made an interesting listen, summertime blues - not the best, Eddie Cochran or T.Rex.
60s psychedelic rock, sounds similar to a lot of other music in that time
very refreshing, nice sound
Really cool proto-Heavy Metal album. I really enjoyed this, especially the clear connection to Heavy Metal's roots in Blues and Psychedelic Rock.
I quite enjoyed this, but it felt VERY generic 60 sounds. The recording was pretty shit, which made it quite hard to listen to and appreciate. Too much like Hendrix to make it stand out.
I think it's really hard to rate some other these without the benefit of 'been there' context, or better writing around why its on the list without leaving me scratching my head. Listening to this for the first time in 2026 it feels like a ripoff, with some added distortion - and not unlike a bunch of other albums we've already had in this challenge. Does this add anything for me? No. Did I need to listen to it? Not sure I did. I just don't think we need to listen to EVERY band that was 'almost' heavy. Proto metal? Hard rock? Messy noisey blues if you ask me.
Not heard this band before, ok
These guys walked so Sabbath could warp drive.
More-so than the comparisons to The Who, a good portion of this record sounds to me like The Doors, but louder and without Jim Morrison’s overbearing ego. And ya know what? That’s pretty alright with me! 25 years ago, my teenage “classic rock phase” was dominated by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, which puts this album firmly in my heavy-blues wheelhouse. I have no doubt I would have loved this record back then and, when you factor in Blue Cheer’s comparatively underground status, I'm sure I would have been Jim Morrison levels of insufferable in my Blue Cheer fandom. I better start making up for lost time!
Maybe revolutionary, but not for me
Wonderfully reflective of the era. Jimi Hendrix tones.
Fine but nothing great.
It felt like sloppy rock and blues.
Maybe history doesn't look kindly on the early progenitors of a style, but more kindly on those that perfect the style, and Blue Cheer didn't do that.
Yep...sounds like late 60s rock.
What I've learned about 50s and 60s music from this list is that influence is completely random. I swear I've heard like three other bands do what these guys did two or three years before them and yet these guys are considered the progenitors of Heavy Metal. Sure, I guess. Anyways, this album sure is fuzzy. I'd fully believe that these songs were demos if somebody told me. Bonus points to these guys for actually saying all of the lyrics to Parchment Farm instead of doing that stupid thing The Bluesbreakers did where they got rid of the part about killing your wife and just sang the part about picking cotton on a farm. I really hate Eric Clapton. Anything he touches becomes worse. Be more like Blue Cheer, they can cover a song by a black guy without sanitizing it until it loses the meaning.
Probably amazing at the time of release, but now it just sounds really dated and poorly mixed.
Cool guitar, weird band
3 Can definitely see how influential it's been but really hasn't stood the test of time the way a lot of other 60s stuff has imo
lmao
They think they cooked in the jam outs but it’s not even that good.
Unfortunately forgettable- also this needs to be REMASTERED. The quality is atrocious
Not sure what it is about this early garage rock stuff that is so easy to get into.
Definitely not
Never heard this before. Love it.
i kind of don't hate it Would I listen again: perhaps Deserves to be on this list: yeah okay. 3.8
This seemed like it had a lot of promise, and I bet it was super fun when this was new and esp live... man the production left a lot to be desired though and while I appreciate the proto- metal/stoner rock vibe it didn't really click with me. Happy to have discovered this part of history but prob will never listen again.
A really cool heavy bluesy record, way ahead of its time.
I mean, slightly more interesting now learning that this is most peoples' view of the first ever heavy metal album. However, at the end of the day, it just feels like a sludge-y distorted mess most of the time. I can see how this is pivotal and I can see why it's a cool/important listen, but I can't say I enjoyed it too much. Fave tracks: - Summertime Blues - Second Time Around
An interesting piece of musical history that is mixed pretty awfully. Some have called this proto- metal and that seems fair enough. That said, metal moved fast and by 1970 had already evolved far beyond whats on offer here. Worth a visit, but maybe not multiple visits.
Nisam sigurna kako se osjećam oko ovog albuma. Neke stvari su mi ok, ostale mi zvuče kao jeftini heavy metal. Neka sredina vjerojatno. 3/5, 5/10
For something so short its impressive how much it felt like it was wasting my time Not my thing. Shite
I have to admit - this album is heavy as fuck. I actually think this is more metal in sound than Black Sabbath's debut, which is generally considered the first metal album ever. This thing is raw, noisy and unfiltered. However, despite respecting this album a lot, I can't say I enjoy it that much. The production is kind of rough, sounds like they recorded it in a garage with the cheapest possible equipment. I'm sure that appeals to some people, but it just doesn't really work for me. It's funny, I like a lot of music with similar characteristics but this just doesn't click.
An album I've always respected and it's lineage from Blues, psychedelia proto metal. It's a bit too on the nose of English Blues to really be the birth of metal but it's definitely a great transition point. (8.33) ★★★★
Fine enough psychedelic garage rock. 3.5 stars
This is another case where an album is included that could've just been a song. Their cover of "Summertime Blues" is essential, but the rest just sounds like the Jimi Hendrix Experience without any songwriting chops. The cover of Mose Allison's "Parchment Farm" is also pretty cool. Saying these guys invented heavy metal is also a stretch. 3 stars
No blue cheer on this one. More like Blue Turmoil - Crapibus Eruptbum. This is just one big nasty elephant noise wasteland where the band manage to wrangle one good tune right at the start and it’s a cover anyway of Summertime Blues which you can find just as rockingly on The Who’s Live At Leeds. Everything else is garbage. If Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix Experience stand the test of time like Casablanca then this is more like another movie made the same week as Casablanca that no one remembers.
3.5
I really don't care for this album.
It was fine. I guess it was innovative for the time, but it seems to be there was a lot of electric guitar based blues rock in the late 60s.
Admittedly I was listening to this during work as background music, but the only moments that stood out to me were not because they were enjoyable.
Nice guitar but not really my vibe. Fav song is ‘Doctor Please’.
This actually wasn’t bad at all, much better than I anticipated in fact.
Too much. One star.
Summertime Blues - early 70s blues riff rock
4/10
Wikipedia: "this is considered one of the first heavy metal albums" Album: *sounds exactly like every generic rock album from this era* I can appreciate that they were at the forefront of this particular rock sound, but the album itself isn't actually that good. There have been many better covers of Summertime Blues.
The first track was great but the rest not so good. I'd not listen to the album again.
The energy of the vocals and the whole loudness of it all make this otherwise dated and flawed record a really fun experience. The simplicity of the songs coupled with the deafening execution just makes it really fucking metal.
I don’t care if this wasn’t the “invention” of heavy metal and Sabbath got there first. And I don’t care if this is like Hendrix guitar playing, I thought it was amazing. Loved every song and won’t be skipping any songs on repeat listens
neat
Just sounds like your typical late 60s / early 70s rock album. Nothing crazy, nothing special. Just okay
Not my bag
I see how this is important in the development of metal in the late 60s and everything. I like metal for the most part, but like many early experiments, this is very rough around the edges by any standards--blues, metal, hard rock, whatever you want to call it. 2/5
Что-то слишком зло это звучит
Кавер на summertime blues Эдди Кокрэна оказался довольно влиятельным. Многие называют его одной из первых хэви металл песен. Ну он действительно получился очень удачным: и звучит классно, и до сих пор можно услышать на рок фм, ну и для тех времен мало у кого было такой звук. Но в остальном альбом для меня интереса не представил.
Прикольненько. Мне понравилось.
Плотно, но ничем не зацепило
Ощущается ли этот альбом влиятельным, учитывая его время выхода? Да. Интересно ли его сейчас слушать? Только как исторический материал.
нравится такое звучание психоделическое, звучит интересно, жаль, что самая известная песня - кавер. это вполне 3.5
Left little impact.
Listened Before? N Neat, early heavy metal I've never heard before. Good stuff. A bit long and sloppy but I'll take it. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Rock Me Baby
I've never heard it before. I quite liked it but I don't hear the origins of heavy metal in it, more poor recording/equipment. All the attempts by Americans to claim metal as their own seem ill-founded.
Groupe inconnu. Premier constat : le groupe envoie du lourd ! Une guitare très saturée, un batteur qui s'éclate et une basse qui massifie le son. Original pour l'époque ! Par contre la production n'est pas géniale, le son est très crade. Certes il va bien avec l'intention mais il gâche un peu le plaisir. Bonne découverte, je l'écouterais certainement de nouveau, mais il ne rejoindra pas ma collection. =>3/5
Proto punk ish stuff that felt kinda like sloppy hippy stuff and didn't really grab me in either direction.
This is something I want to like!
I wasn’t familiar with Blue Cheer, but the name is quite fitting, since they play very loud blues. The first thing that strikes me on “Vincebus Eruptum” is the massive guitar sound—they must have cranked the fuzz pedal all the way up. We’d handle that differently today, but back in 1968, proper distortion wasn’t really available yet. The second thing that jumps out at me is the guitarist’s wide vibrato and the singer’s belting crunch—so they clearly didn’t shy away from physical effort to get the sound as fat as possible. I almost wrote “heavy” there, but that would lead down the proto-metal path, and honestly, I don’t really see that—the six songs are simply too unmistakably blues in structure for that. I like blues and I like loud music—for my taste, “Vincebus Eruptum” is a pretty good album.
strong 3.5 As músicas acabam sendo um pouco parecidas demais, tanto em sua estrutura quanto na performance, mas ainda é uma boa coletânea, com 'Summertime Blues' sendo um claro destaque.
Pretty good - mostly forgettable tune-wise for me, but exceptional guitar playing and a fun listen. Cool to hear a sound that hard from the 60s.
Fun early garage rock/proto-punk. I’d never heard these guys before and it was a fuzzy, distorted good time.
A third rate attempt at sounding like Hendrix and Zeppelin. Maybe at the time it was interesting, but it’s not that heavy, blues, or hard. And the recording is sub par.
Strong start but kind of limped to the finish
This was alright. I really enjoyed the first two songs, then my enthusiasm waned after that. Reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix, 60’s rock that was sometimes bluesy. (3)
Heavy metal before there was heavy metal. Blue Cheer certainly came in loud, edgy and gritty.
Another generic late '60's psychadelic rock band with blues-ey tones.
heck yeah bruther
What is there to say about Vincebus Eruptum? First I'll say their goal as a band is clearly to be loud and they nailed it. They are indeed extremely loud. Their version of Summertime Blues has long been a favorite of mine as a fan of proto metal, the rest of the album was new to me and is stiff, loud, blues rock. They sound a lot like a bar band that your dad might have played in, just a very loud one. The loudest one. I don't hate it, but it's also not all that different from a bunch of kids listening to Muddy Waters' 1960s Live at Newport album and going "we could do that! But louder!" It's loud, it's a vibe, it's decent, it's a 3.
(87/100)
Why? Why is this noteworthy? No, thank you anyways.
This is largely a "thank you for your service" album. I'd never heard of Blue Cheer before today so I'm not sure if they actually influenced any of the heavier/harder rock bands that came after them, but hey, at least they tried. 2.9
I can see why this may have been a major stylistic development in its time. For me in 2026, it's alright. The production is pretty bad. The bass and vocals often kind of disappear into the mix. The songs are fine. Not likely to leave a lasting impression.
I'm sure this is influential and is really early to hear that sound, but man does it sound rough.
Almost regret now complaining about the audio quality on the previous album. This album doesn't sound like required listening. You could play a sample and tell a person when this happened to give some context.
1. Summertime Blues - 7 It's not really stood the test of time but it's not a bad song either. Instrumentally the guitars on it sound a lot of fun. Very similar to a Jimi Hendrix style sound. Overall, solid track. 2. Rock Me Baby - 7 Exactly the same criticisms/critique as Summertime Blues but I think it has stood the test of time a little better. You get a lot of solid guitar sounds before the drums are given a mini-solo at the outro. Solid stuff. 3. Doctor Please - 4 It's long and lyrically not anything fantastic. More of a jam track, which is good, but gets quite old rather quickly. 4. Out Of Focus - 3 Instrumentally it's okay, a bit wild and uncontrolled and unstructured at times. Lyrically it's forgettable. 5. Parchment Farm - 5 This is like a three part song. First part is okay which the lyrics being alright. The second part is just a legendary guitar riff and an amazing sound. The third part is exactly like the first just sped up a little. It's hard to really get into the track since it's so fragmented but it's not bad. 6. Second Time Around - 2 Starts as a Hendrix-style sound with throwaway lyrics into a very repetitive drum solo before breaking down into a punk-style sound. Not particularly very good. Average Rating: 4.67 Adjusted to 5-Point Scale: 2.33 Rounded Down: 2 Stars
Notable for being first
Suenan bien
This was a lot heavier than I expected
The first two songs stick out from the rest a lot to me. The cover to start the album off feels kinda poppy and then the second song is rather bluesy, but then the rest sound like some early heavy metal sounding Black Sabbath.
Hell yeah. Another band I haven’t heard of before. Can’t go wrong with bluesy electric guitar.
Normal rock
Noisy, I don’t mind it honestly I think as a whole it goes well it makes sense
Decent enough psychedelia. Nothing to write home about.
Wer sich für die Anfänge von Metal interessiert, wird hier fündig. Viel Gitarre, rockiger Sound. Für 60er geht da ganz schön die Post ab. 3/5
Rocks
Interesting proto metal, but do we need it when these guys didn’t really influence anyone? Kind of existing between The Who and Black Sabbath with no real identity unto themselves.
I'll have to revisit this as it was interesting.
Not bad
better than expected but not an easy listen
First listen
Psychedelic heavy metal. I dug it. Raw.
Owes a heck of a lot to Hendrix. Didn't love the listen
I found it pretty basic with no real special moments.
I’ve heard that these guys were pretty heavy sounding. Summertime blues: 6.5/10 Vocals are very loud compared to the guitars. Sounded like the drums got mic’d up with microphones in the room next door. Rock me baby: 6/10 Doctor please: 5/10 Out of focus: 4.5/10 Parchment farm: 5/10 Second time around: 5.5/10 Pretty gnarly drum solo.
got that 60s psychedelic rock sound lul
Will grab your attention .
Hmm - I know why it’s in the book. But it’s definitely not very good
I Led Zeppelin farlocchi, che noia.
This is so interesting because I can literally recognise some Metallica kill ‘em all sounds and just 80s metal in general wich is so cool cz this band literally walked so that heavy metal could run. Also I love the covert art!!! But I don’t see myself reaching for this ?!
3/10
Aight
i respect what this is and it’s place in history. not a fan of the songwriting. you don’t realize metal is just evil blues most of the time. i bet this went crazy back in 1968
Nada que destacar
Priemie
Really great crunchy guitars.
lekker!
heerlijk crunchy, en ik geniet altijd van albums waar je goed kan horen wat het genre later kan worden. eigenlijk een schande dat ik dit niet zwaar stoned heb geluisterd