Reviews (page 3 of 8)
No thank you
Everything blended together, very dull
Overall: 3/10 This genuinely really sucked lol it was a lot of noodling and nonsense and the vocals were terrible. The best thing about it was that it was so short. Fav Song: Out of Focus
Not bad, but far from great. ★★★
Good album, and I liked their cover of Summertime Blues. However, there's nothing they don't do that I don't think subsequent artists did better.
Cool to hear 60s stuff that sounds like this but the music isn't actually that good
Hell yeah, fuzzy guitar rock. Give me 1001 of these albums. Fuck Radiohead.
This fuckin' ROCKS! Sort of an American Black Sabbath. Huge fuzz-tone. Over-the-top psych. Heavy riffs. My only complaint is I wish it was longer.
Why was this recorded under water? I think I’d like it more if it actually sounded like produced music. Not bad tho
Decent blues rock. Sounds unfinished, none of the songs are particularly memorable.
Absolute classic. The guitars take me to another universe.
I'm so sure I've heard tracks from this album before, they've been said to be "louder than god" so maybe I just overheard someone else playing it sometime. The sound is so evocative of classic stoner movies, Dazed and Confused, and School of Rock, that I'm stunned it's not featured. While it's not my typical jam, it is pretty freakin' sick. It's giving Zeppelin, it's giving Deep Purple, it's giving Gibson SGs, leather jackets, black jeans, and hot hazy unclaimed summers full of potential. The tracks are just freewheeling jammed out grooves on the chunkiest overdriven guitar and bass licks you've ever driven a decal'd van down the motorway to. I really can't shake the feeling I'm watching a cult classic movie the whole time I'm listening to it, and you also have the sense you're just smoking a cigarette in a dark dive bar while these guys just cook on stage. You know what? Just for that, I actually love it.
It was nice I liked it
Great sound, a major influence on many of my favorite bands. A bit lacking in substantial songs, though.
underwater album, quite ok
Sick.
Really won me over by the end
pretty decent but never quite grabbed me. not sure i'll ever really be pressed to revisit but i wouldn't turn it off if it was playing.
Inessential and short. I can see why someone might have thought this was important like decades ago
Boring rock album.
The album feels too disjunct. I like it overall. Nothing about it stands out though. Of course, it's a good sound for how old it is. Revolutionary for sure. Just doesn't hold up for me today.
Fav: summertime blues
Not always is the Beta-Version the better version. Or wait… is it? Was Vincebus Eruptus highly influential and formative for creating heavy psych rock/metal? For sure. And I kind of feel that one misses the point if one were trying to categorise this as bad or good or something in between. I mean the opening duplet is great (two awesome covers) and then there is the guitar solo in Doctor Doctor… You will know from the opening seconds whether this is an album for you. The genre became so refined within a such a short time span after Blue Cheer entered the stages of this world, but still this sorta dilettante vibe, I dunno it rules and it’s just irreproducible.
I don’t really understand the significance of this.. I was able to finish it, but half of it are trash covers
Aw, hell, yeah!!! This is why I do the generator, to hear some stuff that hitherto has passed me by but needs to be in my ears. This is late 60s, distorted, messy, garage psych rock-metal with a singer that sounds at times like Janis Joplin (who was still alive at this stage). Everything is turned up to 11, it’s dirty and loud and it rocks like anything. All that is to say - I love this, and can’t believe I’d never heard of it before now.
The first two tracks, which are covers are the stand out on the album. The sound feels muddy and as an album it is a pretty rough and ready experience
It's a cool experience to hear one of the transitions of blues to rock to heavy metal. Outside of the historical context, it's also a great rock album. Gritty enough to played in basement club covered in band flyers and graffiti but paired with piercingly clear vocals.
01) Summertime Blues - 6,5 02) Rock Me Baby - 6,0 03) Doctor Please - 5,0 04) Out of Focus - 5,0 05) Parchment Farm - 5,0 06) Second Time Around - 5,0 TOTAL: 5,42 (54/100) Current ranking: 747/849
This is like my third or fourth 60s psychedelic rock album in a row so I was dreading it when I pulled it, but it was kind of a banger. 3.5/5
Vincebus Eruptum is the debut album of American rock band Blue Cheer. Released on January 16, 1968, the album features a heavy-thunderous blues sound, which would later be known as heavy metal. A commercial and critical success, Vincebus Eruptum peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and spawned the number 14 hit cover of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". Being an example of hard rock, it is also lauded as one of the first heavy metal albums. Spin magazine placed it at number 22 on their list of the 40 greatest metal albums, declaring the album, "Proto-metal, but also the birthplace of grunge." The album has widely been held in high regard by critics. Writing for music website AllMusic, Mark Deming described Vincebus Eruptum as "a glorious celebration of rock & roll primitivism run through enough Marshall amps to deafen an army", praising the band's "sound and fury" as one of the founding movements of heavy metal. Pitchfork reviewer Alexander Linhardt gave the album nine out of ten points, noting that the album was less structured than its successor, Outsideinside. It has been described by Billboard as "the epitome of psychedelic rock", while VH1 called it an "acid rock masterwork". Martin Popoff was less enthusiastic in his review and called the music "derivative" and "equating closer to acid-washed loud and slurring renditions of '60s rock" than heavy metal, judging the album "a howling mess." Online music service Rhapsody included Vincebus Eruptum in its list of the "10 Essential Proto-Metal Albums", suggesting that the band "not only inspired the term 'power trio,' they practically invented heavy metal." In 1998, The Wire included Vincebus Eruptum in their list of "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)", calling it a "seminal" album that "snarled rabidly in the face of hippy innocence and soon became a Hells Angels party stomper." They also note the strong influence the album had on 1990s Japanese noise trios such as High Rise and Musica Transonic. Classic Rock Magazine wrote in 2021: "This album is a highly charged, deranged masterpiece that still sounds remarkably contemporary."
Good album, but not great. The opening track which is a cover was very promising. Throughout you hear the influence on other bands that came after, and perhaps without this album, some music wouldn't exist. So it deserves recognition for that. The bands that were influenced are far better, and there's a reason most people have heard of those bands, but nobody really talks about Blue Cheer. 3 out of 5.
Of the "knew them from one hit in the late 60s" albums I've heard I like this one the best so far, a bit samey but the rowdy noisiness makes a fun romp. I liked the closing track most
Just not very good
No, I'm okay.
It was quick. Not crazy good sadly
Never heard of them, looks grim, glance at Wikipedia, hit play. Summertime Blues I know, but what is this version?? Not a good start. (As per some other groups' tracks, if they were teenagers rather than lank-haired 20-somethings, I would feel more indulgent ...) Rock Me Baby: now that is blues I can get around. Doctor Please: actually quite heavy - live feel. (Rhythm section hold the pulse while lead guitar rocks out quite personally.) The style and elements are reminiscent of many other artists - contemporaries who probably had shared tastes (like Janis Joplin vocals) or later groups who were perhaps influenced by this (early UFO live). Parchment Farm: yuck lyrics. "I've been sitting over here on Parchment Farm - Ain't ever done nobody no wrong - Oh Lord, I believe I'll be here for the rest of my life - All I did was shoot my wife - She was no good". Apparently it's a cover of a blues song, that's no excuse, fuck off with that, in the bin. It's Bad (and not in an LL Cool J way), 1/10.
Rock!
decent
Perfectly fine blues rock. Idk if it merits being on the list, but it was good.
Not a bad listen.
Not my jam. Long solos are torture.
3.0/10 Sort of sounded a bit like Jimi Hendrix...but not digging it. Won’t listen again.
My initial reaction, sustained throught the album: Your high school friend has this band he keeps talking about, who you havan't heard much but they sound kind of loud. He keeps saying they want to play concerts so you bug your mom into hiring them to play at your backyard graduation party. The band comes and it turns out they don't suck! The singer stays on key, the guitarist has some legitimate licks, the drummer is a bit nuts but fun to listen to, and they don't try to hide their flaws by turning everything to 11. But there's also the random rhythm changes, long guitar solos that meander to nowhere, and chaotic drum fills that high school garage bands with counter-cultural aspirations always indulge in. So you don't mind when they're done. Then you find out your sister recorded it on cassette, and that's what we're hearing now. Then I read all the comments about this being the original (proto-)heavy metal album. I can... kind of see that? They do sound sort of like heavier versions of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, and I can respect that Blue Cheer pushed their sound heavier than anyone else at the time. But Blue Cheer doesn't have the songs or the focus of those other great artists, nor the metal that followed.
Asumo que este disco está dentro de lo que sería el 'acid rock' porque se necesita consumir algún psicodélico para realmente disfrutar de esto... ...Ok, no lo odié tanto, puedo decir que entiendo la visión –aunque no tanto la ejecución–. Disfruté de escuchar los inicios de lo que sería la música 'pesada', a pesar de que sea un proyecto poco pulido, pero estoy segura de que no volvería a tocar este álbum en mi vida. ↑: Rock Me Baby ↓: Parchment Farm
Fine
Not a great album but really interesting as a pre heavy metal influence. This is the type of thing I expected to be on this list. (As opposed to Kid Rock).
Nice. Hard-edged Acid Rock. The birth of Heavy Metal. What's not to like.
Before there was Black Sabbath ... there was Blue Cheer!
Went in with very low expectations - but actually quite enjoyed it despite the dogshit sound recording quality.
An album touted as the start of heavy metal, it ostensibly has little inherent value other than being anchored to a moment in time. It presents as a crumbled, anachronistic monument to the past, and what's more the ruins are neither majestic nor impressive. Vincent Eruptus Ozymandius aequalis est. Ammirite?!! The album is mainly slugfest, with viscid pace. The guitar sound is the metaphorical manifestation of wading through deep, deep treacle. Not completely terrible. Just rather dull.
Favorite Tracks: none Rating: 1.3 This probably melted faces in 1968. I found it a complete slog, the covers were the only tolerable part and the rest of the album was.....wooof. Guitar in particular was bordering on out of tune constantly, and it didn't help that the whole thing sounded like it was recorded at an open mic night in an empty dive bar. I like the blues, I like rock, I like lo-fi and garage...this ain't it son.
Not something I would put on myself but I liked it, glad I heard it.
2.5/5
First heavy metal album or song. Ok i get it. Won't return but I get it
favs songs: summertime blues rock me baby fuzzy, jam, blown-out garage 50/100
Early blues / hard rock.
Im over americana
While Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple were beginning to push blues and hard rock to heavier levels in the UK, the US was still very much entwined in the Flower Power, anti-Vietnam War counterculture movement and looking to spread peace and love rather than blow out people's eardrums. Mind you, there were still plenty of American acts not afraid to amp up the heaviness of their instruments. Jimi Hendrix, The Stooges and MC5 come to mind, and so does San Francisco's Blue Cheer. 'Vincebus Eruptum' certainly rocks as hard as early Sabbath and Zeppelin, featuring six furious tracks rooted in blues, but with the instruments pushed to their absolute limits. Many refer to this record as the first heavy metal album, and given the heavily overdriven guitar sound and powerful drumming, it's a pretty fair statement. 'Doctor Please' and 'Parchment Farm' certainly classify as heavy metal in my book, and would also be considered influential on the stoner rock and grunge genres. Not to mention the impressive vocal chops of Dickie Peterson, who sounds like a male Janis Joplin. The cover of Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues' helped propel this album towards chart success, hitting the Billboard Top 20 in 1968, and it was the first signs that American listening audiences were getting ready to move beyond the hippie movement and embrace darker and heavier music. Given that 'Blue Cheer' were only a three piece, 'Vincebus Eruptum' is an incredibly tight debut that would have a profound impact on the development of heavy metal. They may not be quite as iconic as Sabbath, Zeppelin or Deep Purple, but perhaps they deserve to be. Best songs: Summertime Blues, Doctor Please, Parchment Farm
Ahhhh the old Psychedelic Era!
heavy blues - a forerunner of metal perhaps - rifftastic
I should like this. I’m a metal head, and I love blues and blues-rock … but this is just a bit too embryonic. Blue Cheer walked so Zeppelin and Deep Purple could run, but really, they are just dawdling along in my way, like a pensioner in the post office. Also, the stereo mix is horrible on headphones.
Raw. Hendrix-style guitar licks and Joplin- style vocals combined. The problem is that the songs are particularly original.
Low rent Zepplin
This may have had significance at the time of release but there's a reason people still listen to Black Sabbath rather than Blue Cheer. The guitar solos have potential but they just feel forced and out of place. Not to mention the production quality is terrible. I want to love this a lot more than I do.
Listened to the first song and don’t want to ruin my Saturday.
I appreciate hearing the roots of heavy metal. That being said, I don’t want to hear about his album ever again.
I find it funny how there's a recurring complaint about nobody british bands on this list. Yet not a peep about all these nobody American bands. This was boring, idc if they "invented" a new genre. It sounded like shit.
not my favourite!
Interesting
I’ve seen plenty of people call this the first true metal album. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but it’s definitely a progenitor of acid rock and you can hear how it paved the way for stoner and sludge metal. The fuzz, the volume, the heaviness, it’s all there. It’s raw and blown out in the best way. Nothing subtle about it. You can tell this thing must have rattled speakers in 1968. I immediately recognized their version of Summertime Blues, which still hits hard. For its time, this had to sound insane. Favorite song: Summertime Blues
Will listen again
A funny juxtaposition of music that feels ahead-of-its-time and lyrics that are simple and dated (particularly Summertime Blues).
Sounds like a harder rocking Guess Who. These guys aren’t exactly polished but they came with it hard and heavy.
hearing "Summertime Blues" like this after growing up on the Alan Jackson version is so strange otherwise I'm lowkey bored, oops
i should re listened to it soon. i loved the sound but was very distracted both times i tried to pay attention to the lyrics.
As others have written of this album, this feels more historically interesting than actually be interesting music + it feels like a bridge between Cream and Black Sabbath. It's a lot of distorted guitars and shouting, bluesy and powerful, yet a bit meandering and with hints of metal. I do with we had more music like this nowadys, but with a bit more suave and groove.
Actually not bad 6/10 Liked how concise it was. Grew on me a bit
Fucking rocks
una grata sorpresa, no tenía ni idea de su existencia
Was okay, nothing special.
The two covers by far the best songs of the six on the album. Guitar and drums were pretty good. The lyrics and voice not great.
Probably forgettable and it was meh
This was cool. I liked the first two songs but then it swiftly goes downhill. The songwriting is kinda sucky but I love the playing. "Doctor Please" really kills the album imo.
another meh & forgettable album. appreciated the length of the album, and the guitar forward style, but I won't remember listening to it a week from now.
Can understand why this album is on here as it was likely the blueprint for many rock artists over the following 50 years, however this album didn't age particularly well and there's a reason you don't hear much about blue cheer today
e ovo je vec prijatnije psihodelicno iskustvo od jucerasnjeg. mozda zato sto ne slusam na slusalicama. pesma se zove out of focus i ima totalno nesinhronizovane melodije na gitarama.. okayy theyre cooking lowkey. nekoliko pesama ima fake out krajeve i mislim da je to presmesno, zavrsi se pesma i posle dve sekunde kaze sikkeeee i ponovo krene beat i gitara, ponekad i vise puta u jednoj pesmi, and i fall for it every time. dobar je album, nisam pala na dupe i verovatno ga necu zapamtiti, ali mi ne smeta njegovo postojanje. zanimljivi guitar riffovi, dobar bas, bubnjevi se lupaju na trista nacina, fino! svidja mi se sto ima samo 6 pesama i sto traje samo pola sata.
Guys who just wanted to play loud. They were loud, rough, drugged and nasty. And in 67 they went to the Monterey Festival. They say they saw Hendrix so they probably also would have seen rhe bands playing on the same day: The Who and Big Brother and The Holding Company. The fact that those bands could play them into the ground without raising a sweat didn't matter. Blue Cheer wanted to outdo them. Their sound was louder, dirtier and more chemically enhanced. It was like a kick in the head. Forget the Summer of Love. This was challenging, vicious music. Is it the start of heavy metal? Well, no-one had played this hard before, so why not? The trouble was that this came out in 68. In 69 another band that could play them into the ground came along. Led Zeppelin. Blue Cheer faded into memory. But you can't imagine Grand Funk Railroad or Black Sabbath or MC5 or The Stooges without them clearing the path.
Really feels very box-ticky to have this on here. It's quite paint by numbers early hard rock. Like Black Sabbath but without the big tunes. Nothing especially wrong with it, but very little right with it either.
типовий альбом 60х ін е бест вей посібл
british 60s rock so overrepresented my god
Nice guitar tone
I'm sure this is doing a disservice to them, but this sounds like one of those albums you'd find in a grab bin at walmart that sounds close to something more popular. Its distortion-laden blues riffs with vocals that sound like they're being sung behind a closed car window.
Boring and generic 60s distorted rock music. Hundreds of albums exist that sound identical to this one. Literally no reason to check it out unless you’re trying to hear every cover of Summertime Blues
I can see why at the end of the 60s people were calling them Metal.
I bet this would rule if it wasn’t for the awful mixing and production. I love the idea of fuzzed out noise, but why is it mixed quieter than the vocals which suck. The drums are barely there. Fuck this.
Lyder som et øvelokale i 70erne Råt og ufærdigt
Quite nice tunes, thx
Pretty interesting mix of blues, psychedelia and early roots of metal. It doesn’t match the quality of some of its peers like Zeppelin/Hendrix/Sabbath/Cream, etc., so it’s easy to see why it’s not as well known, but it’s still a pretty good listen. Hard to say it belongs on a list of “essential” albums.
Just not pleasant to listen to unfortunately. Very noisy.
I listened to this entire album, came back the next day and couldn't remember a single thing about it so I re-listened and ALMOST missed actually hearing it again. It's fine but truly and literally forgettable.
Personal enjoyment: 2/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5
I never heard of Blue Cheer. Interesting that some people think of this as an early metal album. I can see some connection to Black Sabbath, but just as much I see a connection to Jimi Hendrix. The top song is a cover of Summertime Blues. The other songs also have a bluesy bent, which I like.
When this first started, there was something fuzzy and heavy that made my ears picked up. But once the sing started and the songs settled in, it felt like a ton of other bands from this period. I think the thing Sabbath has that these guy don't is a sense of the evil and verboten. Sabbath since about insanity, dark rituals and wizards, Blue Cheer sings Summertime Blues.
I could imagine that if you were a white male teenager in the midwest in the late 60s, this album would seem like a revelation. In 2026, it's kind of unremarkable. I can squint and see how it might have influenced the Black Keys or (as someone mentioned) Jack White - but generally a bit meh for me.
Rockin
Não gostei muito.
6/10 I enjoyed it the more it went on. Very sludgy and raw, with little of the skill and finesse of the real big hitters of the time, but has something about it's heavy blues riffing
60s psychedelic rock. Sounds like something I’d love had I found it 15 years ago when I was a teenager.
Not for me. Thought it was awful.
hört sich wirklich interessant aufgenommen an, mag aber die stimmen fav song: summertime blues (ist aber ein cover)
I am beginning to think I fundamentally disagree with the author of the 1001 book about what constitutes essential. Like, yeah, this is fine, but I just don't know what it does that a lot of other albums don't do just as well if not better? 3*
Although it is a very fun hard rock album but Outsideinside is the album I prefer from their discography. I sense that is because Vincebus Eruptum is Blue Cheer's debut album. It feels more like a document of a band discovering its power than fully controlling it. I admit it, the energy is there, but it’s diffuse: long jams, loose structures, and a kind of psychedelic drag that can blunt momentum. Tracks like “Summertime Blues” hit hard, but much of the album leans on repetition and volume rather than sustained intensity. Outsideinside, on the other hand, sounds more deliberate and aggressive. My rating: 4/5
Previously unknown. Probably more interesting when it was new and different.
Rare Überschneidung mit der The Wire liste what if i take my problem to the united nations?
Summertime Blues - 3.5/5 Rock Me Baby - 2.5/5 Doctor Please - 2.5/5 Out of Focus - 2.5/5 Parchment Farm - 2.5/5 Second Time Around - 2/5 I guess by technicality this is one of the first "heavy metal" albums. It has some promise at the beginning but falls off quickly due to feeling like the remaining songs are finishers that just keep going. These guys were probably good live but put into a studio their sounds gets too muddied. Overall: 2.5/5 Favorite(s): Summertime Blues
Short and sweet
I zoned out for a bit and when I came to I was three songs further. Didn’t notice too much of a difference.
This was one of the first albums I ever bought with my own money, after hearing the CD playing in my local record store. As a young teen obsessed with Led Zeppelin and The White Stripes, it resonated with me on a primordial level. I was young, still developing my musical identity, before I had ever tried alcohol or drugs (Spotify included) and it felt magical to “discover” an artist on my own, without hearing about them from a friend or family member…well, I suppose some credit goes to the record clerk. Today I’m different person, nearly tripled in age, but this album still gets me excited, in all its distorted, head-banging, hard-panned stereo mix glory.
I understand why Blue Cheer is on this list and the impact they made on the genre of hard rock and eventually metal music. I don't understand why it's this album and I'm too lazy to do find out why. 3 stars because I enjoyed each song and my quick listen, but nothing more.
4.5. Grunge owes a big debt
Fucking fuzzy as fuck, fuck yes. This album does not give a toss as it explodes in a joyous, raucous cacophony of bluesy noise. Not clever, not focused, not varied, but very very strident - would be way more fun live than in record, but I'm glad this record exists!
Kind of mid. Felt pretty basic fuzz rock.
Cool if you consider when it was released.
The wiki describes this as heavy thunderous blues that would later be described as heavy metal. And I would like to suggest we all start calling metal “thunder blues”. In terms of the music itself. It was kinda interesting to listen to but can’t say I particularly enjoyed it.
I have a migraine today and I didn’t fucking need this.
I don't have much to say about this other than I didn't enjoy this. The album would have been slightly better if the songs weren't so long. Doctor Please was especially a slog to get through.
Nice sound. Me gustaria un poco mas de letra
I found myself wishing I was listening to Led Zeppelin.
Enjoy the raw vocal style, at times. Its a weird album, reminiscent of Jimmi Hemdrix, kind of hard rock, kind of grunge. At times it feels like there is dead space amongst the guitar, drums and vocals, like something was missed in the mix. I think the album had a lot of potential, just executed poorly
I genuinely did listen to this album but I cannot remember anything about it and I really don’t want to listen to it again.
Heavy blues and guitar driven songs...reminds me of stadium psych-rock
Pretty decent proto metal. It might be more notable as a historical artifact than something I simply 'must' listen to, but I can't say I didn't enjoy a lot of it.
Pretty typical early psych rock. Not really sure why it needed to be on here but wasn't unpleasant. Short and reasonably sweet.
I quite enjoyed this. The sound quality was dirt, but this was really good early hard rock.
The sound of this album is all overdriven lead guitar R&B noodling, heavy distorted drum solos and Woodstock era vocals. Full of freak out, counter culture vibes this is a psychedelic rock album that keeps forgetting what it was doing mid song and uses the opportunity to try out a new song in the middle of the old one. There is definite Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple flavour. Which I always found a little slow paced and bit self indulgent. I dont dislike it. But it wouldn't go on my heavy or medium rotation list. (2.815)
Cool bass parts
I feel nothing listening to this album. The lyrics are shallow even for this period of music and the guitar solos are nothing to write home about. I've heard plenty of music from the same era of rock that have deeper lyrics and better guitar solos (as an example, Jimi Hendrix had already been an established musician by this point and was putting out far more enjoyable music that satisfies on both lyrics and solos). I didn't need to hear this album, it did nothing for me. If it was on in the background I wouldn't care but I would never intentionally put it on for myself to hear again. 2.25/5 listenable but I'd rather not
Started off a bit boring, but got better as the album went on. Some dubbed this as early heavy metal (combined with blues I guess), which sounds nice, but it also kind of sounds dated to me. The final track, Second Time Around, has some killer riffs in my opinion. 6 / 10.
I appreciate this album more than I enjoy it. I liked some moments on here, but there are definitely moments where it drags on, and it isn’t too interesting outside of just being loud and fuzzy, revolutionary for the time but it’s been done since in better ways (and you can argue it was done better before since Hendrix predates this album). Nevertheless I still see it’s place in rock history, but I probably won’t come back to it.
this website serves as a monolithic database of many influential projects in every area of the world but asian communities which i find ridiculous
covers are fun, Sad the group did not take off.
bem meh das ideia?? claramente um sonho lisérgico, mas meio paradão (uma meiota social mal batida)
bem psicodélico regado a lsd. bacana, tem umas guitarrada bruta mas nao eh nd demais nn
Overall pretty good though no real standouts.
I think this album explores the limits of the effects of narcotics on songwriting. Turns out that you can be too high, even when you’re writing hippie music
Some interesting tracks, and cool to know a band I wasn’t familiar with, but agree with most sentiment here. Cool album for its time and place in music history, but I won’t be back to listen again
This is crazy for 1968. But in 2026....this is a mess. I wanted to like this album but halfway through track 2 I was checked out. There were some good vocal moments, some good instrumental moments. It wasn't all bad. But not good enough to redeem the rest. Utter lack of any structure, 6 songs in 32 minutes but feels like much longer, guitars in one ear and drums in the other. A lot of...feral screeching. I can imagine myself college age in the late 60s thinking I'm super cool and edgy for liking something like this. That's about all the charm it has. The birthplace of metal? Possibly, honestly who knows. The longest 32 minutes of my life? Up there. I hope I enjoy other metal albums more than this. I want to forget I listened to this. 1.5/5 but I gotta round it down.
One of those that inspired music that’s better than it is. Not bad, just kinda forgettable really
Though I'd argue it's debatable as to whether or not this was the first heavy metal album, or if it even falls in that category, it's still a good album. Certainly heavier than most of what was happening in 1968 for sure. But I mean it's not really any heavier than Electric Ladyland which came out the same year. Or the first Zeppelin record which came out shortly after. Anyway, I've always loved this version of Summertime Blues. Doctor Please is great as well. As is Parchment Farm. An early hard rocker, one that inspired countless bands that came in the following years. I'm glad to see this one on the list, it's one I need to get on vinyl for sure. 4/5
This should be number 1089 on everybody's list, because this one's so loud, you can't hear any music again after it! Jokes aside. This is one of the most important albums of all time. Not particulary a birth of heavy metal, but birth of heavy in music. Back then when everybody in San Francisco smoked pot with flowers in the hair and believed that their folk songs will end the war in Vietnam and bring world peace, Blue Cheer reminded the rock fans about the things that were around them - bad trips, unhappy love, disillusion in dark reality. And while their sound was never copied, their raw passion and attitude, their love for heaviness and loudness inspired 50+ years of heavy rock musicians, who share the philosophy that was first started by Blue Cheer: "We're loud and heavy, we're proud of it, that's the way we intented it and we're not sorry about it". Judging by the rating on this site, the wider audience are still not ready for this, even 58 years later. It's like a whole heavy rock in its macrocosm. Doesn't gets better than this. If you don't know how to love this album - I'll find you and I will show you how to do it.
I don't enjoy heavy metal.
Pretty cool and ahead of its time but it doesnt hold up with the rest of the legends of the era
blue eyed soul again.
I liked this well enough; it was like if the Jimi Hendrix Experience were all a lot less talented. I also had to check to make sure "Parchment Farm" wasn't some adapted slave hymn because that would've been insane, but thankfully it's about being in prison. Like a lot of albums of the time, a bunch of this is covers, done in the style of the band. Thankfully the style is good, fun, and fast enough to make it all sound relatively original.
You dont get it it’s supposed to Sound like shit
I couldn’t get into this!
nope
I'm not going to argue with what anyone fighting in Vietnam wanted to listen to, but I don't need this in my life.
some highs and lows
Sloppy but not in a good way. Gets bonus points for when it was released though
First heavy metal record? Interesting period piece. 2.5 stars
The birth of metal. Delicious!
Better than Coldplay
Another kind of generic 60ish psychedelic rock/british album. Not bad, quick listen, but didn’t really stand out
This was a cool take on some classic songs. I wouldn't classify this as proto-metal but much more heavy Blues rock.
I've been listening to this in the background all day. Just a tiny bit of context and maybe 4 or 5 listens, it's a fun half hour bit, great for walking around at a mall, driving aimlessly, rolling a doobie. I figure I could see myself -really- into this in 1968 or the early 70s because there's not a lot of this hard rock sound being developed. Now I sit down and realize, these are pioneers. This is potentially the first metal album, the foundation for grunge, and it's got an obvious bluesy background that they definitely make the most of. Can not imagine the extremes this album was used for, psychedelics and the Vietnam war is just a base historical pretext. This one's all about context, and in that sense I really appreciate the album, but I live in an era where there's enough music on streaming services to fit my exact mood, and this will probably never be my mood. 2.8/5
Smorr
This is probably the most convincing proto-metal I've ever heard. It's basically 30 minutes of fucking around with a fuzz pedal turned up to 11. The songs are all plodding, psychedelic blues dirges. And it sounds like it was recorded off of a dying speak & spell. In short, this rocks, *hard*. Sure, anyone can crank studio equipment to its limit and jam out, but it takes some real brave souls to record it for a commercial release in 1968. This sounds heavy and noisy *today*. The downsides here are frankly few in my opinion. 3 of these songs are covers: they transform them, but it has to be mentioned. Aside from that, I guess you could complain about the lack of sophistication, but what would be the point. Blue Cheer aren't trying to write sophisticated songs: they're trying to melt a wall of amplifiers and make your ears bleed. So I say, mission accomplished.
12/24/2025. I dig it. 7/10
I know from experience that this album sounds great at someone else's swimming pool, three High Lifes in, but outside of that situation, it's ok
This album is often cited as being foundational to the heavy metal sound, but with its overdriven guitars and clattering drums, I hear the roots of fuzz rock and doom. Either way, I am amenable to these charms.
That was way too much drum solo for a 32 minute LP.
3ish
I can see the significance to the sound but still just meh for me.
We have Led Zeppelin at home
I guess these are one of the great granddads of Heavy Metal? I can hear it. This was fine, but I would imagine it was more cutting edge and possibly overwhelming to hear this back in 1968. In 2025, not so much.
The beginning of have metal recorded poorly. This was ok.
1968; Three blokes down the pub: Let's bang out a load of covers (because we can't write our own songs). Let's play them all out of tune. Let's record them through a condenser microphone on a cheap tape recorder and release it as an album. Stoned Rolling Stone critics: This is incredible! So original! One of the all-time greats! Me in 2025: Get in the sea, lads. Absolutely unlistenable.
Pretty damn cool '60s psychedelic blues rock record. I doubt I'll revisit it but this was more like a "cool, can see how it influenced a lot of music, moving on" kind of thing. I saw a lot of comparisons to stoner rock, I can see that.
Very funny to think of this as heavy metal. I get it though. I’m glad this stuff is on the list but can’t say I enjoyed it all that much.
Really, really hard rocking power trio. I bit of psychedelic sound included
Inessential garage rock. Never heard of these guys before but have heard almost all of the songs (by others)
I’m really surprised never to have heard of Blue Cheer. It seems like they were very much part of the the mid-late 60s West Coast ‘scene’ and it also appears they were considered to be, to some degree, innovators. Although heavier than I really enjoy, they sound pretty good even now, and their cover of Summertime Blues is great. The song Out of Focus also stands out. So it feels odd that they aren’t at least on the radar when bands like the Doors, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stooges etc are so much part of the rock canon. I’m glad to have learned something.
I hadn't heard of Blue Cheer before. It's said this was very early Heavy Metal. I can see that. There are numerous riffs and other sections of music that I recognise from that genre. Whilst some parts of the album were pretty good I found other sections that were best described as disorganised dissonant cacophony. I'm sure that some would say that is what Heavy Metal is! Overall, good to hear as an early example Heavy Metal but this won't be on my playlist.
Well, I had never heard this before. And now that I have, I can’t say I’m too impressed. It’s kind of some over the top 1960s acid rock that is just a result of too much acid. Just kind of sounds like one big burnout.
Soooooooooooooooooo...not entirely sure what Blue Cheer is doing here that no other 60's blues bands weren't doing. They are even from America, so I can't blame any British bias on their inclusion. It's not bad music. Jimi Hendrix was doing what they do fairly well and Black Sabbath is right around the corner. It appears Blue Cheer is included because they did bluesy-metal first, while other artists invented the genre really. I think this is a fun album that I will probably never revisit again. What Blue Cheer is doing here has been done by better artists. Do they deserve to be in the book because they did it first? Possibly but I don't see as much of the heavy metal influence here, or if I do, I see as much in The Who's work during this same time. I am glad I listened to this album and now I am satiated and can die in peace while never hearing this one again.
It can't always save itself from coming across one-note, but it's a respectable endeavor into a new world of heaviness and weight
Muddy, heavy, mercifully short.
fun!! very hendrix coded though it sounds a little like it was recorded underwater. good songs just wish the production was better
Absolutely awful. If I want to listen to Summertime Blues I go to the Who. Pure noise by a weak band that rightfully has come and gone.
Solid
Blues rock that is hard enough to be metal before metal was a thing. Too bad the somgwriting is bad. I see how they could have influenced early metal bands, but Hendrix was doing the same thing at the same time, only better.
The origins of the who’s cover of ‘Summertime Blues’ and some pretty average psych/ stoner rock. Not a classic…..
Very solid blues rock album, can hear some ACDC and Led Zep in this. Very cool
Not every early blues rock album needs to be on this list. At some point it’s okay to let go and not include every album that was important in the development of Metal.
Sure there are hits. But is this really something that special? Numerous Beatles albums suffices
Don’t like it
Summertime Blues is an old favorite. It's nice to rediscover it. I love the low, rumbling, base line in the background. Rock Me Baby is remarkably blues-y. Ended a bit too chaotically for my preference. Not off-putting though. Doctor Please suffers from what I think a lot of longer songs suffer from: it has a cool riff, but then it's 7 minutes long and they have to move away from it. Especially here, with a more blues-y genre where moving away from the riff feels like just noodling around in nowheresville. Out of Focus is at least shorter. Solos still come off as noodly, which is, at least, appropriate given the song's name. Second Time Around was a nice end to the album at least.
Either they were heavily influenced by early rockers in the 60's or they influenced them. Wasn't a bad album but wasn't good either...
Not for me
A fuzz tsunami
Yeh alright, it probably slapped in the 60s
"Jimi! Jimi, it's Marvin. Your cousin, Marvin Hendrix. You know that new sound you're looking for? Well, listen to this!" Good shit
The pseudo Latin title tells you everything you need to know. I was probably really heavy at the time but now it just sounds like some stoned kids in a garage that really don’t have any other vision. The whole did Summertime Blues better
High 3, solid classic psychedelic rock
Good
Bit naff and pointless. Cool for its year I guess
Super grungy. Made me feel like I was listening to them in a back alley for a free concert. Cool but wouldn’t go back for it
I can see this album is probably trailblazing but it doesn’t entirely pass the test of time. It has been superseded by much better music, songwriting and recording. Still it’s only 35 mins which is fine to listen to a bit of musical history.
2.5 stars Never heard of them and barely remember it. While I know this was revolutionary in a way, it also sounds kind of generic in retrospect. It’s a good document of the time but I wouldn’t put this on again. Can’t imagine I’d have a reason to. But I was glad it was just over 30 minutes.
I'd hoped for better with this one. Maybe it's another case of a foundational record sounding tame decades after its release, but I found this to be pretty typical '60s hard rock, only looser and more lo-fi. While I appreciate the influence Blue Cheer held, I won't be coming back to this one.
I really don't understand the Blue Cheer adoration by critics. Their muff was just bigger than the rest for the time? Hendrix, Zeppelin, and Sabbath were all in this time range and had like sweet songs, clever lyrics, good lyrics, and epic guitar playing, none of which I really hear here.
Pah
Er, this is right up my street. How have I not heard of this band before? Very nice stuff. I wish the production was better, but I love the vibe of the music.
Typical late 60s psychedelic rock. Nothing stands out. 2.75
Of all the color proto-metal bands of the 60s - Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, King Crimson - Blue Cheer are not the least interesting, but absolutely inessential.
Another case of more important than good
I wonder if this band is one of the reasons to make people think that psychedelic 60's rock is boring...
Awesome heavy 60s, a full frontal assault in your living room.
Das Debüt der US-Band wurde in den Amigo Studios in North Hollywood aufgenommen. Blue Cheer stammen aus den Vereinigten Staaten und gelten als frühe Vertreter eines rauen, verstärkten Rockansatzes. Bekannt sind vor allem „Summertime Blues“ und „Doctor Please“, die den aggressiven, verzerrten Sound des Albums prägen. Musikalisch bewegt sich die Platte zwischen schwerem Psychedelic Rock und Proto-Metal. Insgesamt wirkt das Album direkt und kompromisslos, mit einer klaren Haltung zu Lautstärke und Energie.
Summertime Blues
Fun evolution of heavy rock. It’s rough and raw and I imagine likely to have turned a lot of folks off at the time. 3/ 5
Rock, but nothing remarkable
If you have to take a heroic dose of acid to even comprehend the beat of a given goddamn song, your band kinda sucks. I will admit that the sheer volume and amount of noise they manage to create is impressive. But fuck anyone claiming this is the origins of metal. This is still trash heap music that is meant solely for specific types of burnouts.
In. 30 minutes of banging blues rock. Out. Respect.
Every song was okay for the first quarter then they just started shredding on the guitars for WAYYY too long. At least the album was short.
It's been a while since I've gotten another insanely boring late-60's/early-70's bluesy psych rock album. I haven't missed those one bit. I read this was hugely influential somehow? I don't see it. Maybe I misread it and it said it's hugely under the influence. That's probably it.
This album was the pioneer for Black Sabbath. Given It's the first heavy metal album ever, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but that salt packed a punch. I just wish I could actually hear the lyrics. Favorite Track: "Summertime Blues".
Meh
A part "Rock me baby" qui est écoutable, le reste a bien mal veilli !
A 60s psych-rock band that wears its hard rock influences on its sleeve, all two of them. Also, can we stop conflating hard blues rock with metal already?
**An ok album, too many tracks with just noise (banging instruments and screaming vocals)
This album felt a little bit meh, nothing too exciting, nothing too great, but it was alright having it in the background, as it wasn't too annoying.
This is the real deal here: raw, unpolished hard rock from a band that plays blues and heavy metal with equal ferocity. This is loud music with a capital L. I love the chaos and the noise of it. I’ll definitely have to check out more from Blue Cheer. And extra impressive that they were pioneers of heavy metal. Seems like they basically helped invent a new sound by being as loud and heavy as they could be.
Blue Cheer is a cool band and I'm happy that they have a record on here. Their sound is impressive as they are one of the first bands that got this heavy; some of the pioneers of heavy metal itself. I enjoyed listening to this record though at times I did think that they are probably more enjoyable live compared to on a recording. Distortion and panning and how to mix the two wasn't really "figured out" yet and it leads to a record that is pretty muffled and muddy at times, and it's funny to me how every song has essentially the same exact tones.. but the energy is still there.
I’ve not heard of this band, but man do they love feedback and distortion.
Really good and didn't know. 4 *
It’s okay but doesn’t stand out for the era
alright
Does this push harder in a direction that no one is already doing at this time? Maybe. Is it raw? Definitely. It's as if the whole album is based on Hendrix's You See Me.
Very enjoyable. I liked it a lot.
Blue (Man Group) Cheer has dropped into my beleaguered web browser and I’m kind of excited actually. Of course, these guys get thrown around in the “metal pioneer”conversations that are always held by complete and utter morons. I’m not expecting metal of any sort, but a nice guitar fuzz? That’ll go down nicely. Fire up the tube amps fellas and do that thing with the production where it’s not very good. My ears are baying for blood. Summertime Blues - Rumbling guitar? Summer hating? Count me in. I don’t know what the congressman has to do with this, but I suppose I’m not very swift on the ol’ uptake. Rock Me Baby - Sometimes you gotta switch up the rocking dynamics on infants. For too long, we’ve rocked babies to sleep when a role reversal would be most welcome. Just imagine a gentle rocking to sleep. Would go down a treat. Perhaps I yearn for the seas. More introspection to be done. Doctor Please - I don’t think there are any appeals to medical professionals during this extended guitar solo. I believe the doctor would be very uncomfortable as the band unloaded all their gear in that tiny office and set up. Wait a second! This is about intravenous drug use. I can’t abide by that. Get out of my practice. Out of Focus - This is the song about how I got kicked out of focus because I thought we should stop playing “Hocus Pocus.” What?? Why are you booing me? Parchment Farm - Sweet riff. Lyrics about spousal murder. Old school justice (?). Second Time Around - Inna Gadda da Vida honey. Oh it’s not that song. Close enough. Welcome back Iron Butterfly. This was fun. It feels very jam band in its buzzy chaos. I usually don’t really care for records of jam band material, but this was just short enough that it scratched certain itch. Nothing blew me away here and Lo and behold, metal was still to be discovered but this was a good time filled with distorted guitars, loose bass and thunderous drums. I could even listen to this again sometime! Crazy. Lay back, hand roll a left-handed cigarette and turn off the moon landing as it is a publicity stunt for a fascist regime and you are but a crusader for freedom and love. It’s the 60’s baby. That’s kind of all we’ve got. 3 HIGHLIGHTS: Summertime Blues, Parchment Farm
Boosting the rating because this is an influential album. My initial impression was that this sounds a lot like early heavy rock and blues rock...because they did it first.
60s garage rock. nice
I can’t say that I completely dislike this…but it just isn’t very good. Sounds like a couple of high schoolers jamming in their parent’s basement. I can only give it two stars.
# Playlist Track - Summertime Blues # Notes - This is one of the few albums where I couldn't honestly like A SINGLE track. - I can recognize the historical value of this. Back in '68 this would be mind blowing. Alas, I'm reviewing this in 2025. - The entire thing sounds like it was recorded underwater. Super annoying.
This is okay, but seems to not know what it wants to be. Was this really influential?
Frühester Hard Rock - wie Led Zep, leider Aufnahme nicht gut
love the guitars
At best this album was boring.
Bitch please. Black Sabbath invented heavy metal. This is just heavy stoner rock, and it’s not even that good.
No. 326/1001 Summertime Blues 3/5 Rock Me Baby 3/5 Doctor Please 3/5 Out Of Focus 2/5 Parchment Farm 2/5 Second Time Around 3/5 Average: 2,67 Didn't really enjoy this one. Really grating at times.
the highlight here for me is the leadoff track 'summertime blues' which is a great heavy psych-blues track from the era. the rest of the album is fine enough, nothing super mindblowing. what makes this album special is that you can definitely see it as a bridge from the psych-blues of cream to the early heavy metal of black sabbath. it's got that psych tinge and it's not super heavy, but it is definitely fuzzed out and all in all decently fun to listen to.
Solid.
I was surprised how many songs I knew! This was a cool album and glad it got recommended, especially learning how it was one of the first metal albums. In San Francisco of all places. Albums like this are why I like this site.
not mine
23/1001 First listen. A good occasion to listen to and read up on an album I’ve known about for a long time but just never got around to. You can hear who they inspired here. Maybe another star if I played it more than a day.
Well here it is- the birth of heavy metal. Dude LOVES a fuzz pedal. Holy cow. And it seems like they REALLY didn't know how to record a super-loud drummer back in 1967. This guy reminds me of Mitch Mitchell - if he were slightly brain damaged. Sounds so much like the heavy bits of Cream if they were cranked up even louder. I would say the style and the sound are really fun to me - but the songs are kind of lacking.
I like it okay, bluesy and fun at times. Will I remember it in a month or 2? probably not
Driving, forceful, pushy. Feels like they could have used this album to replace every song in Baby Driver and it would only detract a little bit. Rock Me Baby > Doctor Please > Out of Focus. Fun 32 min listen
this band or this album-- haven't decided which-- is illustrative of what i perceive to be one of the biggest problems facing music today: there is a fucking label for literally every *sample* of sound. look, i had to google these guys. i won't pretend i've heard of them. here's their "genre" according to wikipedia's compiled list (I am too lazy to actually cite each individual source for each genre assignment, but i promise they exist and they're all more or less bullshit): hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues rock, acid rock, heavy metal, proto-punk, stoner rock, experimental rock. are you fuckin serious? one time the band Blue October wrote a song that reflects my feelings about this: "Or call it rock, or pop, or Bach, or fuck / Goddamn! Where did we go wrong? / Now there's a category for every song" (this is from Inner Glow, for those curious). yeah yeah, i get that Blue Cheer is trying a bunch of different things here, but honestly what this tells me more is that they couldn't find solid enough ground to establish a unique sonic character. instead, these songs feel, at least to me, like a half-baked attempt at being a little bit of everything popular on the cusp of some really monumental movements (for example, some people apparently call "Summertime Blues" the first metal song ever [what the fuck], and Black Sabbath's debut was around the corner in 1970). i wonder if the comparison to Jack White is unavoidable (several reviews housed on this website make such a comparison). i don't buy it. not all garage rock is created equally, and this lacks the soul, punch, and guitarwork of the early white stripes stuff. anyway, this shit's boring. 2/5 on a good day, which i guess today is.
I listened to a lot of Black Keys growing up. This sounds like the stuff the Black Keys listened to a lot of growing up. This sound is one that I've always enjoyed. There's that rawness to it that makes the whole album feel like it's just some dudes recording at home. The instrumentation is messy and I dig it. This is the kind of stuff that I love playing on guitar, but it's not something that I really listen to much anymore. I enjoyed this album thoroughly, but it's one of those albums that I probably won't be relistening to much, if at all. I really liked Out of Focus and Parchment Farm. Second Time Around sounds like a Jack White song (you can take that how you will). Apple Music said this album is credited with inventing heavy metal. I always credit that to Sir Paul McCartney with Helter Skelter. Maybe they both deserve some credit idk. This felt more like a blues album to me. The tone of the guitar is very similar to Hendrix's, and while I have nothing bad to say about that, I wouldn't consider it "heavy metal."
I've gone back and forth about this one, but I think I overall liked it. I'm a huge fan of the blues, so I might be a little biased. I am having to alter my perceptions of heavy metal a bit and do some learning, thanks to this list. I would in no way classify this or Zeppelin as heavy metal -- it's just blues rock, in my opinion. Maybe it's just that no one understands what genre is or means (*insert Simpsons "No it's the children who are wrong" meme here) I think the disconnected aspects of the songs are a bit hard for the listener to fully appreciate the final product. The mixing is pretty terrible but I think that also contributes to what they were trying to accomplish with this sound. "Doctor Please" was my favorite track. The midpoint of the song kicks and I went back to the song as a whole a couple of times just because of the jam.
Sounds like a parody of this era. No wonder the Beatles were so successful if this is what they were up against.
I'm pretty sure I didn’t hate this album but the "Summertime Blues" cover is one of the least tolerable pieces of music I've ever heard. Like... I'm being pedantic but taking out the end of the verses to replace with instrumentals kinda detracts from the whole point of the song. It's some kind of Hendrix meets Peter & The Wolf meets Peanuts nightmare where all the grownups are replaced by instruments. You called your congressman and he said, quote, "*drum fill*"? What did Eddie Cochran do to deserve that? The rest of the record is still a bit “jammy” for my liking, but is just controlled enough that I can find some sounds that I dig. Also, anything with this much fuzz and distortion in 1968 is probably pretty influential on a lot of the stuff I am into. On a lark, I googled “Blue Cheer Iggy Pop” and was unsurprised to learn that they and the MC5 (<3) had played together in 1968. Prooooobably not going in the rotation but I don’t regret listening and am not opposed to revisiting tracks 2 - 5.
‘The hard rock group Blue Cheer were often referred to as being "louder than god" and no band of their era more richly earned that title’ So you can just say anything in your Spotify bio, huh? I haven’t been to church since like 2013 and even I’m incensed by this comparison. Y’all think some of the worst guitar tone ever recorded is bigger than the being that let there be fucking LIGHT? Y’all think the lines about being so depressed that you need to call your senator go harder than the Judeo Christian deity? Kick rocks, Blue Cheer!
Reminds me of being in a power trio, great nostalgic vibes and just the right amount of rough around the edges. Probably a good thing that 70% of the lyrics are fairly indistinguishable.
Nochmal anhören
Ah, "Vincebus Eruptum", rien que le titre, on sent le mec qui a ouvert un dictionnaire de latin au pif en buvant une bière. "Je vaincrai par l'éruption", ou un truc du genre. C'est pompeux, c'est ridicule, et c'est absolument parfait pour ce disque. Nous voilà donc en 1968, San Francisco, l'amour libre, les fleurs dans les cheveux, le "Peace and Love", Jefferson Airplane, le Grateful Dead... Et puis il y a Blue Cheer. Blue Cheer, c'est le "bad trip" auditif de la bande. C'est le mec qui débarque à la soirée hippie, qui vomit sur le tapis en poil de chèvre, insulte la meuf du taulier et met le feu au canapé avant de repartir en rotant. On va mettre les choses au clair tout de suite. Cet album n'est pas "bon". Il n'est pas "mauvais". Il est... Il existe. On m'a vendu ça comme "l'album fondateur du Heavy Metal". Du "proto-metal", du "proto-stoner", du "proto-tout-ce-qui-fait-du-putain-de-bruit". La légende dit qu'ils étaient "plus forts que Dieu" ("Louder than God") et quand tu lances le disque, tu comprends pourquoi. Ce n'est pas de la musique, c'est une agression physique. C'est fort. C'est saturé. C'est... primitif. Bon, on va être honnête deux minutes, si comme moi, tu as bouffé du son lourd, tu as écouté Godflesh, tu t'es pris les murs de drones de Sunn O))), tu as disséqué la lourdeur tectonique des Melvins. Alors, "Vincebus Eruptum" en 2025... ça sonne presque... propre. Et c'est là tout le paradoxe de ce disque, il n'a "plus rien d'exceptionnel" aujourd'hui. Il a été tellement copié, dépassé, digéré, que son pouvoir de nuisance originel s'est émoussé. Ce n'est pas la lourdeur calculée et maléfique d'un Black Sabbath. Ce n'est pas le chaos nihiliste des Stooges. C'est juste... du bruit. Le jeu est approximatif, voire carrément bordélique. La guitare de Leigh Stephens... le mec a découvert la pédale Fuzz, et il a décidé que c'était la seule note qui existait. Il ne fait pas des riffs, il fait des vibrations. C'est un tremblement de terre. La basse de Dickie Peterson... elle n'existe pas. Elle est fusionnée avec la guitare pour créer une seule, énorme, masse sonore saturée qui te décolle le papier peint. Et la batterie de Paul Whaley... le mec ne joue pas, il TABASSE. Il se bat contre ses fûts comme s'ils avaient insulté sa mère. Et la voix. Oh, la voix. Peterson "chante". Non, il hurle, il éructe. Il sonne comme un Lemmy Kilmister qui aurait avalé du gravier et qui serait en train de le vomir. Et pourtant... Je veux bien admettre qu'à l'époque c'était une petite révolution. En 1968, Hendrix et Cream avaient déjà commencé à pousser les potards, mais Blue Cheer, eux, ils n'ont pas poussé les potards : ils les ont arrachés. L'album est surtout connu pour sa reprise du "Summertime Blues" d'Eddie Cochran. L'original est un petit bijou de rockabilly sur la frustration adolescente. La version de Blue Cheer, c'est la frustration adolescente qui a muté en rage thermonucléaire. C'est brutal, c'est gras, ça déborde de partout. Ils ont pris la chanson, l'ont tabassée dans une ruelle sombre et l'ont laissée pour morte, couverte de fuzz. Et c'est juste brillant. Le reste de l'album... c'est un peu plus compliqué. "Doctor Please", "Parchment Farm"... c'est la même recette appliquée en boucle. Du blues lourd, lent, poisseux. Ça fonctionne, mais ça manque cruellement de... dynamique. Car en tant que fan de Sonic Youth ou des Pixies, on sait apprécier le "calme/tempête". Blue Cheer, c'est "tempête/tempête/tempête/pause clope/tempête". Il n'y a aucune subtilité, c'est un bloc de distorsion. Et c'est là qu'arrive mon 3 sur 5. C'est "loin d'être une purge", absolument pas. C'est même un disque fascinant, c'est un document historique. C'est le son d'un groupe qui, par accident ou par génie (probablement les deux), a ouvert une porte que des légions de mecs chevelus allaient s'empresser de franchir. C'est un disque "important", et comme beaucoup de choses "importantes", c'est un peu chiant par moments. Mais il fallait qu'il existe car sans lui, pas de Sabbath, pas de Motörhead, pas de "grunge". C'est l'homme de Neandertal du metal. Il est indispensable à l'évolution, mais on est quand même contents d'avoir inventé le feu et la roue depuis. Il ne rentre pas "par la grande porte" dans nos discothèques. Il rentre "par la fenêtre", comme un cleptomane un peu bourré qui viendrait juste piquer les bières avant de repartir faire du bruit dehors.
Not very memorable. Lots of fuzz, for sure.
Bluesy, heavy rock
Boring psych rock
Bedroom garage blues punk. No idea. Drugs.
Oh how I wish I could go back and listen to this when it came out with no knowledge of what was to come. I wonder how heavy it would sound then. Now it doesn't really sound like much of a step up from Hendrix or the Electric Prunes. It's still plenty blistering though, just not enough to cover for the songwriting. The jammy moments and solos of "Doctor Please" rock, blasting the drums and chords into your brain. But the verses are clumsy. "Summertime Blues" and "Parchment Farm" sound similarly awkward with their transitions from verses to noise. In general the original songs - written to sound like this - work better than the covers. In its best moments this sounds like it could still rip your face off, but those moments don't last long, and what's left instead ranges from boring to ugly.
generic psychedelic 60's band. i like their drums... they only have 60k monthly listeners on Spotify... how iconic could they possibly be?
Mixage weird (hard panning). Pas inintéressant.
Not my thing, won't go back
I know I should be open minded when going into any new album, but enough past evidence and an understanding of my own taste indicated that an album from 1968 by a band whose name is an LSD reference was just going to be a dud for me. I'm just never gonna love that San Francisco Sound™
Dope
A monster…..not great, but great in its time.
Hard classic rock pretty good
Name something better than white dweebs from the Bay Area playing “the blues” - doesn’t exist.
Blues metal, huh? Decent but kinda samey. It makes sense to include this for its historical value. Their cover of Parchman Farm is spooky and ominous.
I respect this for its influence, but it's not something I'd ever return to, and I didn't especially want to listen to it while it was playing. I don't mind self-indulgence in rock music, but this wasn't my flavor of it, y'know?
Honestly felt like a long 32 mins HOWEVER for early days Psych rock I really enjoyed it and was toe tapping whilst working at the email factory. Favourite track: Rock me Baby
2,5
Eh
This album wasn't any better than the last album I reviewed. "Vincebus Eruptum" is a product of its time with songs that once sounded cool. It's similar to Gratful Dead's live album, another lousy effort. I liked the sound of some of the tracks. There's a decent song that isn't on the original release. 2 stars for "Vincebus Eruptum".
Would be awesome live!
A good rock album from the 60s. Reminds one of Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep.
As crunchy as fall leaves. 3/5
Cool album I liked it 👍🏿
love the overall coherence between the album title and the song feel
Found this interesting! Definitely very raw and the guitar soloing kept me hooked.
Liked this album sounded like it was heavily influenced by blues music will need to investigate further. Listen to more of this artist
die liste (und glaub musigjournis allgemein) isch obsessed mit punk und sine vorläufer. vlt tuen ich blue cheer etz unrecht. aber am erste song ah tönts wie sehr e hössigi 60er band wo punk beiflusst het. rock me baby tönt wie schlechter gspielte led zeppelin. ok wiki nennts proto-heavy metal. finds reeecht ass. aso so ich sött jo gern bluesrock haa. aber s isch seehr unorganisiert und nöd uf die cool art. mega afoch versueche lärm mache mit de gitarre und s groovt nöd würklich. biah parchment farm isch au so fucking lang. bruudi. ha etz nochli über s album noglese und jo mega wegwiisend und unglaublich luut für ihri ziit. aber ich check nöd so ganz. es isch nöd guet.
hahahah okee jaa schono cool aber au eifach LUUT GSPIELT we vomit all night long?? doctor please SLAPPT, het mich ziitewiis au sehr ah black sabbath erinneret de proto-grunge ghöri jz weniger usse hmm musses glaub nomal lose, iwie hanis schona cool gfunde, au dass so roh und chräftig gspielt wird aber joo jz am morge au mengisch chli sehr ahstrengend zum lose hahaha oops maybe I forgor ich weissss nöd, ah sich ischs scho cool aber teilwiis ischs echt eifach DUTUDLUDULTUDLUDLU jo es 3. schono fun aber jo (summertime blues schochli en banger)
Not my music but interesting as a precursor to punk
Knock off Jimi Hendrix experience with less talent and songwriting ability. Drummer was pretty awesome but other than that it seemed unoriginal
Enjoyed the non-radio songs as much as the well known radio hits.